Hi All,
I'm Nathan. Thought I'd make a bit of a template here that others can use if they like. Looking forward to talking incense with everyone!
When did you first get into incense?
At fourteen, I took a trip with the school band to the Epcot theme park in Florida, where I found a shop selling incense. I picked up a few boxes, including Morning Star Vanilla from Nippon Kodo, which I was obsessed with. To this day, if I'm feeling down, the fragrance of Morning Star Vanilla will pick me right back up.
What do you hope to get out of this forum?
I'm keen to talk to others who are as interested in incense as I am (not many of those in meat-space), and sharing techniques, particularly on natural, whole-plant ingredient processing and usage.
How long have you been making incense?
I first attempted incense-making in 2009, but I found it tricky and it didn't stick for long. After some time making little incense blends for the heater, a couple of years ago I got back into making incense sticks, and actually managed to make some decent ones this time.
Favorite incense variety
I am a big fan of Japanese incense; that's mostly what I burn. I have really been missing a mellow agarwood stick lately, but of the sticks in my incense drawer at the moment, I'm going to have to say my favorite is Kyoto Cherry Blossoms from Shoyeido — I love the acidity. Butterfly Spring Incense from Lijiali is a close second.
Top incense making tip
Ingredient ratio-testing in small trail-burns. It really helps me understand the character of an ingredient in the burn as a reasonable temperature close to that of a burning stick. I often like to test ingredients out on a heater too, starting at 180℃ increasing gradually up to nearly 300℃. This helps me understand how the fragrance of an ingredient changes at different temperatures, and I like to think that this gives me an idea as to what I ought to be aiming for in a burning stick, and what might be possible by adjusting burn temperature or ingredient ratios.
What other interests or hobbies do you have?
I'm very into music, from Hindustani classical, to drum and bass, to death metal. I've player classical tenor trombone since the age of 12. I'm also a GNU/Linux nerd and web developer. I have a professional background in print and design (among many other things haha), and I've designed everything from logos to books, album covers, and websites. I am also a fairly prolific vegan home cook, and a former cocktail bartender and barista. I like to write on my blog for fun, often about incense, but on other topics too.