Sandalwood Stupa Incense Sticks - Tube of 15

The Stupa workshop is a Kathmandu Valley incense house that produces a range of hand-rolled, bamboo-less stick incense and dhoop in the Nepali tradition. The workshop's signature sandalwood tube is built around a blend of three named botanicals: sandalwood as the woody base; Greater Cardamom (Amomum subulatum) as the warm spiced middle; Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum, the Indian basil also known as holy basil in English) as the brightening upper register that lifts the sandalwood's depth.

The sticks are bamboo-less - the workshop uses a natural binder to hold the ground material together without a bamboo core. This is the defining technical feature of the Stupa range against most mass-produced Indian stick incense: bamboo-cored sticks burn the bamboo as well as the aromatic material, contributing a smoky undertone that the workshop's bamboo-less format avoids. The material is the scent.

Character on the burn. The blend opens warm with the sandalwood base. The cardamom comes through in the middle minutes - green-spiced, slightly resinous, gently warming. The tulsi reads in the upper register as a fresh, leafy lift that prevents the sandalwood from settling too heavily. The overall impression is warm-woody with green-spiced edges.

1. Take a stick from the tube.
2. Hold the tip to a flame for 5–10 seconds until it catches.
3. Blow out the flame - the stick smoulders.
4. Place the stick in the included handcrafted holder on a heat-safe surface.
5. The stick burns for approximately 30 minutes before reaching the end.
6. Allow the holder to cool before handling.

Burn in a well-ventilated room. Store the tube in a cool, dry place - Lokta paper packaging is breathable but holds the natural aromatics if kept dry. The bamboo-less sticks are slightly more fragile than bamboo-cored sticks; handle gently to avoid breakage.

• Recipe: Sandalwood · Greater Cardamom (Amomum subulatum) · Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum)
• Format: Bamboo-less · handcrafted · 10cm sticks
• Quantity: 15 sticks per tube
• Burn time: ~30 minutes per stick
• Workshop: Stupa · Kathmandu, Nepal
• Packaging: Lokta paper · eco-friendly · with small handcrafted holder
• Weight: ~18g total
• Character: Warm-woody with green-spiced upper register
• Storage: Cool, dry place · away from direct light

The Stupa workshop's sandalwood blend is one entry in the wider Nepali range and a useful introduction to how the Kathmandu Valley tradition treats sandalwood - by blending it with two named botanicals rather than presenting it alone. The Greater Cardamom and Tulsi are not filler; they are structural elements of the recipe that shape the aromatic arc of the burn. The Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum) is the same Indian basil traditionally grown in household courtyards across India and Nepal - by Latin name, the brand presents it without leaning on the "holy basil" English common name. The Lokta paper packaging is handmade from the inner bark of the Daphne shrub, traditional to the Kathmandu Valley; the small handcrafted holder included with the tube allows the first stick to be burned immediately on receipt without a separate accessory purchase.