Green tea

1 review for Green tea

1. Rated 5 out of 5

   Luka – March 28, 2023

   The perfect green fragrance. I would use the word textbook, but nothing about this perfumer is textbook. What I will say though, is that this perfume should be the standard for green fragrances in general. The keyword here is of course “fresh”, with the catch being that Green Tea is neither too fresh, to the point of being sharp, raspy or otherwise unpleasant, nor is it just fresh, to the point of being plain and boring.

   Despite the name of this fragrance, the highlight of it is in my opinion the vetiver. This has been one of my favourite notes in perfumery since the start, but I was always disappointed with the commercial (or niche, for that matter) perfumes that focused on it. I only ever got occasional glimpses of its beauty, which quickly gave way to something too sharp, smoky, penetrating and headache-inducing, or too thin, watery and quickly disappearing. The vetiver in this perfume, however, is everything I imagined it would be and more. Green tea opens with a very pleasant fresh, floral and slightly sweet accord. I have a hard time pinpointing the note, but I smelled something that reminded me of jasmine, in combination with a minty note that doesn’t really smell like actual mint. This gives way rather quickly to the delightful tea note, which I’ve always been a fan of too. The tea note is accompanied by something sweet and a little milky, smelling almost like a coconut, which makes me think of figs. I have no idea where this accord comes from, but it is very unique. I also notice a certain leathery note that blends with the tea note very smoothly.

   Soon after, when the perfume settles down a bit, the vetiver makes its first appearance. It is a kaleidoscopic depiction of vetiver, showcasing all its facets with brilliant clarity. There is the unmistakable (and hard to describe to someone who hasn’t smelled it) watery-fresh scent, accompanied by a nutty smokiness. This balance between soft, fresh and smoky notes is what really does it for me, and what sets this vetiver apart from all others I’ve smelled. Later on, this is joined by the wonderful “mojito” accord, which to my delight, lasts for quite a while. At this stage this perfume smells almost too good to be true. I say this because the citric, minty elements of vetiver here smell so heavenly it almost feels like mortal souls shouldn’t be allowed to smell it, something akin to the mythical ambrosia. Finally, an herbal side of vetiver shows itself, and the perfume slowly starts shifting towards the next stage. It is hard to say whether a touch of some fresh herb (rosemary, sage or something else) is involved here or it’s just a facet of some other note, as the ingredients are so finely blended together.

   In the later stages of the dry down, the vetiver takes on (or is joined by) more woody nuances, again, difficult to say, but I think there has to be some resin added here. At one time I thought it has to be guaiac wood, as the smoky, citric and resinous notes seemed too strong to be projected solely by vetiver. Another time I could swear I smelled cedar, with the familiar muskiness and freshly sharpened pencils. As the official fragrance notes are not listed on the website and Green Tea has but one review, this is all a bit of guesswork, and judging by other experiences of master Salaam’s perfumes, knowing full-well what he’s capable of achieving with just a few ingredients, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out I overestimated the notes involved here.

   In any case, the final, fourth stage of this perfume (a unique feature of many perfumes from this house, which I’ve now grown used to) is something best describes as “green musk”. It is sweet, fresh, musky (perhaps even a touch leathery) and vividly green, without being mossy, something I have truly never experienced/smelled before, in any perfume. The peculiar sweet, coconutty milkiness that I smelled at the opening is still present here, joined by a salty note. I’m completely out of my depth in trying to guess where this comes from, but it certainly is unique. It also makes me think that this perfume would be a splendid summer wear, although it works very well even now, in the last throes of winter. If I tried summarizing Green Tea with music, I would say it’s like a piece by Vaughan Williams or Frederick Delius, calling to mind the rolling green hills, meadows and trees, stirring in the wind. A quintessential daytime fragrance, keeping you energized, fresh and optimistic as you go about your business.