SMELLBOOK REFERENCE · SB-0074
Church Incense
Permanent ID: smellbook: · updated 2026-10-06, revision 4
Character EDITORIAL
Church incense smells resinous, smoky and warm, a sweet, slightly balsamic smoke that hangs in the air.
Words: resinous, smoky, warm. Families: Temperature and texture, Wood, earth and stone, Cooked and fermented.
Met in: Church.
Evidence
Scientific evidence
- Key odorants of frankincense resin (CLM-FRANKINCENSE-001). Johannes Niebler & Andrea Buettner, Identification of odorants in frankincense (Boswellia sacra Flueck.) by aroma extract dilution analysis and two-dimensional gas chromatography–mass spectrometry/olfactometry, Phytochemistry, 2015.
Historical evidence
- Incense outside Valencia Cathedral in La barraca (CLM-INCENSE-002). Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, La barraca, F. Sempere y Compañía, 1901.
Molecules named in these claims: linalool, myrcene, p-cresol, α-pinene. A molecule listed here is named in a VERIFIED claim about this smell. It is not presented as the cause of the smell; each claim says what its source supports.
Cite
SmellBook. (2026). Church Incense (revision 4, 2026-10-06). SmellBook Public Atlas. smellbook:smell:church-incense. https://smellbook.com/smells/church-incense
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