Welcome to Black Powder Incense!
Frequently Asked QuestionsFrom time to time, we receive questions from people about incense, perfume, Byzantium and all sorts of other subjects related to our products. We decided to put together this list of the most interesting or thought provoking ones.
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From Deedee in Atlanta:
I need to find incense that emits black smoke; could you help me with this?
Dear Deedee:
God bless you and thank you for writing with your question. Unfortunately, I don't make an incense that does this. I can however, give you a somewhat lengthy answer to your question.
The truth is that smoke, by it's nature is not black but white and varying shades of gray depending upon the light surrounding it (natural, artificial, outdoors, etc.) It is not really possible to create smoke in a certain color without adding solid particles to the compound. To do this would require some fairly exotic chemicals and a basement laboratory. However, the more carbon contained in the item that is burning, the darker the smoke will appear in contrast to the light spectrum surrounding it. This has to do with the properties of light and how it "bends". In order to get a truly dark smoke, the item would have to be practically caustic and toxic to humans and animals. Raw wood, such as firewood in a fireplace for example, will sometimes seem to emit a dark smoke. This appearance is an optical illusion created by the orange glow and the varying shades of orange, yellow and red (even blue) in the color spectrum of the fire. If someone were to actually create such an incense, it would be considered a pyrotechnic item, a "hazardous material" and definitely dangerous to your health even in small amounts. I do not recommend it.
From just about everyone we meet:
"Do you really use black powder or gun powder in your incense?"
No, we don't. We thought about it though. Just kidding. All silliness aside: We thought it would be a great name for our company because our incense is designed to burn on a self-lighting charcoal block, which is "black powder" in its weakest form. We also wanted to fit in with the others nut-cases we go to renaissance fairs and pirate events with and we thought the name "Black Powder Incense" was cool. And it is! :)
From Pam in Hollywood, California:
"What is IN this incense stuff you make? The scent is FABULOUS!"
Thanks for your kind words! We think our customers are FABULOUS too! Our incenses are completely resin based. The secret is the curing process, which usually takes about 60 days. This involves allowing the raw resin to fully absorb the essential oils we use to scent it. Our stick incense is made from 100% pure, handrolled charcoal...there is no sawdust, no chemicals, no lead. Since charcoal is technically, already "burned", and we simply reheat it, the only thing that is "burning" is the 100 percent pure oil that we use to scent it.
From Colleen in Reno, Nevada:
"Are your perfumes 'cut' with anything?" No, not in the sense that you might think. Firstly, we use only pure oils. To truly cut a fragrance generally means to add alcohol or solvent in order to dilute it, or in some cases, to act as a preservative. We do add a minute amount of glycerin to our perfumes in order to extend their shelf life. Glycerin does not in any way affect the potency of the oils, and in fact, it preserves the fragrance in full. A fully uncut perfume oil is not truly practical. It will not last as long in the bottle, nor will it necessarily be better for you or your skin. Just because something is 100 percent natural does not make it healthy or wise. We can think of several illegal drugs that are 100 percent natural but we wouldn't want them in our salad OR our perfumes or incense! (grin!)
From Wendy in Australia:
"Why does the church burn incense? What is the meaning behind that?"
The Orthodox Church has always burned incense since it was founded right after the Crucifixion. The Apostles were originally Jewish and this was common in Jewish temples. But the Orthodox view incense as a symbol of their prayers rising up to God, because both the Old and New Testaments speak of it.
In Psalms it says " May my prayer be counted as incense before You; The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering." (Psalm 141:2)
In the book of Revelations it says, "The smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the saints ascended up before God from the hand of the angel." (Revelations 8:4)
The Church believes that people's senses are an important part of being human and so when we go to church, we can see the icons, smell the incense, hear the songs and the service, touch the holy things, and taste the Eucharist. In this way people fully participate in the worship of God. So all the historical Christian churches, the Eastern Orthodox, Ethiopian and Oriental Orthodox, the Roman Catholic, and the Anglican churches, all burn incense for the good of the people.
From Paul in Minnesota:
"What is the difference between the incense you make and other incense from the middle east?"
A very good question, Paul! The Muslim world also produces some very fine incense. They are usually called bakhoor and they are burned on a charcoal block in a censer called a mabakhoor. The difference is generally in method of manufacture. Whereas we grind our resins to a powder, and then form the resin into fragranced blocks, Islamic incense is generally made by soaking the resins and then shaving it into slivers. It is then burned. Islamic incense, the traditional types, are very beautiful and they offer a more woody/earthy scent than those that we Orthodox make. It is indeed an art for them, and as artisans ourselves, we appreciate that. True Arabian oudh or bakhoor, is an experience one should never miss if one has the opportunity to try it out.
From Charles in Quebec, Canada:
"I am looking for incense which will be beneficial in prayer. In particular, incense which is described in Exodus 30:34. Do you have any suggestions?"
That is an excellent question! The elements described in the passage in Exodus are frankincense, myrrh, storax and believe it or not, a certain type of mollusk shell (ground up and powdered) that came from that particular region of the world. I do have an incense that is very similar which I call Axum, named for the city in Ethiopia in which the Ark of the Covenant now resides. It does not contain the mollusk shell however, it does have the other ingredients along with a light floral oil that produces a nice blend of scent. It is colored with a natural gold powder, to symbolize our Christian belief and practice of offering our very best, to God.
