Song of India – Nag Champa “Resin”

I received this incense powder as part of an incense exchange.
For me, this is rather a curiosity. The package calls it a “resin”, but it definitely isn’t. It is wood powder, presumably soaked with fragrance oils. A tin of 30g costs around €6. You can find it, for example, at the Ephra World Shop or Indiaroma.

When you use this Nag Champa powder on an incense heater, it smells sweet, creamy, floral, and slightly tart. This gives it a typical Nag Champa scent profile.
The smell isn’t bad, but it strikes me as very perfumey. It reminds me a bit of Satya (BNG) – Nag Champa, which has an equally intense, creamy sweetness that I quickly find overwhelming. There is also a hint of the bitter smell of burning sugar, which I’ve often found in Satya incense sticks. However, this powder is much more tart than Satya (BNG) – Nag Champa.
On the heater, the scent is far less intense than with an incense stick and can be easily dosed. Used this way, this powder could be a viable option for those looking for “smokeless” Nag Champa.

I also tested whether this powder could be burned as a trail on a bed of ash, and it works! The scent profile is noticeably different: much less sweet, even more tart, slightly woody but still floral and creamy. The smoke isn’t unpleasant, although it still doesn’t make a very high-quality impression on me.
Nevertheless, this is potentially good news for those who have acquired a trail burning kit and are now looking for a supply of incense powder.