Calamus Root, (Acorus calamus) is also known as Calmus, Sedge, and Sweet Myrtle. It is a wonderfully spicy, aromatic, and very cinnamon-like fragrance that has been enjoyed since at least The Epic of Gilgamesh where it is mentioned as an incense ingredient. It is also referenced in the Bible as one of the ingredients of the anointing oil in Exodus 30:23. The Egyptians used it for the Kyphi recipes as well.

“Burgundy Pitch” is the resin from the Spruce pine (Pinus glabra) that is collected and clarified through a melting process to yield a higher quality and more wonderfully fragrant end product. Spruce pine, also called cedar-pine or bottom-white pine, is a member of the southern yellow pine group. It is the most shade-tolerant species of southern pine and is scattered throughout the southeast in mixed hardwood stands, rarely occurring in pure stands.

Borneo Camphor, sometimes called Borneol Camphor is a pale, straw colored resin from the Dryobalanops aromatica tree. It is an evergreen that can reach heights of more than 120 feet. The Japanese refer to this tree as the hon-sho and the sacred camphor tree at the Hachiman shrine in the Kagoshima district of Japan is more than 1,200 years old.

Benzoin is a resin obtained from Benzoe Siam-Styrax tonkimensis Craib. and Benzoe Sumatra-Styrax benzoin Dryand. It belongs in the Stryraceae family and for incense burning the resinoid is what we are interested in. It is obtained through an extraction process and yields a more solid product.
Benzoin is highly prized in India for its soft, sensuous and warm properties. It mixes very well with most other incense ingredients and gives them fragrance. Mixed with sandalwood it is one of the most typical incense mixtures of Asia.

Tolu balsam (Myroxylon balsamum) trees grow in the northern part of South America. Primarily Colombia. Supposedly, the best tolu trees grow in the lower delta of the Magdalena River near the city of Santiago de Tolu.
A member of the Fabaceae family, the same as the Peruvian balsam tree, the tolu tree can grow its straight trunk up to 40 feet high. All parts of the tree have an aromatic fragrance and the balsam discharges from V-shaped cuts in the bark and is collected in containers.
The balsam is soft and can be kneaded easily. It can contain small crystals and it hardens over time to to a dark or reddish-brown color. It has been used for centuries for a variety of ailments including coughs, headaches, gout and various stomach ailments.

Known also as Balsam of Mecca or more commonly Balm of Gilead, this resinous gum from the Commiphora gileadensis (synonymous with Commiphora opobalsamum) tree has been used since ancient times as a perfume and medicinal ingredient.
Besides being mentioned in the bible, Gen. 37:25, Jeremiah 46:11 and Jeremiah 8:22, it also gets a mention in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”. So from ancient times to modern, the perceived effects of this resin is well known.