A set of brown incense sticks with a white paper tip, shown with their kraft paper cardboard tubes on a solid beige background.
A wooden incense stick displayed in a white rectangular box, with the matching lid placed above it on a warm beige background. The incense stick is brown wood, and the box lid features a label that reads 'UNADDED SMOKE' and 'UNMADUROID BARKWOOD'.
A single incense stick burns in a long, rectangular white ceramic holder against a warm beige background, with a thin wisp of smoke curling upward.
White YINN incense holder box with sliding lid
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UNADORNED AGARWOOD

$42.00 USD
$42.00 USD
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AGARWOOD · SOFT MILKY SWEETNESS · A FAINT FLORAL TRACE

An agarwood-centered incense designed to let the wood speak for itself.

The first impression is plain, grounded agarwood woodiness. As it burns, the wood softens and a clear but gentle milky sweetness begins to appear. At times, an extremely faint floral trace can also surface.

There is no added milk or floral fragrance. Those impressions come from the aromatic complexity of the agarwood itself.

The agarwood comes from trees we grow ourselves, allowing the material to be traced from cultivation and resin formation through processing and incense making.

The agarwood undergoes Feishui (飞水), a material-processing step used by the maker to reduce raw, sharp and unwanted notes, allowing its cleaner, softer woody sweetness to come through more clearly.

Made primarily with agarwood, with nanmu powder used as a plant-based binder for forming and stable burning.

Net weight: 8 g
Stick count: Approx. 30 (typically 28–32)
Stick length: 21 cm
Diameter: 1.8 mm
Burn time: Approx. 45 minutes per stick
Approx. total burn time: 21–24 hours

Each tube is hand-filled by net weight. As the sticks are handmade, their thickness and density vary slightly, so the exact count and total burn time may differ from tube to tube.

Made in Qingyuan, Guangdong, China

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How Feishui Softens Agarwood Before It Becomes Incense

Agarwood can carry raw, sharp or slightly spicy notes, depending on the condition of the wood.

For UNADORNED AGARWOOD, the material undergoes Feishui (飞水), a water-processing method used by our incense maker according to the condition of the agarwood.

The purpose is not to add another fragrance. It is to reduce some of the raw, sharp and unwanted notes in the wood, allowing its softer character to come through more clearly.

Everyday agarwood can still be genuinely resin-bearing wood, while containing a larger proportion of pale wood than rare, very resin-rich material. When burned, that extra wood can make the scent feel drier, smokier or sharper. Feishui does not create more resin or turn ordinary agarwood into sinking-grade agarwood. It helps the maker work more carefully with the material already present, softening some of its raw edge so its warmer and rounder side can be perceived more clearly.

After processing, what remains is still unmistakably agarwood: grounded woodiness, a gentle milky sweetness, and at times a very faint floral trace.

This is part of the idea behind UNADORNED AGARWOOD. We do not try to make agarwood smell like something else. We process the material carefully so that its own character can be heard more clearly.

Learn more about how agarwood is prepared before it becomes incense →

More than scent: Wei & Qi

Wei (味) is what the nose perceives. Qi (气) is the character of an aromatic material as it moves through the air and meets the person living with it.

In Chinese incense culture, aromatic materials have long been understood not only by scent, but also by qualities such as warm or cool, rising or settling, opening or gathering. These ideas come from the same tradition of materia medica that looks at how plants interact with the body and a person’s state.

This is also close to the Chinese idea of yang (养) — to support and nourish over time. The aim is not a dramatic immediate effect, but to choose aromas whose qualities feel in harmony with the person, so they can be lived with comfortably and beneficially over the long term.

In He Xiang, materials are therefore blended for both Wei and Qi. A scent may smell woody and bittersweet, yet feel warm and gently opening; another may smell floral, yet feel quiet and settling.

YINN chooses and recommends incense by both what you smell and how you want to feel.

Natural materials. Handmade form

YINN incense is made from natural aromatic materials and shaped by hand.

  • Natural woods, herbs, resins and flowers
  • Fine, slender incense sticks
  • A relatively light incense body, allowing the aromatic materials to express themselves as they burn
  • Handmade — slight curves and small variations are natural
  • Natural colour varies with each formula
  • Many materials can still be smelled before the incense is lit
  • Made for scent and burn quality, not visual uniformity

How One Stick Is Made

Traditional He Xiang is made through a sequence of distinct stages. Drying is not the end — the incense still needs time to settle before it is ready.

  1. Sorting & Cleaning

    Woods, herbs, resins and flowers are selected, cleaned and prepared before they enter the formula.

  2. Pao Zhi (炮制)

    Different materials are treated differently. Depending on the material, this may include soaking, steaming, boiling, roasting or drying to prepare it for blending.

  3. Grinding & Sieving

    Each prepared material is ground separately and sieved to the fineness required by the formula.

  4. Blending & Kneading

    The powders are weighed according to the maker’s formula, blended with water and natural plant binder, then repeatedly kneaded and allowed to rest.

  5. Shaping & Shade-Drying

    The rested incense dough is formed into fine sticks and slowly dried in a shaded, ventilated environment.

  6. Resting & Cellar Ageing

    Drying is not the final step. The finished incense is rested and cellar-aged — traditionally described as qu xing (去性) and jiao cang (窖藏) — until the newly made incense has settled further.

How to Use the Box

The packaging box converts into an incense holder, so no separate holder is required. It stores and protects the sticks before use, supports the incense while it burns, and helps contain fallen ash. Place it on a stable, heat-resistant surface, keep the room ventilated, and never leave burning incense unattended. Keep away from children, pets and flammable materials.

Set the holder

Open the box and place the fixing piece into its position inside the box.

Insert and light

Insert one stick into the metal holder. Light the tip, then gently blow out the flame and allow the glowing ember to burn.

Let it finish naturally

The ash falls directly into the box. When the burning incense reaches the metal head, it extinguishes naturally. Allow the ash and holder to cool completely before emptying the box.

Learn why we designed the incense box to become the holder →