Morning Star Green Tea 200 sticks

Over a decade ago, I purchased this incense at a store and I absolutely loved it. The incense smells like green tea, specifically matcha, with some other sweet floral/herbal elements mixed in. It smells just as lovely when you burn it, and takes on almost a leafy quality, leaving a very fresh scent that is quite relaxing and tranquil. It comes as a pure incense stick, so its not wrapped around a piece of straw or bamboo etc, which means it burns all the way down to the end of the stick. As a result it comes with a small ceramic square incense holder to sit the incense in. I burned this constantly, especially during the summer months and on rainy days. However, eventually the store stopped carrying it and I was unable to find it anywhere. On a whim, I decided to check for it on Amazon. It was one of the first Green Tea incenses that came up, and I recognized it immediately from the box and the small ceramic incense holder. I purchased it instantly, and requested one day delivery! I was THAT excited to get it again! I received it today and am burning it now! I am instantly transported back to that peaceful and tranquil space that I remember from years ago. It is a very light scent. It does not leave a heavy smoke in the air, and since it is a stick of pure incense instead of incense wrapped around a bamboo/straw stick, it also does not have that wooden/straw burning scent that some incenses have. I don't have to open the window when I'm burning it the way I do with other incenses. The ingredients seem to be very natural, and so it does not have that chemical/deodorant scent that many other incenses tend to have. The scent is very light, and does not hang in the air as strongly as some other fragrances do, and does not last as long as some of the heavier, more herbal scents do. So you may need to either burn it regularly after a few hours to refresh the room with the scent, or burn several sticks at once. However, you are provided with 200 sticks, so you have more than enough to do so. The incense stick is not as long as others, but the scent is still noticeable, and the stick burns for quite a while despite the short length. I would definitely recommend this. It is a great, light, refreshing, cleansing scent and wonderful for spring/summer/fall days. Great for meditation, freshening up an area, relaxation, or just as a lovely everyday scent. Beautiful enough to be noticed, but not so strong that it is overpowering as some incenses can be. I have been searching for a decade for this one again, and am so glad to have found it!

I have been using Morning Star incense for decades and I have never given them a review. Green tea is my favorite and forever be.

Excellent incense

Great scent. Not too strong and the scent doesn't linger in the space long after burning, which I appreciate. Good value for price.

I have Asthma and allergies so this was perfect for me. I have grown up around Temples so i'm use to the incense they burn there, mostly have been in Korean Temples. They have a light scent, great for meditation and Puja. I did not like the overpowering smell of HEM and other incense. Nippon Kodo Sticks reminds me more of the ones I smell when I visit Temple. If you have Allergies like me or Asthma and still love to burn incense, these sticks shouldn't irritate you like other ones would. Of course if you do want it to smell stronger you can simply add a stick or three more, each box comes with a small little holder. I purchased five boxs so I have a bunch of holders on a green dish if I want to add more sticks. The ash can get a bit messy so I strongly suggest putting it on a heat safe plate or something to catch the ash that is safe. As for this Scent GREEN Tea - It is one of my Favourites along with Cedar and Pine, Amber is my least.

Prior to my purchase, I asked the community here how Morning Star Green Tea differs from the very pricey Kayuragi line of Green Tea, which I own and enjoy but don’t always LOVE-love. Both are produced by Nippon KODO but have startlingly different price points. I never got that query answered, here or on the manufacturer’s site, but I ordered anyway. Am glad I did. Because while there are some differences, all around, and I’ll get to that below, the bottom line: this is more than adequate scent-wise (and especially fantastic) price-wise!! Morning Star is made in Vietnam and thus is labeled ‘Japanese style’. Regardless, we are still treated to an approximately 6” bamboo-less stick with a low ash burn time of about 20-25 minutes…though when I use one in the drafty garage it can go as quickly as 15. The box here is cardboard, not remotely fancy, and contains 200 sticks and a ceramic tile holder. Kayuragi’s has far superior packaging and is made IN Japan but the tile quality is the same. As for scent, Kayuragi is more perfumed and smells exactly like Elizabeth Arden’s Green Tea perfume (from the end of the last century, right before tea scented colognes became a thing). Morning Star has less of a powdery finish and is slightly less nuanced. But as I tend to go through sticks very quickly, I simply refuse to spend $12 for 40 sticks every couple of weeks when Morning Star is a fraction of that...and doesn't smell so significantly different. Both green teas are non-headache inducing and both still remind me more of a wearable "fresh scent" perfume rather than the true vegetal nature of actual green tea. If you use loose leaf green tea like my family does, this smells absolutely nothing like that. Oh well, I’m still searching. But for daily use this scent has a broad appeal and likely will offend very few; this is quite pleasant, not overpowering or “hippy”, burns cleaner than the long bamboo sticks from the local market, and isn’t season-specific. It doesn’t always work to burn star anise or pine in the middle of summer or orange blossom in January. But green tea is so versatile, light, and clean that you may want it for a year round daily burn too. Just know it may be green-ish but I can't say I get the 'tea'.

Really like this brand! I also use Cedarwood and Vanilla scents from Morning Star. Didn't know what to expect from a "green tea" scent- it's nice for odor removal, but light and crisp, not pungent. Vanilla is a warm scent, great for warmer days, light and creamy sorta lol. Cedarwood is crisp, great for cold winter days/nights. These are made in Viet Nam. I also love their higher end traditional Japanese line, Nippon Kodo "Hinoki"- a gorgeous, rich cypress scent, made in Japan- I *highly* recommend that one if you appreciate temple quality traditional Japanese incense. Arigato! 🏯⛩️

I've been buying this incense for a while & the green tea & the cedarwood scents are my favorites. I like it because it doesn't have a wood stick leftover after burning. It has a nice mild scent and comes with a small tile to hold the incense.