These dry cones or sticks that you light, and then blow out until the tip is just barely glowing. This kind of incense travels well and is easy to use. It’s very easy to find an incense burner or to rig one up out of natural or household materials.

Oddly, the other kind of incense is called “non-combustible.” This is because the incense itself doesn’t catch fire. Instead, you rest the incense on a special burnable substrate, specifically that heats the incense and releases its scent. Non-combustible incense is made of loose ingredients mixed together or roughly shaped into pellets. You want to be careful that you choose a incense burner that will not release any toxic compounds when burned.

You’ll also neced the accoutrements for burning your incense, whether you just need a standard incense burner or special charcoal or powder for “burning” your loose incense. If you want to make cones or sticks, you’ll need distilled water or some other special, scented water as well as special powder such as charcoal or something called makko. To bind your loose incense into pellets, you can use dried fruit, and/or honey.