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NYZ – :
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.
Raik88ru – :
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!
puzhik55 – :
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
mynameis201 – :
The scent is lovely on paper, like opening a tin of Russian Caravan tea and inhaling deeply. But on my skin it faded nearly instantly. Perhaps a good, if expensive, way to scent all of one’s books then?
katana211 – :
I don’t know if there’s quality control problem with the brand because this was very smoky and the tea was one of those really old dry tea leaves instead of a fresh cup
ant – :
On paper–this is an extraordinarily realistic black tea. A clear bergamot note leads, and immediately shifts into a literal pot of tea under your nose. Slightly tannic, (as is proper) slightly dusty.
On my skin–the citrus recedes, a few sweet, woody notes emerge, and the whole thing warms up, making this a hot brew rather than an iced one. The sillage stays disappointingly close, but it does create the charming illusion that I am carrying around a nice cup wherever I go.
In my head–this is the fragrance equivalent of the home of my youth. Tree-filled windows, dusty piles of books, and mug after mug of hot Earl Grey…perfection.
semrid – :
I didn’t find anything smoky or dark about Russian Caravan. To me, the dominant opening note is of a very strong, rose-tinged citrus. The tea note smells odd to me, like a white tea, maybe, very light, maybe a little like green, uncured wood. It has a milky touch to it after a while, but it’s still just sort of weak and lackluster.
L’Artisan’s Tea for Two is a better tea scent, and so are Cartier’s L’Heure Fougueuse and La Treiziéme Heure. Not that Russian Caravan is bad perfume. It just isn’t a world-shaker, and the longevity is poor.
Tema.Cmirnov – :
I don’t like tea scents very much; they tend to have an astringent, almost metallic quality to them that sears my nose. This one is more subtle and the emphasis is placed on a distant rose/carnation note than anything. It’s green and bergamot-ish, and has more going on than many of the other scents in the line, but it reminds me quite a bit of Demeter’s Funeral Home, only the Demeter is stronger and more lasting. (There’s a good chance, actually, that Brosius was responsible for Funeral Home). From the perspective of realism, he nailed it as this smells very much like infused tea. Invigorating, profoundly realistic, obnoxiously expensive given its performance; this certainly deserves a place within the line-up as it’s one of the few that deviate from the “wet soil” effect that he throws on everything. A well-done sheer tea skin scent.
STELT – :
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).
Irakli – :
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.
09alexl – :
well… it smells like…. cold lemon tea added to it a hint of soap then a soft drink (7up does the work). so it’s a mixture of worm rather than cold tea. no for me.
aka_ares – :
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.
ddrr – :
This is a dead ringer for Lipton ice tea, with some added bergamot. I wish it weren’t so, I’ve been after a good black tea fragrance for a long time, but this just isn’t interesting enough. I admire the realism, but I don’t want to smell of it.
LisaGarieenurry – :
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.
amigrant6 – :
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?
koliano – :
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!
AeonFlux – :
Gypsy Parfumista’s review? I’m sold!
Машуля – :
This scent is best tested on your body. For some people the lemon is brought out, and for other the woodsy notes. The tea is constant and amazing. I like this with the Library scent by CB. This is unisex, the person’s body is such a key factor on how this smells. The strip of paper samples are always off.
maclein – :
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!
NikonED – :
*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…
gmurikov – :
I found this to be a rather vapid rose tea fragrance. The water perfume had not staying power on me.
sphinks – :
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.
sahalinskii – :
i purchased a small sample of this scent. In all honesty, after smelling it, i could not make myself wear it. It seemed as if i sampled lemon flavored black tea and not a fragrance. very deceiving.
lkq517intitytek – :
Very nostalgic smell from my childhood. Thoughts coming back to the could dark mornings when grandmother were prepared strong black tea with lemon. This smells the same. Only tea and lemon, without sugar.
лимончик – :
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.
rus11 – :
This smells like the black tea I drink every morning, but with some lemon! However, unlike other tea scents I own, this has surprising longevity. I could smell it on me at the end of the day, a good 9 hours later. And there’s none of that musky dry down I find in other light tea scents. Christopher Brosius is a genius at capturing scent memories!
Vesheva – :
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!