Nerikoh
Neri-koh means "kneaded incense", and contains honey and dried fruits, which add an inherent sweetness to them. It is believed that originally, these sweeteners were used to sugarcoat the bitter spices and herbs before ingesting them, as a medicinal preparation (before the invention of capsules, softgel and pills). An incense "dough" of spices, woods and resins is prepared, with honey and dried plums or apricots to bind them together. They are rolled into capsule-sized pellets, and aged underground for a minimum of six months. Nerikoh is traditionally enjoyed in autumn during Cha-Doh - the Japanese tea ceremony. Just like the slivers of woods enjoyed in Koh-Doh, Nerikoh is placed on the heated micah plate. Modern incense enthusiasts both in Japan and abroad also warm it on an incense heater - either electric or over a tea light candle. Pinch a little off the nerikoh ball and that would last you for hours to scent a room. If the room is larger, you may use half or a whole nerikoh pellet. It is extremely efficient and a most wonderful way to cherish the precious materials that are put into these creations, as some of these contain jin-koh (AKA oud or agarwood).
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Ayala Moriel Parfums
Bois d'Hiver Nerikoh - Winter Solstice Smokeless Incense
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Visit product page →Bois d'Hiver Nerikoh evokes a snow-laden forest of ancient conifer trees. Picture in mind the towering pillars of a forest cathedral, made entirely of giant redcedars, Douglas fir trees and Hemlock Spruce, their evergreen branches laden with impeccably white snow.
Bois d'Hiver Nerikoh was created especially for Yule - the Winter Solstice. To celebrate the spirits of the forest and anticipate the return of the sun with fragrant smoke from resins and foraged botanicals carefully blended and shaped into tiny round soft-pellets that produce a aroma, redolent of precious resins (frankincense, myrrh, sandarac, and wild harvested piñon resin and spruce pitch by my friends in Canada and the USA), mingled with forest-foraged needles and saps from spruce, balsam fir, and juniper berries, and many other fragrant spices, and brightened by clary sage from my garden and bright grapefruit blossoms from my orchard. It is anchored in cedarwood, sandalwood, and a pinch of agarwood and snowy Borneol camphor.
Nerikoh is a traditional Japanese kneaded incense, that is hand-rolled and aged and fermented underground for several months or years. It is less known in the west and often burnt during the tea ceremony because they are a refined and smoke-free form of incense. Precious woods, herbs and spices are finely ground and bound together with honey and dried fruit, then rolled into tiny balls.To use Nerikoh: Kneaded incense is not meant to be burnt, but rather warmed in traditional Koh-Doh cup, or for more convieneinct and accessible technique - place on top of an electric incense heater or aromatherapy lamp/diffuser. You'll only a tiny pinch of each ball to scent a room for hours on end, releasing gentle yet enveloping and exotic aroma.
