Gaomi Sorghum Incense — Handmade · Qingdao Municipal Intangible Cultural Heritage · Short Sticks (10.5 cm, 10 g/box)

Most incense smells like a temple. This one smells like a field at dusk.

Gaomi sorghum incense is a folk craft from Gaomi, Qingdao, made from sorghum that has grown on that plain for centuries.

Most incense opens with smoke and synthetic fragrance. This one opens with grain — gentle, faintly sweet, with a roasted warmth — then slowly unfolds into warm resins and quiet wood notes.

Each box is hand-blended and extruded in small batches by Yuan Kai Xiang Fang (Yuan Kai Incense Studio), and stamped with the Twenty-Four Grades seal.

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• Natural Herbal · Handmade

  Natural botanical ingredients — sorghum, agarwood, benzoin, frankincense.

  Bound with nanmu tree powder, the traditional plant-based binder this craft has always relied on.

  No synthetic fragrances. No artificial colorants.

  Hand-extruded and shade-dried in small batches — no two boxes are exactly alike.

  At 10.5 cm, each short stick is just long enough for a quiet moment — not an entire evening.

• • Scent Profile

    Top Note — Roasted Sorghum Grain Warm and earthy, like freshly cooked grain. Faintly sweet, never harsh.

    Heart Note — Benzoin & Frankincense Honeyed resin sweetness with a soft, gentle touch of citrus.

    Base Note — Agarwood Dry woody depth, with a low, steady ember-like warmth that lingers softly in the room even after the stick has burned out.

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    Qingdao Municipal Intangible Cultural Heritage

    The Gaomi sorghum incense-making technique is officially recognized as Qingdao Municipal Intangible Cultural Heritage. Yuan Kai Xiang Fang is one of the workshops carrying this craft forward — heritage preserved, by Yuan Kai.

    The Twenty-Four Grades seal on the box is the artisan's mark: incense from Gaomi, handmade, and blended according to traditional formulas.

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    What's in the Box

    • 10 g handmade sorghum incense, each stick 10.5 cm
    • One reusable slim incense tin — the brass hole in the lid doubles as a holder. Open the box and light directly.

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    How to Light

    1. Insert the incense stick upright into the holder. The brass hole in the lid works perfectly, or use any standard incense holder.
    2. Light the tip, let it burn for 3–5 seconds, then blow out the flame. You want a glowing red ember and a thin thread of smoke — not a flame.
    3. Each stick burns for about 20 minutes. A little ventilation helps the grain scent stay crisp and clear.

    ⚠️ Never leave burning incense unattended. Keep away from children, pets, curtains, and all flammable materials.