Satya Sandalwood: warm wood incense from India
Sandalwood may well be the best known incense scent there is, and Satya keeps its version close to the source. What you get is warm and woody with a creamy edge, without the floral sweetness that runs through the Nag Champa varieties. That makes it easy to live with: the scent reaches every corner of a room without demanding attention. Plenty of people burn a stick in the evening, over a book or during meditation and yoga.
The sticks are made the masala way. A dough-like paste of sandalwood powder, resins, herbs and fragrance oil is wound around a thin bamboo stick by hand and then dried. Because the scent sits in the mixture itself instead of being sprayed on afterwards, it stays even from the first minute to the last. A box weighs 15 grams, which works out at roughly 12 to 15 sticks of around 20 centimetres. Hand work also means one stick can come out slightly thicker than the next; that is part of the method rather than a fault.
Burning a stick
Light the tip, let the flame catch for a couple of seconds and blow it out. The stick keeps glowing and gives off a thin ribbon of smoke. Stand it in an incense holder or a small pot of sand, on a surface that can take falling ash. Keep the room lightly ventilated and never leave a burning stick unattended. Close the box afterwards and store it dry, because unlit sticks release their fragrance slowly too.
About Satya
Satya is the brand of Shrinivas Sugandhalaya, known around the world for Nag Champa. This box lists the Bengaluru operation as the maker and states that the sticks are hand-rolled in India. Alongside Sandalwood, Avalon Magic Plants stocks Satya scents such as Palo Santo, Musk, Opium, Jasmine and Natural, Nag Champa varieties including Nirvana, Seven Chacra and Dragon's Blood, and holders to stand your sticks in.
