The Hem incense company puts forth a very good effort with their Hem Champa.  Unfortunately it doesn’t have what it takes to be a serious contender to the current kings of the hill.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not dismissing this version of nag champa with the wave of an elitist hand.  It is just that what is an acceptable formulation of nag champa has such narrow margins and any scent that strays too far out of them falls by the wayside.  This is by popular vote and not my personal opinion.

Overall it is an excellent representation of nag champa.  Earthy, warm, sweet, sensual even.  What the problem seems to be is that it also has a slightly bitter or pungent note that comes through every now and then.  The scent isn’t as cleanly nag champa as Goloka, Golden or Shanthimalai nag champa.  What that note could be I am not entirely certain.  It could be the bamboo stick that the formulation is wrapped around.  In that case perhaps I just got a batch made from badly cured bamboo.  Or it could be some mystery ingredient that I can’t readily identify.  Whatever the case may be I find that one note to be very distracting and it takes away from the enjoyment of the stick somewhat.  It tends to make the overall scent just a bit harsh.

Of course, you have to realize that scent is subjective and you might not find the note distracting or even present at all.  I do think this is a very good incense stick at a very good price but I also think that there are much better nag champa scents easily available.