Incense can be a deeply personal matter of profound preference and taste: ever evolving with our lives, our practices, and even ebbing and flowing with the seasons.

At Dharma Rose, we have continued to refine our personal pallettes and now find ourselves in a different space than where our Peace, Love, and Incense roots started us. That is not to disparage the incenses of the Sixties as exemplified by Gonesh and by Nag Champa, nor the preferences of those who love them. It is simply an acknowledgement of where we are now, and why we have chosen to offer these particular incense lines.

It was quite an awakening to discover two Japanese studios who had been crafting premium incense for over three hundred years, some of which cost hundreds of dollars for a modest bundle (albeit packaged in an exquisite silken box). While we cannot afford to carry the very top of their lines (let alone burn them), we have done our best to offer exceptional incense in a friendly and comfortable setting.

We do offer many fine aloeswood blends from Baieido and Shoyeido. However, if you are looking for the very top-of-the-line aloeswood (those costing $100 or more), we are happy to place special orders for you. Just let us know.

While we had found ourselves gravitating towards the traditional temple incense that has inspired meditation for centuries, recently a few of the more contemporary scents from Baieido have caught our attention. With the winter days still waning, that stale morning air is now broken with Black Coffee. And, as I am a tea devotee, I burn Green Tea in the afternoon or evening.

My very favorite temple incenses are White Cloud and Circle, though I have still much to learn about the meditation incense from Baieido, a studio that we only recently added.

A note on pricing: premium Japanese incense can be quite expensive, and our prices are determined by the studios themselves. We actually prefer this arrangement as it would seem unskillful to engage in a pricing war over incense, doubly so for those blends intended for meditation. You will find moderately-priced incense from both Japanese studios on our shelves as well. Given their centuries of experience, and their dedication to quality and subtlety, we have come to understand the value of this noble tradition.

Namaste.