Soo, it's time for tea again. For a tea scent. After many long comments on English, Turkish or Japanese tea scents or tea rituals, I now come for a change to a (yes, yes, also very long) comment on a Russian tea scent.
So, what can we say about the Russian tea culture now? So the Russians are also known for their love to drink tea and it is hard to imagine everyday life without tea. As with many other tea lovers, black tea is the most popular tea, although green tea has become more and more popular for some time now. It is interesting to note that Russian tea was still often smoked, especially back then (when the tea had really arrived in the country). And this wasn't even smoked consciously at the beginning! At that time, many years ago (actually centuries ago), when goods were still being transported around the world (or in countries with such an enormous area as Russia), it took months or even years for the tea to acquire a smoky character during breaks with bonfires, which would later become known as caravan tea, as it was mainly caravans that transported the tea. Yes yes, woe to the one who ran out of tea... not because of the smoky taste, which is quite nice and which became a trademark, but because of the transport time... :D
If you were already complaining today that something you ordered in Amazon, for example, would in the worst case not arrive for a week or two, what would you have said back then? If you ordered tea in Amazon in the 16th or 17th century, you would be shown a delivery time of 16-18 months! :DD
Hmm... it's funny, by the way, that some people who can't do anything with technology would even believe me that online shopping already existed in the 16th century :DD
Or even teenagers who were born with a tablet could be picked up with it, because they think that the internet has always existed and is omnipresent... bah, they don't even know anymore what a video or MC cassette is, even MP3 players are out by now, because you can only listen to music with your smartphone,... *sigh* The poorest probably can't even go to the toilet without Alexa ("Alexa!) One toilet flush please...!" ... oh I'm just waiting for the day when the network will break down and toilets won't have a flush button anymore, because everything will be digital and online only, then the whole thing will stink to heaven, mu ha ha ha ha :DD).
But enough digression! Let's get back to tea. I am glad that I liked this fragrance, because it had been on my watchlist for so long, that I would have been quite disappointed if the fragrance hadn't been so great...
The fragrance:
The scent begins briefly with a citrus scent, which first smells of lemon/mint, but then more of bergamot and only a little later reminds of mint. But then also the black tea smell is used, so that one can smell an unmistakable, black tea. The tea scent, however, appears quite spicy and smoky. The spicy one could come from the pepper, because if you smell it exactly, you can perceive black pepper. The smoky,... well, I don't know where it comes from (incense maybe?)... but it's smoky, so the tea appears smoked. And so it should be, that is the special character of the tea scent here.
There is also a leather note that smells okay, but in my opinion could have been a little weaker. But... a little later the leather actually becomes a little weaker again, but remains smellable.
The tea remains, while the smoky character weakens a little, so that you can smell the citric note again a little bit, so that the tea looks as if there is a slice of lemon in the glass :)
A little later one smells most of the fragrances in about the same intensity, that is the tea, the leather, as well as the incense, which by the way is now also recognized as incense, because it no longer smells like the stronger incense fragrance as in the beginning, but lighter and more resinous. It is accompanied by a small, fine and slightly powdery sweetness. All in all, a beautiful fragrance that will appeal to tea lovers above all.
The Sillage and the shelf life:
The Sillage is good, especially at the beginning the scent is still intense and you leave a scent cloud, which is not soo big, but at least it is a scent cloud :) So I think for a while you'll be reasonably smelly for a while.
The shelf life is quite good, because due to the spicy and resinous nature of the fragrance, it lasts much longer than if it were only citric. Ten hours in, I'd say.
The bottle:
At first glance, the bottle looks like a noble container for precious Chinese scrolls. In any case, the bottle is cylindrical and filled with yellowish scented liquid. The name and everything else was printed directly on the bottle. A metal disc was attached to the neck of the bottle, on which not only the spray head sits, but also the name of the fragrance and even the name of the perfumer can be seen. The solid lid is cylindrical and is composed of three plates and therefore looks like a coil or something. I think it's very well done!
Oh yes, I like I-III Russian Tea. The smoked one at the beginning may seem a little unusual for some, but I think that this smoky one gives this tea scent its speciality, makes it more diversified and therefore represents a bigger difference to other tea scents.
Even the leather, which I felt a little too strong at the beginning, quickly became weaker and adapted well to the rest of the fragrance. Therefore, this fragrance is recommended for all those who like tea very much, no matter if you like to drink tea or only smell in fragrances and inevitably drink coffee instead of tea! :D
But I have to admit that I also had a cup of coffee when I wrote these words at the beginning, but now there is a cup of tea next to me, as well as some biscuits or cookies I got from a dear perfumer and yes, everything is fine and beautiful! Above all the cat sleeps, so he doesn't try to paw my cookies all the time :)
Yeah, the whole thing's a little Christmas party before Christmas! Sleeping cat who is cute to look at, nice warm tea, delicious cookies and a great smell! The only thing that would be catastrophic now is if the internet should fail (again like before) :D
So, this fragrance is due to its smoky and also (slightly) spicy note more a fragrance for colder days, so autumn and winter and is especially usable now in December very great. It's not a party scent, but you can still use it for a "normal" night out! Like I said, I'd recommend a test