To understand Nag Champa is to understand champaca — and the champaca flower is extraordinary.

Known in English as the joy perfume tree (a name associated with Jean Patou’s legendary Joy perfume), Magnolia champaca produces small, golden-orange blossoms with an aroma perfumers describe as intensely floral, creamy, and indolic . . .

There is a reasonable chance that Nag Champa was the first Indian incense you ever smelled. It has a quality that tends to leave an impression.

And yet, for all its familiarity and ubiquity in the West, Nag Champa is one of the most misunderstood incenses in the world . . .

From time to time, you may come across incense described as “temple-grade”. It’s a phrase that sounds reassuring — suggestive of something rarefied, traditional, perhaps even sacred.

In practice, it isn’t a term you would encounter in India. Incense there is not classified in this way . . .

The world of Indian incense can feel a little intimidating at first. There is simply so much of it — so many names, regions, traditions and fragrances — that knowing where to begin can feel oddly difficult.

I often think of it like hearing a jazz record for the first time. You might love what you hear, but . . .