Siberian Spruce Resin

This Spruce Tree Resin (Picea Obovata) comes from coniferous pine trees in Siberia.

It smells sweeter and more concentrated than the pine, it is soft, yet somewhat pungent. 

Spruce is among the oldest resin incense in the world, as it is more widely available than frankincense or myrrh which only grow in select regions of the world. 

Thousands of years ago, shamans would have came across this while exploring the forest, using it as a cleansing agent - for good reason too, as incense smoke has been shown to be antimicrobial. The room just seems - and is - cleaner after burning.

It forms when the tree bark gets damaged by an insect or storm, etc., the tree naturally produces resin to flow to the wounded spot to harden and heal. When the excess flows off, it is collected by hand for use as incense. 

Directions for Enjoyment:

Use our mortar and pestle to break apart the large chunks (or, since this one is so sticky, just break it up with your hand! It will leave a residue. You will be okay. Just wash with soap or alcohol.)

Using tongs (included with our censers), hold the charcoal on one end and use a butane or other torch or lighter to light one end, or opposite sides, of the tablet. Within seconds it will turn white on the edge. Place it on top of the bed of ash. Wait 20-30 minutes for the tablet to fully turn grey, then (still using tongs) place in the hole, then cover with ash and poke a hole in the top covering ash down to the tablet (don't poke the tablet, this is an air hole so the tablet will stay lit). 

Then, atop this place a mica plate or a foil sheet, and place the resin incense on that (fingernail size). After a few minutes the incense will slowly melt and bubble and release fragrance.

If the incense is charring, turning black, smoking horribly -- you have placed it too close to the charcoal. These tablets get very hot and need space between the burned material. 

Note: do not directly inhale incense. It is not an herb for smoking, it is meant to be smelled in the room, not consumed. Also note: this will produce a lot of smoke. 

I find that after lighting in the night, the next morning the scent is best.

Also note: You may receive a large or small jar. They are both the same weight you selected, there is no difference, other than the larger jars will contain larger chunks, yet still plenty of ground pieces for you to start without needing a mortar and pestle (though it will definitely be handy to have for the future). They are selected at random, and are different to minimize shipping room if ordering other items.

If you find the piece is too sticky to break apart, you may freeze it overnight, but all pieces in the jars should be easily manageable. As well, you will get many uses out of a single ounce. It will last awhile.