Malaan Gaudhoop – Swarna Champa

Alok of Malaan Gaudhoop contacted me in mid-2024 to offer samples of their hand-rolled dhoop sticks.
Currently, Swarna Champa is the only variety they sell, but more are set to launch soon. I’d already noticed them due to their eye-catching packaging while browsing on aavyaa.com and through their Instagram.
At the time, they were only available in India, but I can tell you that Indiaroma will be adding them to their line-up. 😉

Swarna Champa sticks are about 8mm thick and 9cm long. A pack contains 50g, which equals 15 sticks, and also includes a matching ceramic holder.
I don’t know the price for DE/EU markets yet.

So far, I’ve only tried a handful of dhoop sticks and haven’t been particularly impressed with this type of incense. To be fair, they were all from the very affordable segment.
Swarna Champa, and surely everything produced by Malaan Gaudhoop, really stands out.
The fact that the sticks are actually hand-rolled is remarkable in itself; I always thought dhoops were exclusively extruded or pressed, and even Sascha (Indiaroma), who has much more experience with dhoops than I do, was under the same impression. It surely is the default.

This leaflet came with another (pre-release) sample pack; the one from the Swarna Champa pack is entirely in Hindi, so I’m showing this one instead.

The base ingredients in all Malaan Gaudhoop incense sticks are the same: biochar made from cow dung, damar batu, halmaddi, frankincense and perfume.

Biochar in general is a type of charcoal, made from agricultural waste. Alok explained to me that their biochar is great for incense because its microporous structure can hold in a lot of the aroma while also burning very cleanly.
Apparently, even different types of wood charcoal vary depending on the wood used; Jeomra, for instance, uses specifically beechwood charcoal because it works best for them. Georg Huber told me they would’ve liked to use activated charcoal, but the dough just couldn’t be processed in their machines.
The problem with machines is they’re inflexible, and you often have to adjust the incense dough to suit the machine, which can come at the expense of the scent. Human hands, on the other hand, are remarkable tools that adapt to the material. That’s probably one of the main reasons why hand-rolled incense sticks from India are generally considered superior.

As the name suggests, Swarna Champa is a champaca fragrance. However, it immediately reminded me of jasmine, and in fact, champaca and jasmine share a few similar scent components. It’s the sparkling, fruity type of jasmine scent, like you’d find in Jasmine Blossom from TOI or Jasmine from Monsoon Incense. In Swarna Champa, though, this is just a prominent note, far from the at times overwhelming potency of those two examples.
Underneath, I detect a resinous scent that gives the fragrance more body. If there is not enough air circulation, this can take on a slightly sharp, vaguely petrol-like character, similar to the smell that often occurs when you burn pure resins on charcoal. With adequate ventilation, it’s no issue at all. The scent diffuses into a typical resinous freshness with a zesty aspect, in which I soon recognize frankincense. It blends with the jasmine-like fragrance, enhancing the fruitiness of the composition even more.
In even stronger dilution, another jasmine-like aspect emerges: a slightly dry but very bright and almost green scent, similar to what I find in jasmine tea. This is likely the note that sporadically flashes as a powdery facet in Swarna Champa.
In the background, there’s also a subtle and warm sweetness that pleasantly underlines the scent.

In the afterscent, the sweetness becomes much more prominent, and the fragrance feels rounder, calmer, and significantly warmer. It retains its floral quality, fading slowly into a lasting impression of freshness and cleanness.

Swarna Champa is potent but not at all overwhelming; I find it perfectly suitable for indoor use.
The scent isn’t overly complex, but it stands out with its pleasant freshness and its bright, uplifting character.
You can really sense the care that went into making these incense sticks, and I’m convinced of their quality.

A little tip:
I’ve started using the leftover stubs from the dhoop holder on my tealight incense heater; at first, only to see how Swarna Champa smells when used that way.
Using this method, the scent is closer to the afterscent of the burning sticks. I smell more of the sweetness, and the scent is warm, almost balsamic; floral, but less fresh.
So, Swarna Champa can also be used like kneaded incense for a less intense but still room-filling fragrance. I think this is excellent, especially for the colder months.