A Letter to the Initiates of the Inner Sanctum of Nectar Apothecary, Being a Faithful Account of the Works, Discoveries, and Tidings of the Apothecary, Composed and Dispatched on the Seventh Day of April, in the Year Two Thousand and Twenty-Six

Of the Blend and the New Strain of Bark That Changed Everything

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It is recorded in the working notes of this Apothecary that the perfection of incense is a slow business, and one that rewards patience more readily than haste. The blend you knew before was good. The blend that stands before you now is better, and the difference is plain.
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The new sticks are twice as strong as their predecessors, physically so, less brittle in the hand and far less prone to the accidental breakage that is the quiet frustration of fine incense. The WA Desert Sandalwood at the heart of the blend remains what it always was: the warm, dry heartwood called Dutjahn by the Martu people who tend the ancient country from which it is harvested.
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The Tabu-no-ki, however, has been reconsidered. A new strain of the bark was sourced, and it proved upon first working to be a finer material, more binding capacity in its character, more generous in the extrusion, and a genuine pleasure to handle in the workshop. The sticks that emerge from this pairing carry a depth and expressiveness that the Apothecary has not achieved before now.
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Those who remember the earlier formulation will notice.
Those coming to it for the first time are fortunate in their timing.

Of the Holders, and the Small Invention That Dispensed with Glue Entirely

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The incense holders included in every pack have been remade, and here a small note of craft history deserves its place in the record.
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In the redesign, newly invented custom brass inserts were turned and threaded, which allow a press-fit into engraved hardwood selected for the purpose, and it was found that this method produced a seat so precise and a fit so exact that adhesive was no longer required.
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The brass itself is of greater thickness than in earlier versions. The join between metal and wood is clean and permanent, and the whole assembly is more substantial in the hand than anything the Apothecary has previously offered. It is the sort of quiet improvement that a craftsman arrives at after sufficient time with a problem, when the right solution presents itself and proves, in the making, to be simpler than expected.
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The new holders are a welcome addition to every new incense tube to leave the apothecary.

Of the Present Stock

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Ten tubes of Sandalwood Incense are now available for purchase, and the stock is limited to that number as I will be away soon and unable to produce new stock quickly. Those who order now will be among the first to receive the new holders, which are included in every pack, and which, as this account has already set down, represent the finest work this workshop has produced to date.
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The door is open. Ten tubes. First come, first served.

Warmest regards,

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Zachary Conway

Nectar Apothecary