With natural herbs, resins, wood, seeds, and flowers, people have been creating incense for thousands of years. When burnt, incense releases fragrance from plant-based materials released into the air as incense plumes. Since the early times, burning incense has always been deeply intertwined with religious rituals and cultural ceremonies. Today, people often burn incense on casual occasions to support relaxation or to enjoy the invigorating fragrance. Today,we talk something about how to make incense below.
Different incense recipes produce different types of unique aromas. Whether you prefer exotic aromas to impress guests or gentle and clean fragrances to accompany your daily meditation routines, you can always create your favourite scents by making incense yourself. It is a simple and inexpensive way to exercise your creativity and further your connection with Earth’s aromatic treasures. Here is a quick guide on how to hand-make incense at home.
Simple Step Teach You How To Make Incense?
First, decide which type of incense you are going to make and prepare corresponding incense burners. There are different types of combustible incense, including cones, sticks, and coils. Each type is burned in different sized incense burners. Preparing appropriate burners is extremely important for fire safety. Although incense extinguishes itself after finish burning, hot ashes collect around them and may cause fires and burns if not handled properly. You can prepare a fire-resistant vessel such as a cup, bowl, saucer, or any type of designer burner available on the market. Bowl-shaped burners are most versatile and are compatible with all three types of incense.
Next, prepare the tools required for making incense. This includes:
· Mortar and pestle: These are for crushing plant ingredients into fine powders.
· Makko powder: Derived from the bark of the Thunbergi tree grown in Asia, makko powder acts as a binding agent. With the addition of water, it helps form the final shape of incense. Makko powder is also the natural combustible material that allows incense to burn slowly and evenly. It can be easily purchased online.
· Distilled water: Water is needed to form “doughs” from pulverized powders.
· Mixing bowls: These are to store powders before final mixing.
· Measuring cups or scales: A measuring device is required to quantify amounts of plant ingredients in your recipe.
· Moulds (optional): You can either shape incense “doughs” yourself or purchase commercial moulds to create standardized cones or sticks.
· Wax paper: This is used for drying materials.
Now you should think about which plant ingredients you are going to use for your incense recipe. High quality natural ingredients form the foundation of creating fine aromatic incense. You should start with purchasing your favourite plant materials from reliable suppliers. Explore local herb shops, incense stores, or online sellers to uncover hidden gems.
Of course, you can also use herbs from your own garden. Remember to use at least one resin or wood in your incense mixture to form a base. Otherwise, you can add almost any type of plant ingredient as you please. It is always fun to experiment with new ingredients once in a while. Popular incense ingredients are listed below. Note that all ingredients should be kept in a dark, cool place away from direct sunlight.
· Herbs: cinnamon, lavender, thyme, vanilla, rosemary, sage
· Resins: balsam, acacia, hibiscus, copal
· Woods: pine, agarwood, cedar, sandalwood
· Others: honey, wine, dry fruits
Start making incense by crushing all the chosen ingredients into ultra fine powder. Use a mortar and pestle and patiently grind down the plants. This process may take some time depending on which herbs you have chosen. After grinding all the materials, bring all the powders together into a mixing bowl and stir the mixture thoroughly. Try to distribute all the different powders evenly. Then, add makko powder to the mixture.
The ideal proportion is 1 part of makko powder to every 3 parts of ground herbs. Next, add distilled water. Only add a couple of drops each time. Add just enough to make the mixture transform into “dough” that can be shaped by your hands. At this step, you can choose to mould the incense powder by yourself or use commercial moulds to shape them. After that, dry the “dough” on wax paper placed on a flat surface. The time required for the drying process can vary based on the environment.
If you live in a humid area, you may want to leave the mixture for up to 5 days. If you live in a dry area, your incense may be ready to burn in a day or so. If you notice the incense does not burn well, it may be because you have not let it dry out enough. Adjust the time through trial and error to find the optimal length of drying time.
Now that you have learned how to make incense at home, get ready to enjoy your favourite fragrances!
