Frankincense tears are small, hardened drops of tree resin that you can burn as incense, steep in water, or infuse into oil. Each method releases different compounds from the resin, so the way you use them depends on what you’re after. Here’s how to get the most out of each approach.
Choosing the Right Type of Resin
Frankincense tears come from several species of Boswellia tree, and each type has a distinct scent and character. The most common variety in the West is Carterii, harvested primarily in Somalia. It has a deep, soft amber aroma with hints of honey, vanilla, and black pepper. If you’ve ever smelled frankincense essential oil, it was most likely Carterii.
Serrata grows in India and carries a sweet, spicy scent with notes of anise and mint. It’s the variety most often used in Hindu ceremonies and Ayurvedic medicine. Hojari, a premium grade of Sacra from the Dhofar region of Oman, is bolder and sweeter than the others, with strong citrus and amber notes. Hojari tears are sorted by color into silver, red, and green grades. Royal Green Hojari is considered the finest and is traditionally reserved for medicinal use in Arabian culture.
For general burning, Carterii is a reliable and affordable starting point. If you want something more aromatic and citrus-forward, Hojari is worth the higher price.
Burning Tears on Charcoal
The most traditional way to use frankincense tears is to burn them on a charcoal disc inside a heat-safe burner. You’ll need self-lighting charcoal tablets (sold at incense or hookah shops), metal tongs, and a burner filled with sand or ash to insulate the heat. The sand matters: charcoal gets hot enough to crack ceramic or scorch a table.
Hold the charcoal disc with tongs and light one edge with a lighter or match. You can also place it directly on a gas stove burner. The disc will start sparking and glowing from the edges inward. Set it on your burner and wait. It takes a few minutes to fully ignite. You’ll know it’s ready when a layer of grayish-white ash forms across the surface.
Place one or two small pieces of resin on the ash-covered charcoal. Resist the urge to pile on large chunks. Bigger pieces tend to carbonize on the outside before the aromatic oils inside have fully released, which creates a bitter, acrid smell instead of the clean, bright fragrance you want. When a piece has burned out and gone dark, knock it off with your tongs and add a fresh tear. Each charcoal disc burns for at least 30 minutes. You can extend the burn time by tapping off the ash layer as it builds up.
Never touch burning charcoal with your fingers, even if it looks extinguished. To safely put it out, pour water over it. Don’t cover the burner while it’s lit, as cutting off oxygen will cool the charcoal and kill the burn.
Why the Smoke May Affect Your Mood
Burning frankincense isn’t just about scent. A compound in Boswellia resin called incensole acetate activates warmth-sensing receptors in the brain (the same type found in your skin). In animal studies published in The FASEB Journal, this compound produced measurable anti-anxiety and antidepressant effects by altering activity in brain areas tied to emotion and stress. Mice lacking those specific receptors showed no such changes, confirming the connection. It’s one reason frankincense has been burned in temples and meditation spaces for thousands of years.
Making Frankincense Water
Steeping tears in hot water extracts the water-soluble gum components of the resin, creating a cloudy, mildly flavored drink. The ratio is simple: 10 grams of resin tears to 1 liter of water heated to roughly 90°C (just below a full boil). Pour the water over the tears in a glass jar or pot, then let the mixture cool and sit overnight. By morning, the water will have turned milky as the gum dissolves.
Strain out the softened resin pieces before drinking. The flavor is mild, slightly piney, and faintly bitter. Some people drink it chilled with a squeeze of lemon. If you’re pregnant, avoid consuming frankincense in amounts beyond what’s typically found in food, as safety data for larger doses during pregnancy is lacking. The resin also has anti-inflammatory properties that may interact with common pain relievers like ibuprofen, so keep that in mind if you take those regularly.
Infusing Tears Into Carrier Oil
You can make your own frankincense-infused oil for skin care by dissolving the resin into a carrier oil like jojoba, sweet almond, or olive oil. There are two approaches: slow infusion and heat infusion.
For slow infusion, crush or grind the tears into smaller pieces and place them in a clean glass jar. Cover with your chosen carrier oil, seal the jar, and let it sit in a warm spot (like a sunny windowsill) for four to six weeks, shaking it every few days. This is the gentler method and preserves the resin’s full range of aromatic compounds without risk of overheating or altering the oil’s chemistry. It’s the better choice if you’re new to the process.
Heat infusion uses a double boiler or water bath to warm the oil and resin together, which speeds extraction to a few hours. The risk is that too much heat can degrade some of the volatile compounds. If you go this route, keep the temperature low and watch it closely. Either way, strain the finished oil through cheesecloth before use.
How to Grind Sticky Resin
Many uses for frankincense, from blending your own incense to making infused oils, work better with ground or crushed resin. But frankincense tears are notoriously sticky, and grinding them can turn into a gummy mess if you don’t prepare.
The key trick is freezing. Put your tears in the freezer for about 30 minutes per 100 grams. Cold resin shatters instead of smearing, giving you a much larger window before it warms up and starts clumping. For small amounts, a brass mortar and pestle works well. Choose one with a deep bowl and smooth, hard surfaces. Avoid wooden, porous stone, or unglazed clay mortars, as the resin will embed itself in the surface.
For larger batches, an electric blade-style coffee grinder handles the job. Burr grinders and grain mills are not suitable. Break any pieces larger than half an inch by placing them in a zip-lock bag and hitting them with a hammer before putting them in the grinder. Use short bursts rather than continuous grinding, and check frequently. Fresh resin contains moisture that can turn your powder into porridge. Spread the ground resin out to dry after each round of grinding. Achieving a fine, loose powder that won’t clump often takes three or four cycles of grinding and drying.
Other Ways to Use Tears
Beyond the main methods above, frankincense tears have a few other practical applications worth knowing. You can chew small, soft tears like natural gum. This is common practice across the Middle East and East Africa. The flavor is resinous and slightly bitter, and the texture softens as you chew. Spit it out when the flavor fades.
Ground resin also works as a natural addition to homemade candles, soap, or skincare balms. Fold fine powder into melted wax or a warm soap base, keeping in mind that larger granules won’t dissolve fully and will leave visible specks. For incense blends, mix ground frankincense with other powdered resins like myrrh or copal, bind them with a small amount of honey or gum arabic, and shape them into cones or pellets to dry.