Lets talk about fake/adulterated frankincense!

EspritDeLaNature

SamsaSpoon Do you have a Facebook account? He is best reached through FB Messenger.

SamsaSpoon

I wrote to him on FB, sending the link to the video and said I would send pictures and more details if he doesn't mind having a look.

TheWorldMakesScents

Are there ever any high quality frankincense resins that are these tiny pebbles? When I see particle size for resin I immediately assume it's either fake, partially fake, or the stuff that is the lowest quality possible.

All of the reputable frankincense I've bought doesn't have such a uniform shape.

Regarding sand/tiny rocks in the frankincense. This happens to me even with high quality stuff. Sand/tiny rocks I think blow with the wind and land in the sap when it's still sticky. I have this hojari that I grind in small quantities with a coffee grinder. What is left is always the un-grindable sand stuff. It heats up the blades really fast too if I try to re-grind the leftover sandy stuff.

Nathan

TheWorldMakesScents

Are there ever any high quality frankincense resins that are these tiny pebbles? When I see particle size for resin I immediately assume it's either fake, partially fake, or the stuff that is the lowest quality possible.

I wonder about this too.

SamsaSpoon

TheWorldMakesScents

@Nathan

Depends.
I wouldn't buy a random one - but...
If you have a direct importer on hand that sells high-quality frankincense, the chances are high they sell the dust and bits that rub off during transport for a fraction of the pretty whole tears, and it will basically have the same quality, Maybe with some dirt bits mixed in.
I bought stuff like this from Georg, from his B. sacra and it smells just like the tears. It's excellent if you need a larger, ground quantity at once (at least from a hobbyist volume perspective). I used this some years back when I made frankincense oil. And I think another time for a larger batch of raw Kyphi.
The large tears stay sticky and soft inside for a long time, so it's nice to get a lot of fine powder and not having to worry about grinding.

The scent quality is usually rather determined by where the trees grow and the time of harvest. I don't know in how far the tear size might correlate to that, but the "grade sorting" of frankincenses (other than Hojari) is usually by size and doesn't really affect the scent. Smaller grades might contain more dirt, though.

B. frereana (Maydi) for example, is sorted into up to 8 grades. My information on that is a bit fragmented, that's what I could gather:

Mushaad (or Mushaat) - the best grade, big chunks
Mujarwal
Kabeer
Saqeer (or Fas Saquir) - small
Jabaanjib
Shorta
Slif
Foox (or Fouh) - Dust

"Aden" Frankincense is usually B. Carterii, it is mostly sold in rather small grain sizes, maybe slightly larger than what you see in the picture. It can be fairly cheep and still very nice. It's what made my realize that I actually like frankincense.
All the frankincense had smelled before that was likely dirt cheap B. papyrifera, like all the churches around here will use it.

Nathan

SamsaSpoon I've managed to get him through email before.

Nathan

SamsaSpoon Good info, thanks!

IncenseApprentice

Wow what a mystery! I almost thought this was some kind of mineral/ quartz passed off as franckincense...I eagerly await the denoument.

SamsaSpoon

I burned 10g with a blow torch to see how much of that resin is actually sand.

Gentlefolks, it's freaking 55%.

My acquaintance has confronted the seller by now. They denied that any adulteration happened on their end.
He got offered a sample of a different frankincense with the option to replace the initial order.
However, he's deeply disappointed and lost his trust in them.

He even said he thinks this product is synthetic altogether. He called it a "synthetic frankincense resinoid". I'm not sure if something like this is actually a thing. I'm currently trying to find out if he's just ranting or if that's a real possibility.

The scent is not at all bad, but I wouldn't be able to tell what exact frankincense it could be. It just smells like frankincense.

EDIT:

Georg said he had never seen something like this. I also sent him the above picture now.
Dan has replied with some follow-up questions, which I answered and also included the pic.

Nathan

SamsaSpoon 55%! That's nuts!

SamsaSpoon

Ok, here's a quote from the email I just received:

Yes, synthetic reconstitutions of resins is very common, especially in dhoop/agarbatti industry.
This company makes a lot of synthetic resinoids.

