Tea Drinking and Perfuming

Hey Posse, People know that Jin and I love tea. This Christmas we were inundated, happily. Some people even hit the jackpot and got us our favourites. My preferred tea rituals since spending a lot of time in India in the noughties and pre teens are to have a pot of tea in the afternoon when time permits and a cuppa before bedtime. This got me thinking about tea in perfume. I have a couple of favourites. L’Artisan Tea for Two and Elizabeth Arden Green Tea Mimosa is my current flanker. There’s a travel of Bulgari Eau Parfumee au The Vert and FB of Noir but they rarely get a spritz, even though I enjoy them. I’m sure there are more around here, OH! Just thought of one Masque Milano Russian Tea, very nice.

Tea for Drinking and Perfuming

Tea Times for Drinking and Perfuming

So today I’m asking about Tea Perfumes or Leaves that you particularly love. Doesn’t have to be posh, or memorable. If you love a tea bag from the supermarket for your tea drinking, coolio, me too. I’m as happy with Lipton as I am with Guerlain Shalimar tea. If ever you think I might need some more tea, here’s a tip. My all time favourite tea is Royal Blend teabags from Fortnum & Mason. It used to be so glamorous to bring back a bunch of them to Australia after every visit. Since then the cachet has worn off a little because they are available at my favourite department store David Jones. Hasn’t diminished my love for them one whit.

Also, my perfumes that are tea-centric come for completely different price points and availabilities. If you love it, wear it. Also, don’t feel embarrassed or shamed into not commenting if your favourite tea or tea perfume is a cheapy. We are not snobs, join in, tell us all. We love it when you comment and create a conversation. Also, your favourite budget choice could help us to find new things.

Tea Times Royal Blend teabags from Fortnum & Mason

 

So what are your favourite Teas for perfume and drinking?
Portia xx

  • AnnieA says:

    Local tea merchant Murchie’s saved my sanity in spring 2020 when I was suddenly convinced there’d be a tea shortage and cycled box of their stuff my way.

    I don’t have much in the way tea perfumes (5 o’clock is just ginger to me) except the very soothing Bulgari blue tea. Thank goodness I have a backup as it seems to have been dicontinued.

  • virago says:

    To drink: Well, I was raised in a coffee household, so I came late to tea. I adore Celestial Seasonings’ Bengal Spice, their caffeine-free cinnamon-heavy interpretation of chai that requires no cream or sugar.

    To spritz: Lady Gaga’s Eau de Gaga. A woody black tea with lime that works all year round, won’t set off fragrance equivalent of the office smoke alarm, and will keep delighting you with little whiffs of notes like violet and leather as it dries down.

    • Portia says:

      Hey Virago,
      Is that the very glam red/metallic boxed one?
      I had no idea it was a tea scent.
      Portia xx

      • virago says:

        Portia,
        That is the one. It’s quite the most snazzy thing on my dresser. You must give it a try. It’s lovely and quite subtle.
        Cheers, virago

    • March says:

      LOVE Bengal Spice, that’s my favorite decaf tea — tons of flavor!

  • March says:

    LOVE Royal Blend, it’s my favorite tea! I remember the first time I had it, I brought it back from somewhere in London, so glam! I could find it in DC, pretty sure I can order some for delivery out here in the hinterlands … I love a tea scent. Lots of light teas (wonder if I could smell them now?) I really liked those Bulgari ones for instance. And I love a tea candle, such a comforting smell.

  • Maggiecat says:

    I love tea and find myself going for tea over coffee more and more (no idea why). My daytime go-to is Twinnings Lemon Lift. Alexa has a delicious stress relief blend for evenings. And Fragonard has a Jasmine and Green Tea scent that is as close to an antidote for hot, humid days as we can get!

