Shanthimalai – Nag Champa (aka Monsoon Incense – Arunachala Nag Champa)
I have already reviewed Shanthimalai – Nag Champa before, but at that time, I only had a single sample from Steve.
At the beginning of 2024, my friend Silver sent me a giant package full of incense out of India, and among the goodies was this huge, still shrink-wrapped box of Shanthimalai – Nag Champa. She had purchased it in March 2022. Due to the strong olfactory difference, I must assume that Steve’s sample was already quite old and had lost a significant amount of its scent. Therefore, here is a new review.
Shanthimalai – Nag Champa was, until recently, hardly available in Germany, and I suspect it is the same in other parts of the EU.
At some point in June, I exchanged samples with Sascha and included a portion of Shanthimalai for him. He was so enthusiastic about it that he promptly contacted the manufacturer and placed an order.
So, Shanthimalai – Nag Champa is now finally available here, in the original packaging and in different pack sizes (15g, 40g, 100g, 250g) at his shop Indiaroma. The packs are priced between €3.90 and €24.90. I can only estimate the price per stick, but it should range between €0.30 and €0.10, depending on the pack size.
Furthermore, Eugene has added the sticks under the name Arunachala Nag Champa to his Monsoon Incense range. They are available in 15g pouches for €2.50. My pack contained 13 sticks, which works out to an approximate price of €0.19 per stick.
I received the pack from Eugene as a free sample. By the way, the brand name on the packaging is still “Good Incense“, but Eugene recently decided to rename this line to “Monsoon Incense“.
Shanthimalai – Nag Champa
In contrast to Steve’s old sample, the floral aspect is very pronounced and strong in the fresher Shanthimalai. It’s a sweet floral scent, with light, vanilla-like hints, smoothly transitioning into a subtle, soft note of sandalwood.
The fruity aspect I mentioned in the old review is also present here, but much more muted, likely because it’s easily eclipsed by the much stronger floral character that is present here.
Unlike the old sample, I don’t find these Shanthimalai to be dry or earthy. Instead, I find a pleasant, spicy note that I cannot quite identify. Silver describes it in her Nag Champa comparative review as fennel.
Over time, the waxy note I mentioned back then also builds up during the burn, but it remains relatively restrained.
Monsoon Incense – Arunachala Nag Champa
As previously mentioned, Arunachala Nag Champa are actually Shanthimalai, just sold under the Monsoon Incense brand with a different name.
I notice a certain batch difference compared to the sticks from my 250g box, in that the waxy note stands out more in Arunachala.
It also seems to me that they are less sweet and slightly more tart. However, I only really notice this when I burn a stick directly after one from the other pack.
To find out if Sascha feels the same about their differences, I sent him two sticks from this pack as well: He says he can hardly tell them apart.
In a direct comparison, I prefer the sticks from Silver’s 2-year-old box over the much younger batch from Monsoon Incense. Unfortunately, batches can always differ slightly from each other, and even Sascha’s current ones likely won’t smell exactly the same as mine. He says that the difference is only minimal and that his smell even fresher and more intense.
In any case, Shanthimalai – Nag Champa seems to age quite well, because I could still get a lot out of Steve’s certainly much older sample.
I’m not old enough to remember the early Satya – Nag Champa, but I’ve heard from several people that Shanthimalai – Nag Champa come very close to the old Satya sticks before the formula change.
They don’t make it quite to the top of my favourite Nag Champa ranking, but Shanthimalai make delightful Nag Champa that are definitely worth a try.
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I'm glad you liked it. I've noticed a lot of difference in the incense I own when they're allowed or left to age for a few years.
I also have another box of shanthimalai from 2022 that I had opened as soon as I received them. Last year I noticed they had an earthy and musty quality (as you mentioned) but there was also a sharp bitterness that I did not like.
I'm glad the ones still wrapped in the OG packaging are good even after 2.5 years
I’ve discovered shantimalai in 2019, and it’s been my favorite nag Champa incense. I’m currently out of it now so I’ll get some in India. Btw their packaging is lovely, it reminds my of a glass bangle packaging from Alwar, Rajasthan.