I'm so fascinated!
I wonder how they made that stuff.
I wonder if they used the sand as "seed crystals" so to speak, for the resinoid to build on up to. A bit like how sugar builds up on nuts if you make candied nuts.
With the additional "benefit" of adding extra wight to the final product.

Nathan

SamsaSpoon I had no idea this practice existed. Beyond passing it off as authentic resin, what's the point?

SamsaSpoon

Nathan
Price and consistent quality and scent come to mind.
For the pure reconstitutions, that is. I'm surprised that faking cheap looking frankincense resin is worth it in the first place, but I'm also still not 100% convinced this is actually entirely synthetic. (I guess only a lab test result would do that for me.) But that this is manmade seems simply more likely at this point than a natural "cause".
If so, they even went the extra mile and threw some bark bits and stuff you would find in natural resin in there.

IncenseApprentice

Giving the seller the benefit of the doubt--what if it's real but the result of combining the bottom of the barrel / dregs of other, more resin-heavy bags or other containers? Maybe they're selling off the detritus that would normally get sifted out for higher grade batches sold for more $$. It seems to be too much of a pain in the butt to make such complicated "fake" incense...if some gritty bits do naturally get into regular frankincense, perhaps this is just Z grade frank passed off as better stuff?

EspritDeLaNature

IncenseApprentice I agree with you that this Frankincense is likely the bottom of the bag with, maybe, quartz crystals, or another local stone. The natural extractions of Frankincense are expensive and that is why there are companies producing synthetic reproductions of them. But Frankincense resin, especially the lower grades that come in those small pebbles, is fairly inexpensive for the effort it would entail. But maybe some one was really desperate and melted frankincense resin over those small stones.

EspritDeLaNature

From Katlyn of Mermade Magickal Arts: So sorry , that’s awful, but when you order from many parts of Africa, the quality is sketchy. I think they adulterate it when stocks are low. Not to be snooty but I would never buy directly from there without samples and a second opinion.
To my knowledge, Carterii should be a bit larger tears and a golden color when wet.
I can ask my supplier Ali, he would know more. I am no expert on carterii.

EspritDeLaNature

From Ali, a large, reputable supplier of Frankincense: Hi Katlyn

I hope all is well with you.

This is something I have seen in the past. The first photograph in the email looks like a blend of Carterrii/papyrifera grade 3. Which is a standard grade exported from east Africa.

However, most suppliers would not use stones to blend into it. Some people blend it with Makobani (something that looks similar to frankincense but it's composition is completely different).

Makobani contains no oleo resin and is a tree sap that is used domestically in Africa as toothpaste, though safe to consume, it creates a not so great smell, along with small hardened pieces (rather then ash when burned on charcoal). This material is traded at 0.3/kg to 0.9/kg and is used by inexperienced suppliers to fulfill orders (reducing their overall price per kg).

Based on your picture above it looks like a very small amount has been blended in, but even a few granules of Makobani will change the integrity of the species.

My suggestion would be to not use the supplier again. And I hope you did not purchase too much.

If you are the business of selling single originated resins, I would hold off on selling this product as you will get alot of push back.

If you don't mind me asking, what was the price and quantity you purchased? Because if it was a small quantity this really doesn't make too much sense.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out at any time.

Warm regards,
Ali

SamsaSpoon

EspritDeLaNature

That's very interesting, thank you, Bonnie!
And please thank Katlyn as well from me!

Kaitlyn supplier Ali seems to be a decent guy.

Both Dan and Georg say it looks like Carterii. I offered to send Georg a sample, and Dan asked for one. I'm very curious what those two noses will have to say.

I haven't asked what he paid, but he bought 50kg. He only did so because he was running low and could always trust this seller before. He's mad about himself for not getting a sample first.

SamsaSpoon

Is there any chance she might share the contact details of that supplier?

His ultimate goal would be to source as directly as possible from Africa...

EspritDeLaNature

SamsaSpoon Ali lives in Canada and also works with Dan. His family is from Yemen and has been in the trade for three generations. One of his other family members might serve Europe. I would tell your friend to write him and ask.
http://www.rawtradersinc.ca/

SamsaSpoon

EspritDeLaNature

Dan offered to share his contact with him, so this might be actually the same. Thanks again, Bonnie!
He will also send Dan a sample.

He is in India, not in Europe.
I hope this works out for him.