    • Portia says:

      Ohhhh! I’m not sure we get Lemon Lift here in Oz MaggieCat but will search it out on the shelves this week. Sounds yum.
      Portia xx

  • KayKay says:

    Tje tea’s that I seem to sip the most are Red Rose English Breakfast Tea, Spearmint tea, best to sip on in the chilly afternoons. I buy it looseleaf in bulk from a local herb and tincture company. Last, I love a steamy cup of chai tea any day/any time ( I quite like the Trader Joe’s Chai tea concentrate when i’m lazy, or I use Twinings Chai blend if I have the time/energy. As for ‘fumes, I do love my decant of Bvlgari Black, it just huffs out all these smoky rubber weird notes among the citrus and vanilla that pleases my inner goth girl for some reason. I also have a small bottle of Atelier Cologne’s Oolang Infini that I like to sometimes spritz on gray rainy days to remind me of sunshine, I do love the bergamot opening in this one, and the woody dry down is delicious. I am also looking forward to sniffing the Bvlgari Au The Vert sample on the way to me.

    • Portia says:

      Hey KayKay,
      LOVE a spearmint or peppermint tea. So calming.
      That Atelier Cologne is pretty. I completely get that you think of sunshine when you spritz.
      Portia xx

  • SpringPansy says:

    My tea scents: Tea for Two (L’Artisan), Myrrhiad (Pierre Guillaume) and Lost Alice (Masque Milano). Coffee in the morning, Equal Exchange Organic Rooibos in the afternoon. Oh, and by the way, I make a delicious Earl Grey ice cream! Love!

    • SpringPansy says:

      Oh and I have Herba Fresca as well. Thought I didn’t like green tea fragrances, but maybe I do…sometimes.

    • Portia says:

      Hey SpringPansy,
      Myrrhiad is a tea scent?!? Gosh, I’m going to grab my bottle out this week and revisit. Thanks for the heads up.
      Also, Earl Grey Ice Cream! SHUT UP! I’ll have a gallon please.
      Portia x

  • AJ says:

    I love tea and tea scents! I’m not from a culture that drinks more tea than coffee but growing up we always had tea at breakfast rather than coffee and finished lunch and diner with a cup of tea. I love to make my own blends of tea using 6 or 7 different varieties of black teas. I match it to the season with my summer brews being more floral and winter cups being more smokey and spicy. This website has some great blends to try: theteaspot.com. As for tea scents I’ve been enjoying Tea & Takhi a perfume based on Mongolian Horse culture. It has a very unusual salt and butter tea note and lots of hay and horse notes.

    • Portia says:

      Hey AJ,
      We had Mongolian Yak Milk Tea while we were there on a friend’s family farm. It was a lot more than I could happily cope with.
      Portia xx

      • AJ says:

        Unpasteurized milk straight from the animal’s body is a trip in itself! We lived next to a dairy farm for a while and were gifted milk like this. I remember it tasting like the cows smelled! Such a different scent and taste experience from that carton of milk from the grocery store.

  • MMKinPA says:

    I aspire to be a tea drinker but somehow rarely get around to it. My mom had Constant Comment around, so I have a scent memory of that. I prefer spicy/chai. We have a Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice that is nice. For perfume, I have the Bvlgari green and blue in travel sprays, a decant of Memo Winter Palace, and a FB of Nicolaï Fig-Tea, all of which get somewhat regular wearing.

  • Tom says:

    I tried to post last night from my iPad but Blogspot decided I was spam.

    I love tea and have it every day. I mostly drink unsweetened Tejava (bottled) because I am lazy. When I do actually make it, it’s Twinings Earl Grey, Trader Joe’s Breakfast tea, or good old Lipton (gotta give some love to old fashioned Orange Pekoe) I did just get a bunch of hibiscus tea just for the heck of it. I dislike those fruit teas served cold that too over restaurants on the 90’s- I used to annoy my friends by asking the waiter if it was regular or fruit iced tea, then ordering diet pepsi if it were the latter. If I want a mango, I’ll eat one.

    As for scents, I love the green tea in Bulgari and Barney’s, Miss AG Duel keenly and I love SL 5 O’Clock, even though it seems more like the whole tea including pastries and sandwiches. Which I also love- I haven’t been forever but I used to go the Huntington Library and Museum in San Marino just for their tea. So delish. It has been closed for renovation for a while and I look forward to it coming back.

    https://huntington.org/news/news-release-huntingtons-historic-tea-room-slated-reopen-spring-2023

    • Portia says:

      TOM!!
      I love Huntington. Spent a full afternoon there once. That was my gold standard high tea for years. The roses and cactus blew my mind. Thanks for the reminder.
      We had Orange Pekoe when I was growing up. It was one of Mum’s favourites.
      Portia xx

  • Jennifer S says:

    Coffee drinker here so I don’t actively seek out types of teas??….plus there are sooo many to pick from and I’m bad at picking lol. Now having said that, if someone gave me a cup I’d drink it for tasting purposes sure. I do like the tea in Chinese restaurants so I guess I’m an oolong/green tea kinda gal if anything. I love 5 o’clock and had no idea there were tea notes in it!

