The picture above is a machine used by Japanese
incense companies to powder ingredients. It pulverizes the materials instead of
grinding them in an electric powder mill. This keeps the material from being
overheated and losing aromatic integrity. This is very important because
materials like Sandalwood will lose some ranges of aroma entirely, as well as
generally weakening the overall aroma.
There are a couple of methods you can use at home
that work well. One is the Mexican culinary Molcajete (shown below)
Another way is using a hand crank coffee mill like the one shown below.
Sometimes you can find ingredients already powdered. Ingredients like Clove, Cassia, (Cinnamon) Spikenard, etc. can be obtained from Spice and Ayurvedic herb suppliers. Cassia is usually called "Vietnamese Cinnamon" and you should look for one with 4% oil content or better. Some Baieido incense retailers stock some of these ingredients.
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