Every formula starts with materials. In the classical tradition this is xuan liao — selecting the materials. If something does not smell right before you grind it, it will not smell right after. There is no fixing it later.

We source from Yunnan and surrounding provinces. Agarwood from cultivated groves. Cedar from the western highlands. Lemongrass and black tea from our own province. Every material arrives dried whole — never pre-ground, never pre-mixed.

Once selected, each botanical goes into its own mill. Resins get a coarse grind. Woods get a medium grind. Herbs get a fine powder. Grinding generates heat, and heat volatilizes the aromatics before the stick is made. So we grind slowly, in small batches, letting the mill cool between runs.

The ground powders are weighed and combined. This is pei wu — proportioning the materials. Think of a perfume pyramid: woods for the base, resins for the middle, herbs and flowers for the top.

Then comes water — just water. No charcoal. No synthetic binder. No fragrance oil. The plant powder and water form a paste that holds its shape when hand-rolled and burns clean when lit.

The wet paste rests before forming. The classical term is he xiang — harmonizing the fragrance. Freshly mixed incense smells disjointed, each ingredient fighting for attention. After resting, they quiet down and merge. If you skip the rest, you can smell it in the first five seconds of smoke.

Each stick is then rolled by hand onto a bamboo drying tray. No machine extrusion. A hand-pressed stick has consistent density throughout. Machines compact unevenly.

This is where most commercial incense takes the shortcut. A kiln blasts hot air at 60 to 80°C for a few hours. Fast. Consistent. Destroys the volatile compounds — terpenes, esters, aldehydes — which begin breaking down around 40°C.

We sun-dry every stick for fourteen days on bamboo trays at 2,000 meters elevation. The rack temperature stays between 28 and 35°C. At night the trays come indoors to keep humidity off. The classical tradition divides this into yin gan — shade drying — followed by shai — the gradual cure under sun. No thermostat. Just patience and weather.

After drying, the sticks rest in a cool, dark space before packing. Freshly dried incense is young — sharp, each note separate. Given time, the moisture equalizes and the aromatics continue to integrate. What started as separate powders becomes a single, unified fragrance.

Every batch is tested before it ships. We burn sample sticks from each tray. If the burn is uneven or the scent is off, it goes back. Not negotiable.