Hallelujah, one of Mariage Frères' holiday teas for 2020: "Mariage Frères enriches its collection of black gourmand teas with this heavenly fruity and festive creation. Citrus and fruit notes, embellished with vanilla, mingle with the vivid and sensuous flavours of black tea. The cup is velvety, generous, festive and joyful." €26 at Mariage Frères.
The scent of black tea makes me smile; it can reset my mood from blah to cheerful. Any flavored version of black tea I enjoy tasting, I enjoy smelling, too, even in perfumes. Black tea mixes well with citrus (bergamot, orange, grapefruit, the “classic” lemon), spices, flowers (jasmine, rose), fruits (plum, apricot, peach, berries). Black tea can be sweet, bitter, fresh, or rich and smoky. In Eau Parfumée Au Thé Noir, Bvlgari mixes a black tea accord with bergamot, rose, leather, oud, patchouli and vanilla.
Though I’ve tried Bvlgari’s other Eau Parfumée perfumes — Eau Parfumée Au Thé Vert, Eau Parfumée Au Thé Blanc, Eau Parfumée Au Thé Rouge, Eau Parfumée Au Thé Bleu — until recently, Eau Parfumée Au Thé Noir was a stranger. I’m glad I discovered it…
Violet tea from the new Pantry Collection at Perfumer H (the brand Lyn Harris started after she sold Miller Harris), made in collaboration with Postcard Teas ("Tim carefully selected a First Flush (Spring) Darjeeling 2020, a Second Flush (Summer) Darjeeling 2019 and a Miaoli White Tip Oolong to complete this beautiful green fusion of fruits of blackcurrant, mandarin and bergamot fused with a floral heart of violet leaf and a hint of vanilla bourbon"). The 30g tin is £30 at Perfumer H.
Lately, when I pick my perfume for the day, I’ve been choosing comfort scents that soothe me just enough to get some necessary work done but not so much that I want to cocoon myself in bed. Over the past two weeks I’ve kept returning to two particular fragrances that fit that description, and both happen to be inspired by beverages: Sunday from Arielle Shoshana and Hot Masala by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz.1
Arielle Shoshana Sunday is a “sweet, green, undefinable” scent promising “Sunday serenity, any day of the week.” It was inspired by Ari’s favorite Sunday-morning beverage, matcha horchata, and was developed by perfumer Cécile Hua. It includes notes of matcha tea, rice milk, cinnamon, maté absolute, cardamom, coconut, amber, sandalwood and vanilla.
I’ve tasted matcha (a beverage made from Japanese powdered green tea) and horchata (a drink of sweetened rice milk with cinnamon) separately, but not together…
Chai! "Soul Chai's original chai powder is the stuff your mugs dream about when they sleep in your cupboards at night. Bold. Spicy-sweet. Soul-warming. This is chai." 100g / 50 servings for $20 at Beautyhabit, in regular (above right, with black tea) or rooibos (above left).