Wednesday 29 November 2017

Nag Champa incense



So here's a post completely unrelated to almost anything i've ever posted before. I didn't even think that was possible.

I am posting about Nag Champa. Not any Nag Champa, but my favourite. Yes, I like incense sticks. Not always, not all of the time and I like them best on the terrace, but I DO like them. Especially the blue ones, Satya Sai Baba.  So, I've noticed there are different packages around and I've also noticed they smell differently and a lot of people on the net noticed that, too.

I just wanted to add to the confusion and tell you, there are two companies, that nearly look the same package wise, one in Mumbai http://houseofnagchampa.com/incense-sticks/
and one in Bangalore http://www.shrinivassugandhalayabngllp.com/satya-sai-baba-nag-champa-incense-stick.html   and I personally like the Bangalore one best. I am not completely sure what the exact reasons for the two factories are, they seem to have the same roots, but the Mumbai one seems to have them machine rolled, whereas the Bangalore ones are handrolled.

How can you distiguish them? Well... there are subtle differences in appearance, only nobody knows how long that's going to stay like that. The sealing sticker on the side is different (two bars vs. three bars) and the logo on the sticker is slightly different (Mumbai has more like two C's, the Bengalore one is more an S with stripes, be aware though, the package print itself is more or less identical!).
Also the Mumbai one seems to have LLP written after the Shrinivas Sugandhalaya. The Bengalore company writes either (BNG) LLP or none of that. The Mumbai Company also has something with ISO 9000-2008 or so printed on it. We are talking about Indian incense here. ISO? No, sorry, I don't buy that.

The packages have been changing over time, with new pictures and stuff on it, so the only thing I can tell you now (November 2017) is:

There are two companies: One in Mumbai and one in Bangalore. I like the product from Bangalore better. Comparing pictures on the two homepages (see above) helps. For the moment the seal (two stripes = Mumbai, three stripes = Bengalore) is a good indicator.

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