Jallan – Tulsi

I received these two sticks from Sascha, who ordered directly from Jallan via their Instagram. However, they now also have a webshop.
Jallan is a relatively young and small company based in Mumbai. They currently employ seven workers who hand-roll the incense sticks.

The sticks shown in the image below have a standard length of 8″ (approximately 20.5 cm), which at Jallan is only the sample size; regular Jallan sticks are extra-long at 12″ (about 30.5 cm) and burn for around one and a half hours.
There are two different packaging types, each including a matching holder: The round tubes contain 60 sticks, while the triangular ones hold 30.

I was only given the prices including shipping costs, meaning a single small pack would come to €20, while the large one with 60 sticks would be €25. However, if you order more, the price drops significantly—two small packs cost only €30, and two large ones €35.
Sascha paid under €40 and tried all the varieties.

Tulsi is holy basil from India. An acquaintance from India once explained to me that burning Tulsi is frowned upon in Indian culture, which is why he believes it is always substituted with another type of basil in incense.

I don’t care for basil in cooking, but ever since trying Reichtum [Wealth] from BERK, I’ve been curious about basil or tulsi as an incense scent.

Whether Tulsi actually contains Indian basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum) is unclear. Scent-wise, I can’t detect either tulsi nor any other basil.
The scent reminds me of very tart herbal soap and, after a while, even a bit of toilet pucks.
There is a faintly herbal-sweet note, but this is quickly overpowered by the tart character of the scent. In the background is I can smell the general scent of burnt herbs.
There’s a certain fresh tone perceptible, but even that fails to bring Tulsi into a good balance.

Perhaps lovers of truly tart herbal scents might appreciate Tulsi. I, unfortunately, do not.