  • trabuquera says:

    Tea, glorious tea, my daily draught of life and one of the hardest notes to do properly in perfumery.

    To drink: I love a strong, black tea, with chai spices, milk and a little sugar. Not a snob or a gourmet or fussy about it, I usually use bags left in a big mug rather than loose leaves, and don’t own or need a teapot, but it’s gotta be strong and properly brewed (at least 4 minutes.) I’ll happily drink either Earl Grey or lapsang souchong, with or without milk, if I’m trying to be classy though.

    In perfumes: it’s a relentless quest. The perfect chai/black tea perfume hasn’t been made yet, I think. But there are some delicious things to sip along the way…

    Citric tea seems easiest to do best in scent – Bulgari The Vert is fine, Nishane Wulong Cha not bad at all, Louis Vuitton Citrus Garden amazing though ridiculously priced. Lancome Oranges Bigarades and Guerlain Neroli Outrenoir have really respectable tea notes eked out to the max with lovely “carrier” citrus & florals which are really mimicking tea rather than smelling like tea itself – but get points for effort.

    Green, Asian-style tea can yield great results – Floraiku’s tea notes are terrific, so The Moon & I works here and Kilian’s Imperial Tea absolutely beautiful. Floraiku’s I am Coming Home is also green, fresh-ish tea, but spiced with ginger.

    Getting into spiced black teas, it gets tougher – Tea For Two is unbearably sweet (honey overdose) on me, but Lutens Five O Clock au gingembre is a lovely thing, and PG’s Un Crime Exotique even better yet. Still the tea’s not quite tea-ish enough for my taste.

    For a GORGEOUS rooibos tea note that actually lasts ages – Memo’s stupidly priced but distinctive Winter Palace really hits the spot.

    For the most botanical, green-woody-spicy-smoky authentic lapsang ever: Mona di Orio’s towering Bohea Boheme, maybe my very very favourite tea scent of all. Not necessarily an easy wear though.

    But the hunt is still on – so thank you to all the suggestions on this thread and I hope there will be many more.

    • Portia says:

      WOW trabuquera,
      LOVED this post.
      LOVE Winter Palace but haven’t worked up the money for it, there have been close calls.
      Sadly Bohea Boheme is a mess on me. MdO is one of my fave brands and I bought it blind. Over the years I’ve kept trying it and am still hoping for a turnaround.
      Portia x

  • Wild Gardener says:

    It was terrible when Marks & Spencer closed half of their Paris stores and stopped selling loose tea in the rest. I have to get it sent from England – like a Red Cross parcel… nightmare.

  • Musette says:

    Hello, beauty!

    So. My all-time favorite tea is Bigelow’s Constant Comment (every grocer has it), which has clove and orange in it – in Summer I drink it iced with orange slices and mint and in Winter I drink it hot, while I dream of drinking it iced in Summer (I hate the living FCUK! out of Winter, as you know)

    My favorite tea scent is (wait for it) Agraria Bitter Orange, which is simply Constant Comment in spray form.

    Is that F&M photo yours? It’s gorgeous!!! Love that cup!

    xoxoxo

    • Portia says:

      Another Constant Comment comment Musette, we don’t get it here and now I’m super intrigued.

      Photo from their website, soz. Fortnum and Mason make beautiful tea ware. Very swoony stuff.
      Portia xx

  • Caroline says:

    This is my absolute favorite topic, perfume and beverage!
    I drink all teas. Oolongs are my fave bc I love floral flavors, but mostly I drink black teas—Tetley bags, but also black teas from Rishi like China Breakfast. Yum. I just tried Fortnum&Mason Countess Grey which was great. Herbal, weirdly I really enjoyed a seasonal Bigelow called Peppermint Bark! Otherwise I mix chamomile, orange and lemon zest and some rose petals for an evening cuppa.
    Re perfumes, I’m always searching for my holy grail tea. I just tried Duel by Annick Goutal and it was so easy to wear. Loved it. I sniffed some over at the Institute for Art and Olfaction in LA after their awards were announced. P Seven’s Aged Tea was great! Also One Day has tea perfumes galore. I was so sad when I realized they won’t ship to the US.
    I am always and forever searching for a perfect jasmine tea perfume. Please give me your recs!

