Fragrance Friday: the Jo Malone London Rare Teas collection

We all know that the name Jo Malone London is synonymous with luxury, but incredibly the highly coveted brand has taken that concept to a whole new level. The end result is their Rare Teas collection, devised of six most definitely next level colognes.

In 2010, Jo Malone engaged perfumer Christine Nagel to create a collection of tea inspired fragrances that referenced British traditional teas. This collection however, draws on some of the most desirable brews from the East, ranging from Silver Needle Tea, Darjeeling Tea, Jade Leaf Tea and Oolong Tea to Midnight Black Tea and Golden Needle Tea. Each is utter perfection and completely unique, creating the ultimate essence in refreshment – for your senses.

Each perfume is made with handpicked tea leaves sourced from countries including Japan, China and India that are infused using a method similar to that of brewing tea. From Japanese foothills to China and the Himalayas, each bud has been meticulously hand picked and prepared before being reinterpreted by the ingenuity of the perfumer and infused straight from the leaf into the highly refined fragrances.

Jo Malone London’s Vice President of product development, Céline Roux worked alongside perfumer Serge Majoullier of Mane to create the utterly covetable, new offering.

“Silver Needle Tea was created with leaves traditionally reserved for China’s Imperial family and has hints of musk, mimosa and rose,” she explained upon the collection’s release.  “The fragrance built around Midnight Black tea contains vanilla and labdanum, meant to intensify the tea’s oriental characteristics. Jade Leaf Tea uses leaves from Japan’s Sencha Ariake region enhanced using sesame and pomelo and the Golden Needle Tea, which is now created from a special type of black tea, picked exclusively during the last two weeks of March".

The process of sourcing the teas and creating the six perfumes apparently took an arduous four years. Each fragrance was macerated and matured at a different rate depending on the type: infusion ranged from 10 hours for the lighter white teas to 100 hours for the smoky black teas. The process required an extraordinary attention to detail to ensure the finished products amplified the central notes of each particular blend, and the end result reflects that. For example, to create the Oolong Tea scent, the leaves are left to wither on bamboo racks in the sun, before being oxidised for 15 hours and infused for precisely 68 hours to develop the desired woody notes. The Silver Needle Tea is created using silver tip leaves sourced from the lush valleys of Fujian, southeast China, where they are handpicked at dawn to maximise their freshness. Amazing.

The two I have been lucky enough to have a play with are Golden Needle Tea and Midnight Black Tea. The former is an instantly lovable, woody and spicy blend that oozes warmth and luxury. The latter is a true heady mix that thus far I have reserved – and loved – for night. It’s incredibly sexy and totally exotic, and has garnered more than its fair share of compliments.

Last but not least, a new bottle has also been designed for the limited edition collection. This is the first time Jo Malone London has created a new bottle for its perfumes in 25 years and it is an absolute joy to behold.

These beauties are available in store right now for RRP $550.00 and you guessed it, worth every cent.