Components
of an incense powder
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We've seen the great tric: of an incense powder
you make clay, which you bring in a certain shape, after which you dry
it. Comes the unavoidable question: what's in this powder? 1: aromatics; substances
that contain scent. 2: fuels ; to let the
stick burn up evenly. 3: binders ; to glue all
the components together. A recipe will always contain these types of
ingredient. For an incense stick these ingredients will have to be in a
pulverized form. When we finally have this powder we add liquid to
reach a workable clay. But first we will discuss these main three
groups. |
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Aromatics |
click on the images for a further discussion; |
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These are the substances that give us the scent
for which we are searching. A note of warning however: there is an
important difference between how substances have their own scent and
how they smell during combustion. It took quite a while for me to
realise that I could only realise a limited spectrum of scents with an
incense. An example: Mint is something that tastes very fresh and
uplifting, with a delicious scent, but which produces a dark burnt
smell when you burn the leaves. We will discuss the two main categories
of aromatics: |
Frankincense |
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Essential oils : these are very
strong concentrated liquids
that contain the essence of a certain scent and plant. Most of these
liquids are made via a chemical process called steam distillation. This
is a process that is about 300 years old but there are other ways to
extract essential oils from a plant which are also much older. One of
these is called enfleurage. But the process of distillation had
enclosed a vast spectrum of scents that would otherwise not possible.
No wonder that the history of perfume comes into an enormous
acceleration in the 18th century. Perfume is the most important
application of perfume. The basis of perfume is a mixture of essential
oils in a carrier of alcohol, stabilized with usually glycerin. Most
commercial incense is also on the basis of perfume. The incense sticks
will have had a perfume bath. Making your own incense sticks, it is
also possible to paint your stick with your own perfume or essential
oils so that you have incense that smells like orange, lavender,
rose,.....maybe you'd better ask which scents are not
possible? For this reason it is useful to start a small collection
essential oils, just because you have a large access to scents now.
However, people with a sensitive skin, an allergy for modern chemicals,
or a certain nostalgia for the scents of the past (like me), have
reasons to be very modest with essential oils and are more interested
in the second category of aromatics: |
Myrrh |
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Substances from
nature : In the past the use of incense was limited
to the direct combustion of natural aromatic substances. We are
speaking now of certain sorts of woods, resins, gums, flowers, leaves
and roots. In my experience there are only some 30 natural substances
that produce a pleasant aroma when they are combusted, so for an
incense blend the choices are limited. However, working with these
substances has my preference because
the interaction with nature is far more explicit, for example in the
processing of Frankincense lumps into powder, collecting pine needles
in the woods, harvesting and drying lavender...For the incense maker
the working with natural stuff will cost him a lot more work, but on
the other hand will it add to the quality and the the spiritual
intentions for which the incense is made. I will discuss a couple of
natural aromatics in the pictures you see on the right. |
Benzoin |
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Fuels |
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Besides the production of a pleasant aroma, an
incense stick will simply have to burn until the end. Not too fast, not
too slow. Sometimes your aromatic functions as a fuel, as in the case
of Sandalwood. But when you have a lot of Frankincense in your incense
powder, you need some fuel to take care of the combustion -Frankincense
on its own doesn't burn or glow. A fuel needs to be adding to the
scent, or to be neutral. We will discuss three types of fuels: Woods: In fact all woods are suitable to use,
unless they burn up too fast or have an annoying scent. That makes Oak
and Beech wood less suitable for an incense. Woods that go better are
Sandalwood, Cedar, Baywood, Juniperwood, and Bamboo. You will only have
to be very critical about Sandalwood because it is a threatened tree
and you will have to take responsibility for that as a consumer. |
Dammar |
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Charcoal: The most
widely applicated fuel in an incense. It has excellent glowing
capabillities so that we can keep our fire going. A disadvantage is its
black colour, only a small amount of charcoal to an incense powder
makes our stick completely black. That problem can however be overcome,
for example by adding a coloured layer around our stick. Saltpeter: This is the
old name for what we call now Potassiumnitrate. It is a quite
combustible substance that can easily be dissolved into water. This way
it can be added to the liquid for our incense clay. It is an important
ingredient of Firework. In one of my early incense experiments I saw an
incense cone glow up in about ten seconds! For myself I only use
potassiumnitrate when I make self-igniting coals (which you can find on
the recipes page) |
Dragons
blood |
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Binders |
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An incense powder always has to contain a
certain amount of binder. After adding the water our ingredients have
to stick to eachother. Also we want to have a clay that can be
processed easily. In this respect the choice of binder depends on what
type of incense stick we are going to make. What a binder really does
is the absorption of liquid. We will discuss the most important binders
for an incense: Tragacanth (Astragalus
Gummifer): This is the most used glue. For most incense powders an
amount of 10% is enough. It burns up without scent and it gives a clay
that can be processed easily into a Tibetan stick. When you want to
make a stick with bamboo core with Trag as binder an amount of 20% will
be necessary. A disadvantage is that it is quite expensive. |
Jahwee |
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Xantane: A very often
used binder in the food industry. It is made by bacteria. It had a
great capacity to absorb liquids. Locust beangum: This is a
product that is generally used for babys that have difficulties with
swallowing and is added to the food to make it more elastic. Adding
Locust beangum to an incense powder makes the clay elastic, which has
great advantages for the making. For sticks with a bamboo core I advise
as a binder a mixture of 50-50 Xantane and Locust beangum. Other binders: There are
several other possibilities as a binder: we can use Arabic Gum (Acacia)
and in literature Orris root is often mentioned. Corn and Potatoflower
can also be used as a binder but have a nasty smeel during combustion.
The binder that is used in India is called Jigat (Machilas Macrantha
and Litsea Chinensis), and gives an extreme elastic clay with which
mass hand production of sticks with bamboo core has become possible.
However, the trees that produce Jigat are heavily chopped down so that
I don't recommend it as a binder. Lots of experiment is possible with
binders and the experience teaches us that in most cases we will have
succes. |
copal |
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Sage |
oils |
Thuja |
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Mastic |
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