This type of incense is burned on a self lighting charcoal block - In the ancient times of the Old Testament, the incense was not as pure as it is today, owing to the fact that some processes to purify the resins, were not available back then. Additionally, you should note that the frankincense referred to in the OT is very likely (but can't be proven) to be the same black Ethiopian resins which the Magi also brought to the Christ child in the New Testament. We use the same Ethiopian frankincense and a darker ("black") myrhh, in order to obtain a richer fragrance.
I would say that our Axum blend is what you want, although we Christians believe that God does not necessarily require strict adherence to the OT formula. 1 Samuel 2:30 says, "He that honors Me, I will honor." In the New Testament, Jesus said , "If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour." John12: 26. No matter what faith you may profess, God honors the purified heart, most of all.
From Cecilia in Billings, Montana:
"What is the difference between your stick incense and the ordinary kind I get that is made in India?"
Hello Cecilia and thank you for your question. Most stick incense that is available in the American market place is imported from India and/or China. It is commonly called "punk" style, and it is made from cheap, low-grade sawdust, which is then literally glued to a bamboo stick. Even if no stick is used, it is still simply sawdust, with glue added, to allow the stick to be "rolled". This type of incense has a tendency to smoke excessively, causes eye and throat irritation, and it is often known to also contain lead colorants and/or other forms of lead as well as other potentially harmful chemicals. (C'mon! Burning GLUE????)
Our stick incense is none of this and is not at all comparable. We make our stick incense using purified hand-rolled charcoal. Once these sticks have been properly cured, we then dip them three times into our purified aromatic oils. After they have been allowed to dry and cure, they are then lovingly packaged for sale. We use only the purest charcoal, and the purest oils, to produce our incense sticks. We do not use any colorants in any form, or any chemical compounds.
It is important to realize that charcoal, by its very nature, does not "burn". It is in fact, wood which has already been completely burnt. It is heated, yes, but the only thing that is actually burning is the sliver of bamboo (very minimal) and the fragrance oil itself.
As a result, our stick incense burns cleaner, longer and produces the finest of fragrance. There simply is no comparison between our stick incense and the common "punk" style.
From Mark, in Asheville, North Carolina:
The LONG incense sticks are more than my small prayer cell can handle and I must leave the house quickly and not leave anything burning behind me for safety reasons. Also, my time is very limited so that burning incense in a censer is not practical due to the burn time of the charcoal after the incense is spent. I would LOVE to have your charcoal sticks (Magi). I am looking for 10-15 minute burn time. Is this possible, or am I involved in wishful thinking.....if this is the case, would you recommend extinguishing and clipping and relighting??? With punk sticks this is such an ugly and smelly process.
Thanks for writing to us, Mark! Limited time, and limited space, as well as safety concerns are always important issues. Our sticks are handrolled and are about 8 inches long. Here is my suggestion:
Get an earthenware clay bowl and fill it with purified sand. Put the sticks in the sand, in the very center of the bowl (to catch the ash.) Use a bowl that is at least 4-5 inches wide. Let the sand support the sticks, standing straight up. If you need to leave in a hurry, and forget to extinguish, the stick will burn to the sand, which will absorb all the heat and extinguish it. Additionally, you can simply turn the stick over, and put the burning end directly into the sand and leave it there to extinguish. It is no problem to re-light and re-use later. With our handrolled charcoal sticks, you will never get a "burnt" smell because we don't use sawdust which is what "punk" sticks are made from. You will always get the same beautiful fragrance you had before. You can get purified sand (in all kinds of colors) at Walmart in the garden section or the craft section. You can get the clay pots there too, and decorate them yourself which makes a very nice decoration (and honor to the Lord of your own hands) for your prayer corner. God bless you!
UPDATE: Mark was kind enough to send us a picture of his prayer corner, showing how he used
our stick incense in a bowl of sand. Hopefully, this will inspire others to utilize this practical,
inexpensive and safe method of burning our stick incense. You can see the stick standing
straight up out of the blue ceramic bowl he chose.
From Winnie in Jamaica:
"If you are Christians why do you call yourself BlackHeart Arts ?"
God bless you Winnie and thank you for asking us this question. Our answer is very important: We believe that even the "blackest" of hearts can produce a life of much beauty. We are sending you a copy of our leaflet, about St. Moses the Ethiopian, who despite his life as a thief, a robber, gang-member and murderer, became one of the greatest of the Christian Saints, through his genuine repentance. We hope you enjoy the leaflet. Our decision to call our fine arts division "BlackHeart Arts" was to remind us all, that no one has reason to be proud of themselves, rather, we give glory to God in all things. Additionally, "black" is not a "bad" color. We believe that God is everywhere present, and that He fills all things. The ideas about "black" being bad, and "white" being good, are generally associated with ideas about racism and as Orthodox Christians, we feel that this is a serious error in human thinking. Racism is a spiritual disease that can only be cured by God's love and Grace. God bless you!
