Cheap ‘Agarwood’ Incense from AliExpress / Temu
These reviews cover a selection of incense sticks sold as ‘agarwood’ that I’ve either bought myself or received as samples.
芽庄沉香 | Vietnam Nah Tang Agarwood
I’d ordered these sticks mainly because I found the shape interesting, but the sticks I received look entirely different to what the pictures suggested.
The product images for the offer show moulded incense sticks; rather flat and angular, but with rounded ends, looking a bit like those disposable wooden stirring sticks you get with to-go coffee.
The AliExpress shop where I bought them is LikeWin Global Store; the price was about 10€, or 5,76€ on ‘sale’ for 10g.
However, the contents of the tube I got had only 6.7g and, as previously mentioned, entirely different looking sticks, which is why I filed for refund (but hadn’t had to send them back).
On the raw sticks, I can perceive a hint of a dry-woody but soft fragrance, which, however, reminds rather of sandalwood (if anything).
When lit, these ‘agarwood’ sticks smell of little more than somewhat aromatic wood smoke.
It’s no different with the following series of ‘agarwood’ sticks and coils that I got sent from my friend and blogger colleague Steve.
They all come from Temu.
Xiang Lian – Xing Zhou Shuichen
(Water Sinking Agarwood)
On the raw sticks, I barely detect any smell at all.
When lit, the sticks give off a reasonably pleasant wood smoke smell. With time, it develops a subtle spiciness and some warmth.
I also find a slightly coniferous note, drawing the aroma closer to that of smoke from a campfire.
Thousand Year Old Agarwood
Steve was so kind to send me the holder contained in the pack with these coils. 🙂 Thank you!
I found these ‘thousand-year-old agarwood’ coils the worst of all the samples discussed here.
It is a type of wood smoke smell again, but in this case, the smell reminds me more of binder like Laha/joss or similar (these are barks of certain trees ground to powder that contain a natural adhesive) burned on its own, or simply some sort of filler material.
Not that the others actually smelled of agarwood, but their smoke smell was at least rather pleasant. The smell of these coils isn’t exactly nasty, but much more unpleasant.
Reading Steve’s review surprised me. He describes notes in it that I couldn’t even find after multiple attempts.
Fujian Incense: Agarwood, Hainan Agarwood
I found these two varieties relatively similar.
Both seem somewhat perfumed, which was mainly noticeable with the raw smell.
Agarwood seemed a little more strongly scented than Hainan, though.
With Agarwood, I smelled a slightly sweet note alongside a green freshness; Hainan Agarwood only had the freshness in the raw smell.
I tried Agarwood first.
The smell was that of wood smoke without any notable agarwood aroma, but with a hint of green freshness.
Soon after, I lit Hainan Agarwood and noted that I found them quite similar, though a little stronger.
It has a minimally spicier smell; again relatively simple and smoky, but with a hint of character.
No agarwood smell, but green freshness, as you may find in sticks with green tea aroma.
When returning to the room, I also found a kind of salty note in the fragrance.
Steve’s reviews:
Agarwood
Hainan Agarwood
Steve seems to have liked Agarwood best of all the agarwood varieties he’s tried.
Interestingly, our perception of the two Fujian varieties is basically reversed.
Conclusion
I’m anything but thrilled by this selection, which doesn’t particularly surprise, as you simply cannot expect agarwood at such low prices.
Besides that, simple wood smoke or campfire fragrances aren’t really my thing; thus, the scents simply don’t do much for me.
Anyone actually looking for agarwood incense sticks shouldn’t let themselves be seduced by the affordable prices, but should rather spend the ‘saved’ money on something with a higher likelihood to be genuine.
If you have a budget that allows a bit of ‘gambling’, you can indeed make good finds on AliExpress etc., as my friend Povilas has already proven to me several times.