Mainichi-Koh Kyara Deluxe Aloeswood Incense Sticks

Of all the Aloeswood / Kyara incenses out there, this is by far our favourite at Mysteriorum.

Kyara comes from the heartwood of fallen Aquilaria and Gyrinops trees in the jungles of Vietnam and Cambodia.  It occurs when an infection takes hold of the tree and it begins to activate it's own defense mechanisms against this.  It takes 70-100 years for Kyara to begin forming, sometimes centuries for the rarest of the rare. 

The Japanese translation of the word "Kyara" means "precious jewel" and this is entirely how it inspires those who burn this incense.  

Aloeswood incense is burned by the Japanese Emperor, sometimes during religious or tea ceremonies.

While I would not consider this incense to be "cheap" by any stretch of the imagination, it is one of the more affordable aloeswood incenses.  Each box contains at least 300 sticks.  The burn time of each one is around 30 minutes, so it is not so suitable for meditation as some of the longer burning incenses.  However, unlike other incenses the scent lingers for a long time, therefore it could easily be used during guided mediatations.

In describing the scent it is often said that Kyara has the coolness of mint, with the heady, mesmerising aroma of amber and musk.  It is a deeply complex, woody aroma and this particular incense promises all of that.

In the Hebrew Bible "trees of lign aloes" are mentioned in the Book of Numbers 24:6 ("Like valleys they spread out, like gardens beside a river, like aloes planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters").  

In the Gospel of John, Jesus' body is prepared for burial by binding it in linen wrappings with seventy five pounds of aloes and myrrh (John 19:39).

To conclude, this incense is truly a gift.  Well worth the money and I feel confident in stating that it will be a case of once bitten forever smitten to those who try this.