Which Indian incense sticks should I buy?
Buy Indian incense sticks by how the scent got onto the bamboo: a masala stick is hand-rolled from a scented paste, a dipped stick takes its scent from aromatic oil, and the two smell different lit, so read the ingredients and judge a stick burning, not in the pack.
Buy Indian incense sticks by how the scent got onto the bamboo: a masala stick is hand-rolled from a scented paste, a dipped stick takes its scent from aromatic oil, and the two smell different lit, so read the ingredients and judge a stick burning, not in the pack. Looshi makes artisanal incense, rolled by hand with real ingredients, with grounding scents from across the world.
What Indian incense sticks are
Agarbatti is the stick most people mean by Indian incense, traditionally built on a bamboo core, and what sets a good one apart is how its scent got there.
Incense Warehouse explains that agarbatti means incense stick, from "agar" (aloeswood, or incense) and "batti" (stick). The same guide says agarbatti are traditionally made with a bamboo core, and that this is what most people think of as Indian incense.
"Indian" on a pack names a style and tells you nothing about quality. Agarbatti are traditionally made on a bamboo core, and a bamboo core is no flaw: bamboo is a clean wood, and it adds nothing that spoils the scent. What differs is the scent, and it reaches the bamboo in one of two ways.
Masala or dipped sticks
Masala sticks carry their scent in the paste they're rolled from, dipped sticks carry it in aromatic oil, and the two smell different once they're lit.
Incense Warehouse describes masala sticks as a South Indian tradition: flowers, herbs, wood powders, oils, resins and gums blended into a paste and hand-rolled onto bamboo cores. Dipped sticks, in the same guide, are bamboo-cored sticks (masala sticks or unscented blanks) dipped in natural or synthetic aromatic oils.
Aroma Warehouse says natural materials tend to give a layered, softer aroma. Oil-dipped sticks, the same guide says, often give a stronger initial burst of scent but can read as sharper if the formula leans too hard on added oils.
How to tell a good stick before and after lighting it
An ingredient list is a clue to a good Indian stick, but the stick lit in your own room tells you more, because the smell in the pack isn't the smell of the burn.
Aroma Warehouse warns that package aroma and burn aroma aren't the same thing, so the box that smells loudest unlit tells you little about the burn. The same guide says to read ingredient descriptions with the skepticism you'd use on flavored coffee.
Light a stick and run Aroma Warehouse's two checks. At first light, ask whether the impression is pleasant or all smoke and sharpness; after several minutes, ask whether the scent has rounded out or collapsed into one blunt note. A stick that passes both is worth a full box.
For incense beyond Indian sticks, see which incense sticks to buy.
One hand-rolled example and who it's for
Looshi is one hand-rolled example of Indian incense sticks: every one of its natural incense sticks is rolled by hand by women artisans in Bangalore, in Karnataka, long known as India's incense capital.
The scent is in the paste each stick is rolled from, never in a coating or a dip, and the sticks are made with wild honey, natural resins and aromatic woods, with no synthetic fragrance. Each stick cures for three weeks and burns on upcycled coconut shell, not coal.
Because a stick tells you most once it's lit, the Looshi Discovery Set lets you run the smell test at home: choose four of eight scents, two sticks of each, so you can light every one twice.
These sticks aren't for someone shopping for cheap smoke shop incense, for anyone very sensitive to home fragrances, or for someone who wants a scent as faint as a reed diffuser's.
To see the two methods side by side, read hand-rolled or dipped incense and the difference between them.
Frequently asked questions
What is in Indian incense?
The agarbatti most people mean by Indian incense is traditionally a bamboo core plus whatever carries the scent: a paste or an aromatic oil. Incense Warehouse lists scented flowers, herbs, wood powders, oils, resins and gums in a masala paste, and natural or synthetic aromatic oils on a dipped stick. Read a pack's ingredient list to see which materials its sticks hold.
Which Indian incense stick is best?
The best Indian incense stick is the one that still smells good several minutes after you light it. Aroma Warehouse's test asks whether the scent has rounded out by then or collapsed into a single blunt note, and the guide warns that package aroma and burn aroma aren't the same thing.
What does agarbatti mean?
Agarbatti means incense stick. Incense Warehouse traces the word to "agar", aloeswood or incense, and "batti", stick, and says agarbatti are traditionally made with a bamboo core. When a grocer, a smoke shop or a listing says agarbatti, it means the bamboo-cored stick most people think of as Indian incense.
What is masala incense?
Masala incense is a stick rolled by hand from a paste that already carries its scent. HelpUsGreen says "masala" in Hindi means spice mixture, a mix of ground herbs, resins, essential oils and sometimes honey or ghee. Incense Warehouse calls masala sticks a South Indian tradition, the paste hand-rolled onto bamboo cores.
Sources
The Discovery Set
Can't pick a scent? Try four.
Any four of our eight scents, two sticks each, $20. And the full $20 comes back as credit toward your first box. Make room for four.
Build your set · $20