Agarwood Powder Mesh Count: Standards Give a Range, Sellers Give a Fixed Number

A customer once asked before placing an online order: what mesh is this powder?

The seller replied: 120 mesh, just right.

That sounds quite professional. What he didn't know was that these three characters cannot be found anywhere in the standard.

Let's be clear first: the term "mesh count" has a source; the specific number does not. These are two separate matters, and conflating them is the easiest way to end up in a dead-end argument.

The standard specifies a range

Group standard T/GDFS 49—2024 "Technical Code for Production and Processing of Primary Agarwood Products," two original passages:

4.2.5 Grinding: "Grind the crushed agarwood twice in succession... ultimately bringing the agarwood powder to a fineness of 100 mesh to 160 mesh."

4.2.6 Sieving: "Use sieves with mesh counts of 100 mesh to 160 mesh to sieve the ground agarwood powder..."

The figures given in both passages are exactly the same, falling within the 100 to 160 mesh range.

Note that this is a range, not a fixed value.

This section governs the incense-burning line. As for what mesh should be used for making incense seals or incense beads, the document does not address it.

The same term appears elsewhere in the same standard

In the bead-chain chapter, 4.3.15 Shaping: "Use 120 mesh to 150 mesh sandpaper for the first round of rough shaping."

4.3.16 Polishing: "Use 400 mesh to 600 mesh sandpaper for polishing."

Again mesh count. One is sieving powder, the other is grinding beads—the values differ by several times.

Put plainly, mesh count refers to which grade of sieve or sandpaper is used in a process; it is not a quality ranking.

Where does the seller's number come from

There is a category of web pages discussing agarwood powder mesh count, calling 120 mesh the "golden fineness range," claiming that below 100 mesh flowability is poor and above 150 mesh it is overly dense, and even asserting that a deviation of more than ±10 mesh in incense-seal making will cause powder leakage and broken seals.

These figures cannot be traced to any source. Not in the group standard, not in the intangible cultural heritage document. Very detailed, but not a single point can be traced back to an original text.
The most telling part is the "±10 mesh" claim—process standards give ranges, not tolerances; tolerances come from laboratories, not process documents.

The traditional-method grading has a source

An intangible cultural heritage entry collected by the Shandong Provincial Cultural Center states: "First, mortar grinding, selecting 50 mesh general powder; second, roller grinding, selecting coarser granules; third, fine grinding, producing premium incense products requires grinding to 150 mesh fine powder."

Three grades by use, with a one-week processing cycle.

The group standard has consolidated the incense-burning section into a single range. These two lines coexist—don't mash them into one claim that "traditional methods are more refined."

What you can do is ask one question

When buying agarwood powder, first ask the seller: what mesh is yours?

If the answer is "120 mesh, just right"—they've given you a single point.

If the answer is "the 100 to 160 range, ours is sieved"—they've given you a whole range.

If you can't get a definite number, then no one is being straight with you about the fineness of that jar of powder.

Follow up with: do you plan to use this powder for incense seals or for stringing beads? The standard governs the incense-burning section; it doesn't cover your use case.

One more easily confused point

Mesh count is not the same as fineness. Mesh count is the number of holes in a sieve; the higher the mesh, the finer the powder. Some people use "fine" as if it were mesh count—the two concepts get mixed up.

Also a reminder: saying "complies with the standard" and saying "we sieved it" are not the same thing. The former requires third-party report support; the latter merely says it passed through a sieve.

Application and use comparison

Traditional-method grade: 50 mesh general powder corresponds to general-powder uses; 150 mesh fine powder corresponds to premium incense production. The intermediate coarser granules are the roller-grinding grade.

Standard range: 100 mesh to 160 mesh corresponds to the grinding and sieving processes, falling on the incense-burning production line.

Different uses mean different numbers to ask about. Those making incense beads should ask about the rough shaping and polishing in the bead-chain chapter, not apply the incense-burning range.

One last practical note

When asking sellers about mesh count, don't ask "is this good agarwood powder?" The former can be verified; the latter cannot.

For the four standard clauses above, readers are better off checking the original text themselves: the grinding, sieving, shaping, and polishing sections in T/GDFS 49—2024 "Technical Code for Production and Processing of Primary Agarwood Products."

Related incense studies articles are available on zgcx.net.cn, with links below.