Mastic Resin Incense: Chios Tears and How to Burn Them

This guide explains where mastic comes from and how it is harvested, how it smells, how to burn it without scorching it, and what it blends with best. It also clears up a confusion that is specific to American shoppers, and, as always, it keeps tradition and evidence apart.

What mastic is

Mastic is the dried resin of the mastic shrub or lentisk, Pistacia lentiscus, an evergreen member of the cashew family and a cousin of the pistachio tree. The shrub grows all around the Mediterranean, but only one variety, Pistacia lentiscus var. chia on Chios, gives resin in useful quantity and quality. It is harvested in roughly two dozen villages in the south of the island, the Mastichochoria or mastic villages, with their fortified medieval lanes.

The name comes from the Greek mastichein, "to chew", the same root as the English word masticate. Mastic was the chewing gum of antiquity, and in Greece it is still chewed, and used to flavor sweets, the braided Easter bread tsoureki, ice cream and a clear liqueur called mastiha. If you live near a Greek grocery or a Greek Orthodox parish festival in the US, you have probably tasted it without knowing.

A word for American shoppers: two kinds of "mastic"

Search for mastic in the US and half the results are tubs of tile adhesive. Construction mastic is a modern glue for tiles, flooring and ductwork, usually made from acrylics, solvents or bitumen. It has nothing to do with the resin except the name, which once meant any sticky, resinous paste. Never burn it, never heat it for scent. When you buy the incense resin, look for the words Chios mastic, mastic gum or mastiha, and for small, pale, loose tears.

How mastic is harvested

The harvest is handwork and follows the year. In early summer, growers sweep the ground under each shrub and dust it with fine white clay so the resin lands clean. From July onward they score the bark of the trunk and thick branches with a pointed tool, cut after cut; the process is called kentima, "embroidering". Clear resin seeps from the wounds, slowly hardens into tears and drips to the ground. After a few weeks the tears are gathered, and through autumn and winter families clean them by hand, often together around the kitchen table.

That knowledge is so bound to the island that UNESCO added the know-how of cultivating mastic on Chios to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2014. "Masticha Chiou" is also a protected designation of origin in the European Union, and most of the harvest is sold through the Chios Gum Mastic Growers Association, a cooperative founded in the 1930s.

How mastic smells

Warmed or burned, mastic releases a fresh, clear, resinous scent with a lemony, almost pine-like note and a soft balsamic undertone. It is brighter than frankincense, less sweet than benzoin and finer than copal. Many people describe it as a "light resin": it does not make a room heavy, it makes it clear.

Mastic compared with other light resins

Resin	Scent	Heat it likes	Smoke
Mastic	fresh, lemony, resinous	low, melts quickly	light, fine
Frankincense	citrusy, spicy, solemn	medium to high	full, white
Dammar	delicate, lemony, airy	low	very light
Benzoin	vanilla-sweet, warm	low to medium	soft
Copal	resinous, balsamic, strong	medium	dense

Scent descriptions are experience values; they vary with the quality and age of the resin.

Mastic in history and ritual

The Greek physician Dioscorides described mastic in the first century in his De materia medica; it was chewed to freshen the breath and care for the gums. Later the Genoese and then, from 1566, the Ottoman Empire controlled the trade. Mastic was valuable enough that the mastic villages enjoyed special privileges under Ottoman rule while the harvest was strictly supervised, and at the sultans' court it was a luxury for the mouth and for perfume.

In religious use, mastic appears in incense blends of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in the preparation of the holy chrism, the myron. The Western magical tradition knew it too: Renaissance authors listed mastic among the fumigations of the planets, and it still turns up in planetary incense tables. In today's incense practice it is loved for clearing a room, for gathering attention before meditation, prayer or focused work, and as a bright counterweight to heavy resins.

How to burn mastic properly

Mastic has one quirk you need to know: it melts at a low temperature, at roughly the boiling point of water and a little above. On a glowing coal it turns liquid in seconds, bubbles and then burns into sharp, acrid smoke. The fix is little heat or little resin.

1. On a warmer (the gentlest method). Use a tealight burner, a resin warmer with a fine mesh, or an oil burner dish lined with foil or a thin layer of sand. Two or three tears are enough. The scent develops slowly and stays fine.
2. On charcoal. Light an incense charcoal disk (never barbecue briquettes) and wait until it is completely covered in white ash. Place one or two small tears at the edge, not in the center. Our guide to burning resin on charcoal shows each step.
3. In a blend. Burn mastic together with firmer resins and herbs; it then carries the blend instead of flashing off on its own.

