Church incense is designed to be used with charcoal discs to burn the grains and thus create the smoke and aroma.

 

The charcoal can easily be lit using long kitchen matches, a cigarette lighter or a candle flame. You can tell when it's alight, because it gives off little "sparkles" and a bit of white or grey smoke.  The disc may also begin to glow red/orange.

 

Place the charcoal tablet, with the "dished" side facing upwards, in a thurible (Censor).  Leave the charcoal for a minute or two until it's properly alight. It should stop sparkling after a few seconds, and you might notice light grey ash forming on the surface of the tablet - just like the charcoal in a barbecue. Then you can start adding your incense directly to the charcoal disc.

 

PLEASE DO NOT add too much incense at first, because it produces a lot of smoke.  Also if you use too much, the temperature of the charcoal can be reduced, and you can end up with a foul smelling cloud of steamy smoke (from the small amount of moisture always present in the resin).  Start with approximately a quarter of a level teaspoonful and then add to this.

 

Once that's burned away and the smoke begins to thin out, add a small amount more. Don't remove the ash unless it starts to smell bad. If it does, gently scrape it off with a spoon

before adding more resin.

 

Being Distributors for the Prinknash brand, we are keen to offer you the very best in charcoal for our incense.