ROOIBOS TEA

Rooibos tea suggests a warm infusion with gentle sweetness and an earthy character. Its inspiration is the South African shrub Aspalathus linearis, whose fine leaves are used to make rooibos. The drink’s sweet flavour can suggest toffee or vanilla, but a perfume does not have to reproduce those associations literally or smell like a sweetened cup.

A rooibos note can be an accord: a composed scent rather than proof of tea extract in the bottle. Chris Collins places a rooibos tea accord beside orris in African Rooibos, with cedarwood and spices elsewhere in the composition. This illustrates how the tea idea can belong to a woody, spicy setting. When exploring rooibos fragrances, consider those surrounding notes as well as the tea label; they help distinguish a dry interpretation from a sweeter one.