The name “雪中春信” can be directly translated as “note of spring in the snow”, which is a poetic description of plum blossom, a type of flower original to China and only blooms during the coldest time of winter.
The recipe of INCENZO’s Refresh is actually one of the works of Shi Su, the famous poet and incense maker in the Song dynasty. It is said that the recipe took 7 years to make because of its core and final ingredient that sparks the chemistry between all the other elements.
Shi Su had created the base way before the final completion of this recipe, and has been waiting for the very last ingredient that absorbs the essence of plum blossom: the snow water from the pistil of plum blossom.
Shi Su was in Hangzhou at the time, which is a city in the south of China. It is rare to snow in such a warm city and even harder to see snow piling up.
The moment he saw this uncommon weather, he immediately asked his maidservant to collect such snow from the pistil of the blooming plum blossoms. He had deliberately asked that one should sweep the snow with care and gentleness and should not hurt the flower petals.
With the snow water collected and serving as the essence of flower, the base of the incense also has dried plum for a combination of sweetness and savory, Wuli pine (a type of pine tree) for a bit of spice, and the basis of agarwood for the calming woody scent.
As the plum blossom water fully immerses all the ingredients, the uniquely refreshing floral scent is condensed and preserved into the form of sticks, bringing a note of spring that stands in the chillest winter time.