When I think of tea, my mind goes back to my life in England as a young girl. I vividly remember the sweet, comforting, often lingering scent coming from fuming cups of tea poured from quaint teapots made of china or silver.
The tea note isn’t an easy one to feature in fragrance, so I am always on the lookout for different interpretations.
The first time I saw the Rare Tea Collection beautifully displayed in one of the Jo Malone boutiques, I had to instantly sniff them all. The collection includes six skillfully crafted fragrances organized according to strength and a striking color pattern. Each was created by infusing different tea types for several hours and blending them with a variety of notes and accords.
Darjeeling Tea was the one that immediately caught my attention for its floral, slightly poudrée elegance. The actual tea drink is prepared from the plant Camellia sinensis (Chinese variety) and is characterized by a light color and delightful floral taste and aroma, with woody and spicy hints.
Painted with green strokes, the fragrance opens as a light floral tea with accents of apricot peel. I imagine this tea being cooler rather than piping hot, with the jasmine and freesia notes seamlessly combined to add a hint of a bright bouquet. As it continues to develop, the fragrance darkens a little, calling to mind a well-blended, fully steeped tea, both warm and lightly spiced. Vernal and delicate, yet multifaceted and persistent, this fragrance wears very smoothly, and, later in its evolution, becomes pleasantly dusty on my skin.
An ideal wear for warmer days, Darjeeling Tea was created in 2016 by Serge Majoullier who also designed the other Rare Tea fragrances for Jo Malone.
The notes are described on the Jo Malone website below, although the Rare Tea collection has unluckily been discontinued:
“The first flush of vibrant spring buds. Often found high in the foothills of the Himalayas. Luminous with jasmine. Cool with freesia. Delicious with the apricot notes of Indiana davana. Sparkling. Sweet. Exotic.”
I reviewed Darjeeling Tea from my personal 75ml bottle.
Photos: Sarah McGuire
