What does Black Tea smell like?
Open a tin of loose black tea. The smell is dry and almost leathery, over dried fruit and honey. Some teas lean toward tobacco. Others turn smoky when the leaves were dried over a wood fire. In perfume black tea keeps that tannic grip. It dries out sweet formulas and gives woods some texture. It lasts reasonably well but rarely leads.
Origin and production
The tea plant (Camellia sinensis) is native to the area running from southern China to northern India. Black tea differs from green tea because the leaves are fully oxidized before drying. A tea absolute does exist, made by solvent extraction. It is expensive and seldom used. So perfumers often rebuild the note with hay, tobacco and dry wood materials.
How perfumers use it
Black tea is there for texture. Le Labo Thé Noir 29 sets it in the base with tobacco and hay, under a fig top. Gucci Pour Homme II blends it with pimento and violet for a spicy woody. Hermès Eau de Citron Noir pairs it with black lime, which makes an unusual smoky citrus. Van Cleef & Arpels Midnight in Paris and Louis Vuitton Imagination keep it on the woody side.
How to wear it
Black tea works from October to March, day or night. It suits plain clothes and offices where you want to stay low-key. Two sprays on the neck are enough.