Imperial Tea

Bought a new bottle (blue version) during the relaunch event. Tea fragrances are hard to love for me, especially those that are based on green tea. I find most of them to have an amazing opening followed by a quick deterioration into something faint and sour. Dior The Cachemire, and Kilians own Bamboo Harmony fall into that category. Vilhelms Dear Polly came very close to changing my opinion on tea, but unfortunately it's eureka moment comes way too late into the fragrance lifetime. I don't want to endure 3 hours of boringness for a pleasant dry down. Then came Imperial Tea and finally pushed me over the edge for green tea. This stuff is GORGEOUS. It is a profoundly soft fragrance, and not in a thin or absent way. The minimalist duo of tea and jasmine blend in a way that is petal soft yet rich and bold, but not cloying or heavy, not thin or sheer, just a perfect soft touch. Picture a constant tender caress: never overbearing but never absent either, just a permanent soft presence. That's the vibe I get from Imperial Tea. I don't know what kind of musk or ambroxan-adjecent molecule they've used in the base, but it acts as the perfect primer for the performance. It carries the scent of the tea and jasmine outwards while remaining undetectable itself to my nose. Adding a touch of Molecule 02 underneath works very well for this fragrance and gives it eternal longevity. Cannot recommend this fragrance enough. It will be a delight to wear it this spring and summer.

This is a deeply earthly, beautifully floral jasmine tea with a hint of tannins and soap. This is, by far, the most authentic jasmine tea scent I have had the pleasure of experiencing. It makes me think of Gongfu tea service in a modernized shop outfitted in wood and brass surroundings or tea at your dearest friends' home with a crisp clean linen table cloth. An environment of minimalistic grace. The strength of this scent is in it's genius simplicity. The only downside to this is that it doesn't last as long as I hoped. 3-4 hours on dry skin in central heating environment. Sillage is soft at first (1-2 feet) and intimate in less than 30 minutes (skin scent). Beautifully blended and admirably authentic. Despite it's lack of lasting power, I'd still rather have this in my life than not.

One of the most beautiful green teas I've ever smelled, even though it's a big ol' cheater and I can swear to you most of the work's being done by jasmine and a little bit of osmanthus, rather than camellia sinensis (the true tea leaf). Really, really beautiful stuff, but as with all tea-mitations, the longevity could be better, and as with all Kilians, the price is terrifying. Hugely seductive though. Let's see what takes me longer - finding a better cheaper tea, or saving up the necessary for this one. Very much a want.

This is a great spring/summer scent for both men and women. If you’re looking for something different – as opposed to citrus-based scents – for this time of the year, you should sample this. I find it to be a really beautiful green fragrance with good longevity and sillage. If I close my eyes and ignore the fact that I know which notes I’m actually smelling, it’s like talking a walk in a lush forest in the middle of summer.

Like the perfumer promised, this is the most realistic green tea fragrance on the market (so far), yet I wish it smelled even more so, without all the sugary powder/musk, like walking into an authentic Asian tea house; it's soothing, naturally sweet, and floral, yet somehow sharp, bitter, and awakening. *The tea scent also doesn't last last very long, instead turning into an ambiguous fresh sweet mush

Powerful, yet delicate, opening of the most awesome jasmine! Incredible, this is like smelling the first blooms on the vine on a cool day. Tea underneath only highlights the spectacular freshness. Although the jasmine eclipses the tea most of the time on my skin, when I do get a waft, it's the best aromatic tea, as if I just brewed a strong cup. I love this!

Initially, I was thrilled to discover that I could finally find a refill bottle for this discontinued fragrance. However, my excitement turned to disappointment upon trying it out. While the scent is somewhat similar, it lacks the depth and longevity of the original.

This is my favorite scent for spring. The Sillage is better than some of the other scents I wear. My daughter is very sensitive to scents and she prefers this one over all my other ones. I receive compliments every time I wear it.

simple is the best, not too fresh not too warm, everything is enough. Love it at the first spray but way too pricey compared to my budget. Maybe because this was discontinued so the price would be always high and higher

A true green jasmine tea scent. I didn't expect this to be sooo nice. Surprisingly Imperial Tea has a real perfume quality. It's not a room spray. I love it from the opening till the dry down.

A simple and gorgeous scent. A very strong and natural tea note is enveloped in white floral jasmine with citruses slowly coming out as it dries down. Beautiful.

