Summer Tea by Richard Miller

 

I am a tea drinker and have been since I was a child. When I was a teenager and was introduced to my first formal Afternoon Tea Service I was exposed to a gentile custom that asked the participant to take a break and sniff the Earl Grey. The new five fragrance collection from Jo Malone, Tea Fragrance Blends, creates a perfumed tea tray all of its own and while they all stand on their own; when using a couple of them in combination the sum of these fragrant parts really soars. Jo Malone in-house perfumer Christine Nagel also used this idea of Afternoon Tea Service as her basis to create this collection as she explained in the press materials:

“The idea of taking a classic ritual and re-interpreting it in an innovative way is signature to Jo Malone. The ceremony of tea is a timeless, simple, and authentic practice, but in relation to fragrance, surprising and original.”

 

In Summer Garden, St. Tropez by Henry La Basque

 

The essence of this collection is it presents two fragrances which are your choices for your tea; Assam & Grapefruit and Earl Grey & Cucumber. The other three fragrances are what you like to add to your tea from Sweet Milk or Sweet Lemon to Fresh Mint Leaf. I am not a fan of perfume layering because I would like to have my perfumer create the fragrance they want without having to reach for something else. Jo Malone prides themselves on the layerability of their fragrances even going so far as to trademark the concept of Fragrance Combining. For the first time, I actually practiced the art of Fragrance Combining and found it to be something worth experiencing.

Assam & Grapefruit

 

 

 

This opens with a refreshing tart grapefruit paired with zesty cardamom. Then the Assam accord appears, a lighter blended tea, which holds the heart of this followed by almond and a pinch of patchouli to keep this on the lighter side.

Earl Grey & Cucumber

 

Isaac Maimon Amanda

 

If you prefer a stronger blend of tea, Earl Grey & Cucumber is your choice. Most of us experience bergamot for the first time when we have our first cup of Earl Grey. Mme Nagel uses that familiarity as bergamot is what comes first followed by a cool cucumber accord before finishing with vanilla and musk.

Both of these fragrances are excellent on their own and depending on one’s mood could easily be worn on different days.

Now the traditional accoutrements to tea.

Sweet Milk

 

Eggs and Milk by Marianne Kuhn

 

All three of these “additives” are almost soliflore-like in their construction. Sweet Milk is the only one to have a little more complexity as it starts with a creamy milk accord which is accompanied by anise, vanilla, and almond. It is always identifiably milk but the other notes add a little more to it and make it very wearable on its own.

Sweet Lemon

 

Painting After Breakfast by Elin Danielson-Gambogi

 

This is just what it says it is lemon and sugar. It is bright and sweet and the lemon is tart counterpoint to the sweetness provided by pineapple and peach. There is a hint of light woodiness from cypress right at the end but this is lemon and sugar all the way.

Fresh Mint Leaf

 

Photo by Carol Gillott

 

Mint is one of the most problematic notes in perfumery to do well. If there is a lack of finesse you’re left to be reminded of mouthwash or toothpaste. Mme Nagel shows her skill because the note she uses to pair the mint with is a fully herbal basil. That makes Fresh Mint Leaf feel just like the real leaf; green and aromatic at the same time. As with Sweet Lemon there is cedarwood at the end but this is mint in its fresh off the stalk glory.

Assam & Grapefruit plus Sweet Lemon

 

Afternoon Tea by Cezanne

 

Now if you’d like a little lemon and sugar with your tea choose the Fragrance Combination of Assam & Grapefruit plus Sweet Lemon. This combination takes the grapefruit and gives it a sparring partner in the lemon with the cardamom the bridge between the two. This combination creates a sunny morning tableau. As the Assam rises out of the citrus the sweeter fruit of Sweet Lemon combine to completely change the character of this tea accord versus when it is by itself. In this combination the Assam feels almost ethereal and the pineapple is much more defined than when it is in Sweet Lemon by itself. This combination felt like it was so much better together than either of its parts.

Earl Grey & Cucumber plus Sweet Milk

 

Afternoon Tea by Mary Casatt

 

When I drink my Earl Grey tea I always pour it over milk and I love that smell of bergamot and cream that rises off my cup. Now with the Fragrance Combination of Earl Grey & Cucumber plus Sweet Milk I can get that heady smell anytime. Right away the milk accord of Sweet Milk combines with the bergamot from Earl Grey & Cucumber. This is the smell of Afternoon Tea to me and as it fades the cucumber accord is less pronounced because both fragrances double down on the vanilla and it adds that sweetness preferentially over the lightly vegetal cucumber. This combination is the relaxing aroma of sophisticated gentility and my favorite combination of the whole Tea Fragrance Blends.

 

 

All of the Tea Fragrance Blends have average longevity and average sillage.

I really liked the whole idea of re-creating an Afternoon Tea Service via fragrance and I think Christine Nagel did this amazingly well. All of the fragrances in this collection celebrate some aspect of the Afternoon Tea experience but it was when when I added a little lemon or milk to my tea that this really became special. So spritz a cuppa on your skin and stretch that Afternoon Tea feeling into a whole day.

Disclosure: This review was based on preview bottles provided by Jo Malone.

–Mark Behnke, Managing Editor