Best way of burning oud chips?
- Thread starter lunarwalk
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Some oud adepts use mica plates and ashes to control the heat of the charcoal. I personally use ashes that are left over from previous burns along with the burnt chips. This is from personal experience that a good electric burner is a good way to go as well. Someone burned chips every night in the mosque using an electric burner and to me this was the best method for enjoying the smoke and scent for a long time, one chip burned for more than 20 minutes with no let up and could have continued had the brother not taken the plug out of the wall!
With the traditional mubakhar, it is hard to control the heat of the charcoal unless one uses ashes beneath and on top of the charcoal, but this can be laborious and is still too hot to give the chips longevity. With a good electric burner that gets hot enough to emit smoke from the chips but not hot enough to burn the chip completely, one will be able to enjoy the smoke for a lot longer up to 30-45 minutes easily. I have seen this happen on more than one occasion. unfortunately, i don't own a good electric burner that gets hot enough to emit smoke, instead i burn frankincense on the one i have because it gets hot enough to melt the resin and fill the air with a nice citrus aroma! I am still looking for an electric burner that will get to the right temperature.
No problem! As far as where I get my chips or my preferred source for chips, then I would have to say I get them when and wherever I can! I purchased from agarscentsbazaar miskshoppe and wherever else I can get them for a good price. Quality is not a concern form me when it comes to chips because I have experienced the good and the bad, the dipped and injected bunk wood etc. So I jjust try to enjoy what my money can buy me!
@AbuAyoob: Thanks for your insightful answers! When I first started burning oud chips I was kind of wondering why they burn out so fast... and now I realise that I haven't been controlling the heat from the charcoal very well! I will try your method of using the leftover ashes to burn the oud chips.
As for the type of oud chips, I am also curious as to how I can tell between good and bad quality chips suitable for burning?
As for the type of oud chips, I am also curious as to how I can tell between good and bad quality chips suitable for burning?
Try dropping some ashes on top of the charcoal as well! I burn a lot of frankincense which tends to melt fast if you don't control the heat so I figured the same technique could give the chips longer life! I think you would have to go off of other peoples' experiences as far as being able to tell the difference between bunk wood and authentic chips.
There is 2 ways that I can think of to burning chips, the middle eastern way, and the Japanese way. The first involves putting the chips directly on the lit charcoal (presumably chips have a face and a back and you want to put it on it's flat face or back). The left ashes and spent wood is left in the Mubakhara for future use. this method involves a lot of smoke and a lot of the Incense subtitles gets lost in the smoke but it is an effective way of scenting large spaces or ones own cloths. The other issue with it is that when you use ashes from previous burns it tends to get mixed with what ever you are now burning and it becomes difficult to tell the smell. On the other hand the Japanese way or Kodo ceremonies involves the use of Ash, Bamboo charcoal (which has no scent and burns clean), small size steel or ceramic burners, mica plates and sometimes thin small stands (you can find all this instruments at either Japan Incense or Essence of the ages) see :http://search.store.yahoo.net/yhst-73346203527212/cgi-bin/nsearch?catalog=yhst-73346203527212&query=stand&.autodone=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.japanincense.com%2Fnsearch.html
you can also see a lot of the Kodo ceremonies on YouTube videos. It is difficult to master the techniques but if you have the time and the patience you will be greatly rewarded. I usually save my good chips for this process. There is no smoke involved and you get to enjoy all the subtitles that a good chip can provide you. This process requires a stillness of the mind and spirit, calmness and exactness. I use both styles alternatively depending on the grade of the chip and my state of mind. However, I am always hesitant to use the charcoal with really good chips for fear of over heating them. What I end up doing is using this great electrical heater that is sold by mermade. see:
http://www.mermadearts.com/product_info.php?products_id=98
It is an economical electrical burner that has one great feature which is a dial to control the degree of heat. Once The chip stops giving off the scent and I finish personally sniffing the scent I move it over to the charcoal to fumigate the room. There is really no substitute to trial and error to knowing what works best for a specific patch of chips. A good source I found was Oudline, their King super is out of this world albeit a bit expensive at around $14/gram last time I checked. Baieido also have some good chips. Both Ensar and Taha carry good chips. However, a word of cautious always buy from trusted vendors. Cheating in chips is more prevalent than cheating in oils believe it or not (and this is from a first hand experience).
you can also see a lot of the Kodo ceremonies on YouTube videos. It is difficult to master the techniques but if you have the time and the patience you will be greatly rewarded. I usually save my good chips for this process. There is no smoke involved and you get to enjoy all the subtitles that a good chip can provide you. This process requires a stillness of the mind and spirit, calmness and exactness. I use both styles alternatively depending on the grade of the chip and my state of mind. However, I am always hesitant to use the charcoal with really good chips for fear of over heating them. What I end up doing is using this great electrical heater that is sold by mermade. see:
http://www.mermadearts.com/product_info.php?products_id=98
It is an economical electrical burner that has one great feature which is a dial to control the degree of heat. Once The chip stops giving off the scent and I finish personally sniffing the scent I move it over to the charcoal to fumigate the room. There is really no substitute to trial and error to knowing what works best for a specific patch of chips. A good source I found was Oudline, their King super is out of this world albeit a bit expensive at around $14/gram last time I checked. Baieido also have some good chips. Both Ensar and Taha carry good chips. However, a word of cautious always buy from trusted vendors. Cheating in chips is more prevalent than cheating in oils believe it or not (and this is from a first hand experience).
I don't get any smoke when using left over ashes. Usually my chips burn straight through so there isn't nothing left to burn even from the chips that had crystalized because of the amount of resin that was in it. I have a mubkhara that is only for oud and one for frankincense. I have never had a problem with unwanted smoke while using left over shahes because I use only one for oud and if there are chunks left over I simply remove them from the mubkhara before lighting a charcoal. However if one mixes his ashes from other burns with different types of Bakhoor or incense then this can cause unwanted smoke otherwise you should be fine!
There is a little known place (because they don't advertise wildly), they're called "Areej Al ameerat". I believe they are based in Dubai. They have a nice web site but you will have to contact them by E-mail or in person to get the list for products and costs. have tried few of their Oud Oils and Mukhalates due to the generosity of another member who afforded me some samples and they were all exquisite. Their prizes hovers around the $300-$400/ 1/4 tola. Ask for the Hindi Munepouri Old and the Areej Al-Ameerat. Those 2 are their top shelf oils. They also have Rouh Al Ward Etaef (Taif Rose). Link to their web site:
http://www.areejalameerat.com/index-1.html
http://www.areejalameerat.com/index-1.html