Ah the confusion of the nose with dipped incense as opposed to hand rolled incense.  Such is the case with Gonesh Nag Champa Extra Rich.  Fresh from the package it barely smells like champa flower at all.  It isn’t sweet enough to be honest.  It is a bit too sharp.  Of course, it is a dipped incense based on a charcoal stick so the real proof is what it smells like when lit.  Let’s find out shall we?

Well, I suppose I shouldn’t have worried too much.  When lit it smells much better.  Which is odd because most of the Gonesh incense sticks I have reviewed are exactly the opposite.  True, it smells like nag champa but to enjoy it you have to define your standards I suppose.  Personally Shanthimalai “Red” Nag Champa is the big boy on the block and would deliver a merciless beating to this stick.   So Shanthimalai is the standard by which I judge nag champa incense.  Others will probably judge it by Shrinivas Sugandhalaya’s Satya Sai Baba Nag Champa.  This stick does not compare favorably with either.

It is too perfume-like and has a sharp, bitter note that is entirely unpleasant to me.  I can’t imagine a situation where I would ever choose this stick over either of the other two that I just mentioned or even Goloka nag champa or Golden nag champa.  We carry all of them and I can recommend any of them without hesitation.  This on the other hand, I have my reservations about.