Russian Caravan Tea

*Perfume Absolute review* Christopher Brosius MAY be a pretentious ass, but if YOU made perfumes like THESE you could be as pretentious as you wanted! I feel he was tired with "mainstrem" perfumes and wanted to "break out" of the norm (something I utterly admire) and do some really different, soul gripping creations. And this he has done, in my opinion, from what I have smelled thus far. Scents with names like "Under the Arbor", "Gathering Apples", "I am a Dandelion" and "Baby's Butt" (LOL) take things everyone can relate to and brings out the beauty in everyday life... Join me now, in the Library, for a nice warm cup of Russian Caravan Tea...would you?? The drapes are open and the sunlight is flooding in, as the water boils and the loose leaf tea sits in the ceramic pot. As the scalding water cascades over the tea, a heavenly aroma of PURE TEA greets the nose with citrusy nuances of bergamot and I ask you "One lump or two?"; Placing a lemon slice (gently twisted) on the edge of each cup as we settle into comfy leather high backed chairs and talk of philosophy, the state of the world and the newest Serge Lutens creation. All around us is the smell of wooden shelves and antique books bound lovingly, encasing pages gilt with gold and holding tales of adventure, intrigue and love. Russian Caravan Tea is not so much the spicy aromatic tea I thought it would be, but it is a brisk and eye-opening scent that is as pure and simple as an afternoon spent sipping really GOOD tea and talking and spending a day doing nothing of real importance other than nourishing one's soul and relaxing with those you love and luxuriating in the simple, but necessary, creature comforts that make life worth living: good tea, friends, and a good book! Sillage: good Longevity: above average Overall: 3.75/5 Would you care for another cup, dear friend? It is, after all, Sunday and I hear that there is a new niche line coming out from Molton Brown...

Tea scents are some of my favorites, and this is unique. A very atmospheric scent reminiscent of drinking tea in an antique room with tapestries on the walls, old oriental carpets on the floors. Served in translucent china, amid candlelight and books. This perfectly captures the mood and the subtle floral smell of Indian tea (very close to Twinings Russian Caravan Tea, whose smell translates to taste with a fresh teabag in a steaming cup). I was captivated the first time I wore this exclusive floral tea perfume. The bergamot makes a wispy trail of veiled lime through the accord. There is a microscopic bit of smoke, as if the tea leaves were dried next to a small fire. A tiny hint of spices adds to the composition, but all are muted next to the classic botanical tea. A brilliant creation by Christopher Brosius!

Very real glass of iced lemon sweet tea at first. The citrus does fade a bit to reveal true-to-life dried black tea leaves, the high quality kind that you can smell as soon as you open the tin. These black tea leaves lean towards floral and grassy, rather than, say, fruity. You are in for a treat if you like the scent of black tea. I enjoy it very much, but I would like a little milk with my tea. Such a simple scent, I am sure it is easy to layer with something creamy if desired. Well done. Edit: I have the absolute, and actually the drydown seems to become sweet and creamy. The perfect cup of Earl Gray (maybe not Russian Tea, which, when I have drunk, I find to be a bit smoky and does not include citrus).

This is my new favorite tea scent. It opens with very vivid, lush bergamot, like a perfect cup of Earl Gray or lightly sweetened iced tea with lemon. The bergamot is warm and round, and fades slowly away leaving just a hint of citrus with a gorgeous and slightly bitter black tea base, with a hint of cedar and an extraordinarily faint touch of smoke. I'm in love.

This smells so perfect. Good black tea, light citrus essence, a touch of creaminess - like Earl Grey with plenty of milk. I have not noticed the scent of old bookshelves, but that's fine with me. Sadly my water perfume sample only lasts about an hour on my skin. I may shell out for the 2ml absolute.

This scent made me realize how much i like the smell of tea. I don't quite catch the lemon/bergamot but there is definitely something that makes it a bit sweet. Perfect blend. Love it.

This is one of CB's "simple" fragrances. This works so well because of the excellent quality of the materials - this really is earl grey tea!

Very beautiful tea with lemon scent, simple and easy to wear.

[reviewing the water perfume] i really like this fragrance, but not necessarily on myself. the bergamot is very punchy up front (just like real earl grey), but when it dies down it just smells very faintly of lavender and burnt sugar on me. however, on my loved one, it blooms & warms deliciously and i get much more of the smoked black tea nuances. it's a comforting, grounding scent that still feels light and delicate, like steam wafting over a freshly brewed mug of good hearty relaxing tea. to my nose, a lot of tea scents are too sweet and just end up smelling like caramel after a while. on my skin, this one does the same thing, but on hers, i can pick up a lot more rich tannic notes that feel truer to the intention of the scent. i'm glad it's a favorite of hers, cause i can't really see myself wearing it, but i'll gladly catch a whiff whenever she does. :)

Zinging fresh citrusy, yet still recognisably tannic, tea - at first deliciously subtle and detailed. Very little smoke in there for my nose but somehow warm and with the odd waft of something spicy. Oddly gives both fresh-cool and warm-snuggly sensations at once. Absolutely beautiful - so beautiful it doesn't matter how delicate it is - but yes, as with other CBs I've tried, longevity is very poor. I'd also look for something where the tea is just a tiny bit more assertive in the mix. A wonderful thing to savour while it lasts, but not one I'll be buying with this frailty.

