Hook fibers are the fine threads and fragments pared off when collecting incense; the resin is concentrated and the value is high, making them a good choice for beginners to enjoy incense. There is an art to using them.
The resin in hook fibers is concentrated, so a small amount is enough to release fragrance. With temperature-controlled heating, the cool-sweet floral layers are released fully; this is the most material-saving method. The temperature should not be too high, to avoid a burnt smell.
Silver leaf holds the incense, and charcoal heats it indirectly, with no smoke and no burnt smell. This is the standard practice of a traditional incense appreciation session and best restores the layered changes of hook fibers.
After the hook fibers are ground and pressed into powder, they can be formed into an incense seal; they shape well and burn evenly. They can also be blended with a small amount of binder powder before use.
It is circulating on the market that agarwood hook fibers can be boiled in water or soaked in liquor. Our stance isnot recommended, and we provide no dietary suggestions of any kind。
The reason is clear: agarwood is a medicinal material included in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia,and is not included in the National Health and Family Planning Commission's Catalogue of Substances That Are Both Food and Medicinal Materials According to Tradition, so it does not have food status and cannot be used as an edible raw material. In its 2017 reply letter, the National Health and Family Planning Commission also made it clear that agarwood "can act as a medicine and can also be used for ornaments, but lacks the basic attributes of food." The circulating practices of boiling in water and soaking in liquor lack a food-safety basis, and individual differences cannot be assessed at all.
Hook fibers are "good things among the scraps"; they are worth it only when used well. But remember: it is incense, not medicine, and not food.
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