The "Stanford" Cedar

2 Grams Per Tube: Approx 20 minute burn time per stick.  A modern classic.

A large Cedrus deodara or Himalayan Cedar tree 雪松 was cut down due to fire safety near Stanford. This ingredient is the "negative space" of a 30ft heartwood totem pole crafted by Polynesian artisan friends in Ukiah, CA.

This incense has a rather interesting story behind it. Many know that the fire season in California has been terrifyingly intense these past years. Our local power company has new fire safety laws that required this old Himalayan Cedar tree to be cut down on or near Stanford campus because it was too close to power lines. A local friend and woodcarver acquired this gem and turned the heartwood into a totem pole. The "negative space" from that totem pole is the raw ingredient for this incense.

Then we did a custom steam distillation due to the unbelievably juicy nature of the specimen. There were some pieces that were sopping wet with oil.  We got many 10ml vials of pure oil and a lot of excellent hydrosol.

From there we ran many experiments, as KyaraZen has been helping to understand more ways of revealing the nature of ingredients and how to harmonize them.  After all the prototypes we are happy to have found a version that captures the richness and depth of this material, at the same time preserving subtlety and high standards.

We hope you love this incense that comes from much focused heartfelt attention alongside unique and truly serendipitous circumstances.

The process of making this incense was vital for us to understand how to evaluate and interpret a single wood ingredient with such character. Because of the guidance by KZ to run many experiments, there are now new tools to bring to other unique woods.