Ventilate afterward and do not burn resin for long periods in small, closed rooms. If you live in an apartment with sensitive smoke alarms, the warmer method is your friend; see our notes on incense in an apartment. And whatever you burn on, the base must be heat-proof; our guide on how to choose an incense burner helps.

Blends with mastic

Mastic is a wonderful partner because it brightens other resins. Proven combinations:

• Mastic and frankincense (about 1 : 2). Classic, solemn and clear, for prayer and meditation.
• Mastic and benzoin (1 : 1). Soft and bright, for evenings that should wind down.
• Mastic and copal (1 : 2). A New World and Old World pairing, resinous and fresh; more on the partner in our copal guide.
• Mastic with herbs. Rosemary, lavender or vervain, crumbled with a few tears, smolder more cleanly than herbs alone, which tend to smell charred.

A small morning clearing with mastic

Mastic suits the start of a day better than its end. Open a window for a minute. Warm two tears over a tealight burner. While the scent rises, name out loud or on paper one thing you want to give your attention to today, and one thing you are putting down. Let the tealight burn for ten minutes, then blow it out and air the room. It is a small, practical ritual, and in the fall, when the windows close and rooms get stuffy, many people find the fresh scent especially welcome.

Voices from practice

People who burn a lot of incense usually meet mastic through a mistake: the first tear lands on a coal that is too hot, melts and smokes harshly, and only on a warmer does the resin show how fine it really is. After that, many describe it as a "brightener" they add in small amounts to almost every blend. On Chios, mastic is mostly everyday life: gum, spice, liqueur and an income that carries whole villages. Painting conservators know it again as the base of the classic mastic varnish once used to seal oil paintings.

What we do not promise

We do not claim that mastic smoke cleanses rooms energetically, heals illness or relieves symptoms. The European Medicines Agency does list mastic as a traditional herbal medicine for mild indigestion and minor skin inflammation, but that refers to tested preparations taken or applied as directed, not to incense smoke. Smoke is smoke: ventilate well, do not burn incense around small children, pets such as birds, or people with asthma, and never leave it unattended.

Practical: buying and storing mastic

• Check the origin. Genuine Chios mastic is pale yellow to almost clear, in small tears, and often carries the origin label. Dark, sticky or suspiciously cheap resin may be cut with other material.
• Store it cool and dry. In a tightly closed jar away from heaters and sunlight. Mastic turns a little more yellow with age but stays usable.
• Use little. Two or three tears are enough for a room.
• Use low heat. A warmer rather than a full coal; on the coal, at the edge.
• Taste it, if it is food grade. Chewing one tear shows you why mastic was the first gum of the ancient world. Only use food-grade mastic for that, never incense resin of unknown origin.

Frequently asked questions

What is mastic resin?

Mastic is the dried resin of the mastic shrub, Pistacia lentiscus var. chia, harvested almost exclusively in the villages of southern Chios, a Greek island in the Aegean. It forms pale yellow, translucent tears.

What does mastic smell like when burned?

Fresh, clear and resinous, with a lemony, slightly pine-like note and a soft balsamic edge. It is lighter than frankincense and less sweet than benzoin.

Why does mastic melt so fast on charcoal?

It softens at a much lower temperature than frankincense. On a glowing coal it liquefies in seconds and then scorches into sharp smoke. Place one or two small tears at the edge of a fully ashed coal, or warm it gently over a tealight.

What can I blend mastic with?

Frankincense, benzoin and copal pair well, as do dried herbs such as rosemary, lavender or vervain. Mastic brightens heavy blends and helps herbs smolder instead of charring.

Why is mastic so expensive?

It is harvested and cleaned by hand in about two dozen villages on one island, and each shrub gives only a small amount of resin a year.

Can you chew mastic?

Yes, food-grade mastic has been chewed since antiquity and is still sold as a gum and spice in Greek groceries. Incense-grade resin of unknown origin is not meant for eating.

Is the mastic at the hardware store the same thing?

No. The tile mastic sold in US hardware stores is a modern construction adhesive. It shares the name, not the material, and must never be burned.

Sources and further reading

• UNESCO: "Know-how of cultivating mastic on the island of Chios", Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (2014).
• European Medicines Agency, HMPC: Community herbal monograph on Pistacia lentiscus L., resina (mastix).
• Dioscorides: De materia medica, entry on the lentisk.
• Chios Gum Mastic Growers Association: history of the cooperative and the harvest.
• Read more on the Desire Diaries: burning resin on charcoal · frankincense · benzoin · planetary incense

The spiritual attributions in this piece are tradition and practice, not scientific findings. Incense is no substitute for medical care. Questions about an order: 28@templeofdesire.com.