If there was a scent for the morning after, this would be it. I don't read it as an evening scent. To me, it smells like sipping over-steeped tea at an outdoor cafe, possibly with a faint hint of smoke from the table next to you. It's a strong burst of caffeine when you haven't slept at all the night before. As with other CB I Hate Perfume scents, this one plays with your mind in very interesting ways. I may never be able to sample "normal" perfume again!

i have a sample of this and i tried to slather it on, but my skin seems to eat it right up! it's a subtly sweet milky tea fragrance. at first i smelled something sweet, almost berry-like, but i don't know what that was. it's a soft bergamot with a hint of woods and slight foody spiciness. i think anyway, this just has no staying power on me, and i can hardly smell it, despite reapplying it twice.

It’s tea. A lovely slightly sweetened lemony black tea. There is just the faintest idea of wood and leather. It’s lovely, really just simple and sweet and just lovely. I can see this pairing very well with something similar to In The Library or the like, to fully bring it out of it’s shell. It’s just short of being really fantastic. 7.5/10

A nice bergamot-dominant black tea scent - like a lightly sweetened Earl Grey. Smoke is not heavy at all, but gives it a nuance that one picks up here or there. The water-based version doesn't last very long at all, and as such I would recommend the oil-based if you find the scent to be to your liking. 7/10

Smoky and dark, but disappeared right away on my skin in an hour or so. This is close to the smell of caravan tea, but I wish it would have had more body and been even smokier!

Light citrus scent, I don’t get much tea or smoke

Fun, regal scent that instantly popped while applying, but immediately dropped out. A sultry, black cherry note started floating in the air, separated from my body in a way I’ve never experienced. It stopped being regal and became soapy, fruity, rose/bubblegum. Most reviews claim it’s smokey black tea with lemon, which does come out - but I read as more fruity/floral. Not bad, just too feminine and soapy for me.

I so wanted this fragrance to smell like its description. I love the scent of fresh steeped tea add a little lemon and honey and it is soooo delish. Not this. It turned out like lightly lemon scented soap. it held very close to the skin and virtually dissipated in 15 minutes. SO my question is "why?"

I want to smell like black tea. I think I've found my tea scent - finally! I've tried tea for two (smelled like sweet pipe tobacco on me), the pour un ete (jasmine, citrus, no tea? Too tart), au the blanc (all musk in dry down),au the rouge (warm, nutty, more pipe), au the vert (light, pretty, white/green, heady even - more flowers than tea), and Il coloniali black tea which smells very similar to RCT at first but stronger and muskier in the end. I even tried Gucci pour homme 2 based on reviews. That smelled disasterously like new car. Russian caravan tea isn't smoky enough to smell exactly like it's namesake, but it does smell like fresh iced black tea with lemon to me. It opens very herbal and grassy with a strong, clear bergamot note. The top notes are quite masculine to me. There is something that is vaguely reminiscent of Pine-sol at first, but I decided not to panic and run to the sink for a scrub. The dry-down was the payoff. The scent is sheer, cool, refreshing like one would imagine a glass of iced tea on a hot day would be. There is the undercurrent of bergamot and a distant whiff of smoke throughout. I don't get the warm cuppa in the library vibe at all. No musk- yay!It's not that I hate musk, just that on me musk overwhelms all other scents so that most perfumes smell too similar when they've dried. OK, I hate musk. This scent is very sheer. Sillage is light. Not sure about staying power because it is one of those scents you quickly can't smell on yourself. I'd definitely wear this in the summer. Maybe Au the rouge in fall/ winter?

This perfume sums up why I love Christopher Brosius. When I first wore it, I thought "Oh god, I smell just like a cup of tea, get it off me!" Then I realised "Wait a minute, I like this smell, why the hell shouldn't I wear it on my skin?" Brosius does't make your usual perfumes - as evidenced by the name of the house - but he does make you reconsider what perfume is, or can be. I really appreciate that. Not everything needs to be roses and jasmine. This is the most realistic tea perfume I've ever smelled. I think it's because a) he uses very high quality ingredients and b) he's not trying to add a ton of other stuff to it to make it more "wearable". He wants this to smell like tea so it does. It's never really lemony on me. I get tea, some spices (making the tea smell a bit like a chai tea) and some woods. Although the name says Russian, this makes me think of old world India in a way. It's a very pure, clean scent, unisex too. Longevity is 7 hours on me, moderate sillage.