Frankincense Tears Resin.

A charcoal disc glowing gray, one or two tears laid on it, and a thin, faintly blue smoke rising slowly toward the ceiling. Frankincense has been burned in temples from Egypt to Jerusalem for some four thousand years. It was among the gifts said to have been carried to Bethlehem, at times worth as much as gold by weight, and it still scents churches, temples and home altars today.

These are whole tears, the hardened sap tapped by hand from the gnarled trunks of Boswellia sacra growing wild across the Dhofar groves of Oman. Pale gold and brittle enough to snap cleanly between your fingers, they are of the grade known as hojari, prized above the darker, softer grades from trees at lower, hotter elevations along the coast. Even unburned, a tear held close smells faintly of resin, dust and old stone.

How to use

Use a glowing charcoal disc rather than a direct flame; a lit match will only scorch the resin and waste it. Once the coal has grayed over, set one or two tears on it. The smoke should rise slow and faintly blue; thick, black smoke means the coal is too hot.

Details

• Hojari grade Boswellia sacra tears, Dhofar, Oman
• Sold as a curiosity; no medical or scientific claims are made

An incense of four thousand years, waiting for your own altar.