Thuja Incense Sticks
These are samples from some unknown manufacturers that I received from my friend Povilas, with whom I regularly swap incense. He usually likes aloeswood and sandalwood incense sticks, but he also likes thuja from time to time.
Povilas has mentioned that for Taihang Thuja incense, Thuja sutchuenensis is usually mentioned as the source plant, while he believes that for Suk Hyang it must be Thuja koraiensis.
ChuiWoon – Suk Hyang
The sticks in the picture above are fragments of about 8cm length. They have a diameter of approx. 2.2mm.
Povilas bought Suk Hyang as part of a gift set like this one (38€), but in a shop that no longer exists.
The sticks also seem to be additionally sold in a longer version than in this set.
According to this shop’s product information, Suk Hyang are made from the wood of trees that only grow on the island of Ullungdo off the east coast of Korea. They are made by a Zen Buddhist monk in Korea.
Suk Hyang smell intensely green, with the somewhat mineral-like note typical of thuja. Although this makes the fragrance seem fresh, the scent also has a warm, even slightly sweet aspect. Occasionally, an almost fruity-tart note blossoms, which reminds me of juniper overall.
The character of these sticks has a certain similarity to some Tibetan or Bhutanese incense sticks in that they also have a sour note.
It’s interesting to note that the smell of passing plumes of smoke sometimes seems harsher to me than the smell close to the smouldering stick. Nevertheless, the scent becomes clearer when I switch on my mini-fan.
Compared to the other two sticks reviewed here, Suk Hyang has a little more depth and is stronger. Their scent is also darker.
Pinny Culture – Taihang Thuja
These sticks have been broken in half for transport. The full length is 21cm with a diameter of 1.4mm.
The sticks come from an AliExpress supplier called Pinny Culture. They are sold in practical cardboard tubes, but without any indication of weight or quantity. Based on the size, I would guess there should be at least 30 sticks. They cost around €7.20 (price varies).
Compared to the other two, I find the smell of these Taihang Thuja less green and mineral, but warmer and woodier.
They also seem to have the least unpleasant smoke smell, which is perhaps due to how thin the sticks are. Because of this, they are very mild in general.
If I let two burn at the once, the scent becomes more apparent, but not so much the smell of the smoke; it remains quite soft.
I find the aroma most pleasant when I have my mini-fan running.
Xiamen Zhitang Incense – Taihang Thuja
These sticks were also broken in half for transport. So there are actually 5 sticks 21cm long (diameter 1.7mm).
Povilas bought them from an AliExpress supplier called Zeetoon that no longer exists. A decorative box with 80g or 140 sticks for 23€ – 0,16€ per stick. He has since rediscovered it at the Clean Heart Incense Lore Store, for a much cheaper; around €12.
These Taihang Thuja are roughly settled between the first two in terms of character. They are significantly milder than Suk Hyang, but still quite strong compared to the Taihang Thuja above; also in terms of the smoky odour. With these sticks, I find it much more pungent, harsher even, than when I burn two of the above Taihang Thuja at one.
Nevertheless, I find the thuja scent in these sticks to be the most characteristic.
If I burn two of these sticks at once, the aroma is more pronounced, but the smell of smoke is even more so. Especially close to the burning sticks, it’s very reminiscent of a puff of smoke from a wood-stove.
My mini-fan has a positive effect here as well.
Summary:
If you don’t feel the need for a rarity like Suk Hyang, you can find interesting offers for thuja incense sticks on sites like AliExpress. The downsides are that you can never be entirely sure of getting something a second time, and you are faced with an obscure jungle of offers that can be quite overwhelming.
Even if you’re not planning to buy from AliExpress, I can only advise everyone to have a look from time to time. It is quite possible that you will discover offers there that look familiar to you from other sellers. Shops that resell goods from AliExpress or similar platforms at significantly higher prices are currently sprouting up like snowdrops in spring (and often disappear just as quickly).
In March, Steve (Incense in The Wind) looked into some incense sticks ordered from Temu (which are also available on AliExpress), including these Thuja sticks (of which I got samples by now).
For people who like the smell of thuja, I would also like to mention Jiri & Friends – Green Cedar, which I find to have a comparable scent.
Great reviews! One thing I’d like to note is the “green” scent in theses sticks is of the evergreen variety, not grass or herbal ones. When diffused with enough air I found that all of these sticks have a scent of a woodshop, if you like that or the scent of a pleasantly smoky wood-stove then seek out some Thuja sticks, they scratch that itch for me.
Did I actually fail to point that out? lol
Thanks for the comment, P!