Satya Palo Santo: woody incense with a citrus lift
Palo santo literally means holy wood and refers to Bursera graveolens, a South American tree whose wood has long been burned as incense. These sticks are the Indian reading of that scent: not South American wood in a box, but hand-rolled sticks built around palo santo extract together with pine, mint, lemon, frankincense and myrrh. The result stays close to the original. What reaches you first is something sharp and fresh, almost citrus, before a warm woody note takes over and stays for the rest of the burn.
The sticks are rolled entirely by hand in India and made with natural herbs and flower extract. In that masala method a paste of resin, wood powder, herbs and oil is wrapped around a bamboo stick and dried slowly, so the fragrance comes out of the material itself. A box holds 15 grams, which works out at roughly 12 to 15 sticks of about 20 centimetres. Allow around 30 to 45 minutes per stick, depending on the draught in the room. Palo Santo is less sweet than most of the floral Satya scents, which makes it easy to burn during the day, for instance to freshen a room before visitors arrive.
How to burn the sticks
Light the tip, let the flame catch briefly and blow it out. The stick keeps glowing and gives off a thin ribbon of smoke. Set it at an angle in an incense holder or upright in a small pot of sand, on a surface that can take some ash. Leave a window slightly open, keep the stick away from paper and fabric, and never let it burn unattended.
About Satya
Satya is the brand of Shrinivas Sugandhalaya from Bengaluru, which became world famous with Nag Champa. The maker points out that counterfeits circulate: check the hologram and the certification mark on the box. Next to Palo Santo, Avalon Magic Plants carries more scents from this line, among them Musk, Opium, Jasmine, Natural and Californian White Sage.