Hey guys i'm looking for an empty bottle of this beauty. EU only :)

Upon spraying By Killian's Imperial Tea, I'm instantly reminded of a kind of bottled jasmine tea drink marketed under a Chinese brand, Kang Shi Fu(康师傅), which is not to say that it's a synthetic mess; on the contrary, the jasmine and tea leaves feel quite realistic to me. The jasmine here is decorated with a tiny amount of indole. Instead of pairing the jasmine with silky green notes like in Love and Tears, Imperial Tea doesn't hesitate to showcase the sweet, golden nectar of the flower, which, on one hand, makes the scent sweeter than a real jasmine tea, hence my brain interpreting it as a bottled tea drink. But on the other hand, this nectar aspects also grants the bitter, tannic tea leaves a somewhat more carnal characteristic than most tea fragrances. I also notice a somewhat milky aspect flowing between jasmine and tea leaves, but it's not to say that Imperial Tea smells like a milk tea. It behaves more like a subtle opacity, preventing the tea becoming too watery or limpid, a common trait of most tea fragrances that I encountered. Another common trait of tea fragrances being clean white musk, to be honest, I do detect it in Imperial Tea. But with the sweet jasmine overshadowing it most of the time, I think it's not excessive for a tea fragrance. Imperial Tea is mostly a linear fragrance on my skin with a relatively soft sillage for around 7 hours, and I can still catch traces of it on my skin even after 11 hours. Basically a dual of jasmine and tea, Imperial Tea is arguably a very simple fragrance. But the two notes being quite realistic, nuanced and vivid, the sum of its parts is much more than the mere two components. I was never a fan of so-called "asian" aesthetic of extremely clean green tea fragrances. Therefore, the hefty jasmine (in the context of tea fragrances, of course) is a lovely surprise to me. If you happen to share my dissatisfaction towards most clean tea fragrances, Imperial Tea might be a nice change. I'd recommend it as a suave and relatively friendly jasmine fragrance as well.

An instant love for me. I've been looking for the perfect tea scent for a decade and finally stumbled upon this rare gem. It's a really simple yet perfect brew of jasmine black tea. There's a slight touch of bitterness (tannins) accompanied by just a tad of jasmine's sweetness. The jasmine is light and not indolic at all which is very rare in fragrances. Once applied onto the skin, it sweetens just a little bit but I pull out more of the tea accord than jasmine, which is why this is my favourite tea scent. Very easy to wear all year round and definitely signature scent worthy. Please bring this one back.

This literally smells like having your head in a bell jar filled with jasmine scented green tea leaves. The tangy, slightly honeyed pungency of jasmine is a bit suffocating at first, the tea quite sharp, but eventually it mellows into something much calmer and more wearable. It's pure and natural smelling, like a fresh floral breeze. Wouldn't at all recommend this for a man due to the airy femininity of the jasmine, but for a sophisticated lady this would be a nice day scent, just be sure to spray it 30 minutes BEFORE leaving the house.

I love drinking jasmine tea, especially if it's steeped perfectly. Imperial Tea however fails to bring the Imperial element to the table. The tea is black and tannic on opening--a little oversteeped. The scent fades quickly and leaves a very diluted trail of jasmine water. Along a similar vein is Guerlain's interpretation with a few more notes in perfect balance. If you like this but desire a little more complexity, spoil yourself with Les Voyages Olfactifs 03 Paris-Tokyo.

Opens with a gorgeous, sweet, realistic tea and jasmine burst but quickly becomes fairly soapy. Even though it's a pretty light, green fragrance there's something milky, as if it's a jasmine milk tea. There's also an underlying, tart, peachy (?) grape-y (?) fruitiness. Not transparent by a long shot but not as heavy as other Killian's I've tried; there's a buoyant greenness that lifts the sweetness up. Overall, an enjoyable fragrance.

Pro: finally a true tea smell. It's photo-realistic jasmine tea fragrance, with reasonable sillage & longevity, not those f*ing citrus or white floral or spicy fake tea. I mean, seriously, if you advertise for a tea perfume, you better f*ing put tea in it. Con: There is nothing else. Not too much depth. In fact, none at all. Frankly speaking, I'd expect Demeter make this type of linear, realistic scent.

Nice enough while it lasts, which isn't long at all. It's not even making it an hour on me. Not the biggest fan of the ozonic/aquatic thing happening in the open, it obscures what's otherwise a very nice jasmine tea scent. The ozone burns off quickly, thankfully, but then, so does the rest of the thing not soon after. Pity.

Beautiful hyperrealistic jasmine green tea without much nuance. Almost savory, very aromatic. Dry down is mostly pure jasmine. Longetivity is 2~ hours on me and it feels waaaay overpriced, won't be buying the full sized version anytime soon.