    • Musette says:

      oooh! I love Peppermint Bark, too! Just made a cup of that a few nights ago! LOVE IT!

      xoxox

    • Portia says:

      Hey Caroline,
      Countess Grey! I never tried that one. thanks for the heads up.
      I think L’Occitane used to have a Jasmine Tea but it’s long gone. I had a bottle and gave it away thinking it would be easily available. Bummer.
      Portia xx

  • MizChris says:

    I adore tea and have more than I care to admit-pu erhs, oolongs, variations on masala chai, lots and lots of loose leaf and a good mix of bagged teas, too. Not a coffee drinker. Can’t stand the smell in my house. Lupicia has some fun, fruity blends that are nice and refreshing in summer. White tea is a delight in summer, too.
    I can take or leave, mostly leave, green tea. Some of my loose teas (like assam) come from Harney and Sons, Mandala Tea in Rochester, MN and Whispering Pines Tea in Traverse City, MN. I also buy a lot from What Cha in London. Alistair, the owner, has an amazing assortment of loose teas that he sources from all over the world. When the weather’s cold, I like to start the day with “builder’s tea.” Strong blends that hold up to the additions of cream and honey. Barry’s Tea (bagged) is a good example of that. A friend told me that His Holiness, the Dalia Lama, drinks Barry’s.

    I’ve never found a scent that really smells like tea. Back in the day (90s), Barneys carried La Route du The’. I think Tom has written about this. It was a pleasant one, though not especially “tea-ish.” I went through gallons of it. Bulgari Black, also a 90s scent, had (if I recall) a lapsang souchong note that was both smoky and rubbery. It was good at first spritz but the vanilla note came out later, spoiling the initial oddness that made the scent (to me) weird and good. Elizabeth Arden’s Green Tea smells like Raid to/on me. I once accidentally failed to pack any scent other than L’Artisan’s Tea for Two for a long trip and got so fed up with smelling it, just the thought of it now makes me shudder.

    • Portia says:

      Heya MizChris,
      Lupicia! We were given a couple of tins from that brand. Exquisite. Such subtle flavour but full of nuance. YUMMERS!
      Bummer about Elizabeth Arden’s Green Tea. It’s such a good easy reach for me. Cooling and refreshing. Thankfully you have other choices.
      Portia x

  • Dina C. says:

    Portia,
    You remember my story about the Jane Austen tea party in December, so YES, I am a huge tea drinker and enjoy tea scents too. Just finished off a mug of Twinings Green Tea. Stash is also very good. My SIL gifted us with a subscription to a monthly tea box last year. You fill out an extensive profile of your likes, and they tailor it to suit. It’s called sipsby.com. So many small, indie tea makers as well as name brands. As for scents, I enjoy Bulgari Eau Parfumee au The Rouge, L’Occitane The Vert used to be great (d/c), and Roger et Gallet bath gel in Green Tea.

  • VerbenaLuvvr says:

    I do not drink coffee, so I am always heavily stocked up on tea. My favorite is oolong. I’m not sure what the appropriate context is, as it seems to be served mostly at Chinese restaurants, but I love it any time. I also prefer chamomile, ginger, and matcha varieties. For wearing, I have Commodity Tea as a primary tea note fragrance. Others with the note that I love are Herba Fresca and au The Vert.

  • rosarita says:

    I’m a coffee drinker but I like herbal teas in the evening, just something simple like mint and/or chamomile. Sometimes a cup of Constant Comment in the afternoon, my mom and I used to drink it together but she can’t have caffeine anymore.
    My favorite tea scents were the Bulgari teas, especially the red and white. White, I’ve had multiple bottles of but my last one lost it’s scent with a third still left…it’s like spraying water, boo.

  • Mindy says:

    I usually drink espresso or Matcha green tea…but give my favorite tea scents any day!! Bvlgari Au the Noir (2016) more a smoky black tea mood scent with rose and fruity contours, austere. Oranges Bigarades by Maison Lancome ~ stimulating bitter freshness of a strong black tea that has not been brewed too long with peppery orange sweet background. And must mention Elizabeth Arden Green Tea ~ simple green tea, a squeeze of lemon and a bit of crushed mint leaves. Casual, straightforward and refreshing.

  • Tara C says:

    I love Royal Blend! For loose black teas I buy assam and ceylon, steeped for 5-7 minutes, with a bit of milk. Evening tea is rooibos. As for tea fragrances I like Tea for Two, Neroli Outrenoir and Five O’Clock au Gingembre.

  • cinnamon says:

    Ah, tea. I have yet to find a perfume I really love but have a couple of candles that are good. Diptyque The, after much burning, has settled into a great Russian black tea fragrance, but it smelled like soap out of the box. Geodesis Black Tea is lighter and heavier on the bergamot note. As to tea to drink (which is the hot bev I drink unless it’s not chocolate) it’s mostly decaf (I know, sacrilege) for health reasons. I have really nice English Breakfast and Earl Grey, but what I really love is proper chai with actual real caffeinated black tea. A once-in-a-while treat. The nicest I’ve had is from Dishoom in London.

    • Portia says:

      HA! Decaf is perfectly fine, I think we are trained to scowl at it Cinnamon.
      Do you ever brew up a proper chai? Boil the water in a saucepan, throw in tea leaves, boil for a minute, add milk and tea masala, turn the heat down low for a minute, strain, serve. AWESOME stuff. I was taught by the cook in my last long term relationship, Varun’s, Gurgaon apartment. She had to do it all without English and me with almost no Hindi. It was fun and I love it.
      Portia xx

      • cinnamon says:

        Sounds like a time. Experiences like that stay with you.

        Yup, I made chai that way. Even found a foil thing of chai spices at the farm shop (it’s since disappeared). But I stopped because I found myself drinking too much milk (which didn’t sit well) and things like oat don’t work as well in chai.

        Now, as I said, it’s a treat.

        You had a cook in your last LT relationship?

  • alityke says:

    I get Yorkshire Tea Bags in the biggest box or bag I can find. Any Earl Grey or Lady Grey bags go down well too. I like it brewed for 7 minutes & don’t squeeze the bag. See John Whaite’s instructions on IG. My tea comes in my 500ml red mug. DH is a coffee drinker so all tea is just for me!

    Tea perfumes? Tea for Two, as with many LAPs, didn’t work for me & none of the Bulgari The range made it past a sample. EA Green Tea & almost all its flankers are my tea perfume fix. I found the Yuzu one online, 100mls for £10. It should be delivered today, along with the Sand & Sable. They are all perfect summer dumb reaches

    • Portia says:

      WHOA! 7 minutes alityke. That’s a very hefty time frame. I’d need to start another as I took the OG.
      Woo Hoo! EA tea flankers rock. Can’t wait to hear what you think of Sand & Sable too.
      Portia xx

  • Christina says:

    Delightful topic!! Violet Tea by Kusmi Paris has been a fragrant tea delight since I discovered that lovely purple tin at Disney. Sometimes, I want a tea that is fragrant like a perfume, but I also want a perfume that smells like lapsang souchong or creamy green tea. I haven’t found my perfume with tea notes yet. EA Green Tea isn’t lactonic enough and I wish it had more depth and bases. Does anyone make a nice tea scent that lasts and has depth?

    • Portia says:

      OOOH! Christina, I love Kusmi Violet. In Vienna there’s a shop that sells violet crystals to put into your regular tea for a taste sensation. No, I can remember.
      Have you tried Baruti Chai? Spiced milky tea. SO GOOD!
      Portia xx

  • ElizaC says:

    The tea scented perfume in my collection is Tommy Girl. Can’t remember it’s name but isn’t there also a tea based Serge Lutens?

    • Portia says:

      Hey ElizaC,
      I had no idea Tommy Girl was a tea frag!
      Five O’Clock Au Gingembre is the Serge tea that I love and wear, is there another
      Portia xx

      • ElizaC says:

        That is the Lutens I was thinking about! It is beautiful. Tommy girl reminds me of the smell of Lipton iced tea mix (which I love and haven’t had for decades).