Tea scented candles seem to be as popular as ever with recent launches from Anthousa, K. Hall Designs and Tocca. I love tea, so this makes me happy. Here’s a quick low-down on the top tea candles.
Basic Tea Scents
Simpatico Tea by K. Hall Designs – This candle offers the most pure, black tea scent. This blend of camellia leaf and oils of bergamot, orange, and myrrh come together in a warm, relaxing scent that soothes the soul. This fragrance is slightly sweet – not better or sour at all. Very lovely and comforting. Added bonus? The reusable brown, hobnail vessel.
Jonathan Adler Earl Grey – This fragrance also comes across fairly simple with a blend of black tea leaves, citrus, yuzu, jasmine, earl grey, and sandalwood. This fragrance is more Earl Grey with it’s floral notes, than the Simpatico Tea candle. The sleek grey vessel is a perfect fit for this fragrance.
Anthousa Parisean White Tea – Now we’re starting to get more complex. Meyer
lemon, wild lilies and white tea blended with heliotrope flower, fern
leaves and pink tuberose,
grounded with rosewater, ylang ylang and a sheer musk note. This
fragrance is most similar to the Jonathan Adler Earl Grey scent with
it’s slightly floral undertones. The citrus notes come on more strong
than in the others.
Fresh Tea Scents
Vie Luxe Maldives –
a blend of exotic ceylon tea, delicate heliotrope and lush palm
leaves. You wouldn’t guess from the description, but this is actually
the sweetest tea scent in the bunch – not from sugar, though, but rather from the ceylon tea. This is one of my favorite
“background” fragrances – when you are looking for something to enjoy
that isn’t in your face screaming. It’s a fun, playful, daytime or
summer scent.
Aquiesse White Tea & Mint – a
blend of white tea, night blooming jasmine and fresh spearmint. This
mint adds such a vibrant touch to this fragrance making it very lively
and invigorating. This is a great daytime scent when you need to wake
up the house.
Aquiesse Mandarin Tea – a
clean blend of fresh mandarine, ceylon tea, and exotic woods. This
fragrances offers more warmth White Tea & Mint but it’s still fun
and lively. Apparently I like celyon tea as this has the same tea
accord as Vie Luxe Maldives. I like how the mandarin notes create a juicy feel.
Tocca Bianca – This is a summery fragrance with notes of green tea, lemon and sugar. Tocca Bianca is as refreshing and delicious as it sounds. At the same time, it’s well balanced – not overly energizing. It’s a great, fun, daytime fragrance when you are looking for something lively but not zingy. I love the sugar note in this one – like the undissolved sugar granules you find at the bottom of a cup of ice tea. Pure and simple like the smile on an innocent child.
Modern Alchemy Boston Tea Party – This fragrance is so far from basic tea. It’s a blend of black tea, cedar and brackish seaweed absolute. It is complex and musky. I love the Modern Alchemy candles, I just wish some of them were more fragrant and this is one. Boston Tea Party is a great masculine take on tea and I love the Modern Alchemy vessels.
Altelier Cologne Oolang Infini – a blend of blue tea and bergamot with the warmth of smoke and leather. It definitely comes across smokey and leather. Of all the tea fragrances, this one comes across the most “cold”. Oolang Infini is a great masculine blend and I love the way Atelier Cologne candles burn – very easy and cleanly. I also love the simple rouge vessel.
Trump Black Tea and Cognac by Aquiesse – a seductive blend of fine liqueur and warm vanilla tea with a hint of sweet
tobacco. This is the most rich tea fragrance in the bunch bringing sweetness from the vanilla tea and depth from notes of cognac. I like how this candle draws sweet notes from vanilla rather than sugar for a more unique angle for tea scents. I love the elegant glass vessel and multi-purpose glass cover/base.
As I write this blog post I am surrounded by all of these candles burning and I have to say it absolutely heavenly! It’s tough to pull off a tea scent that isn’t too bitter, pungent or cold and all of these mastered this core scent with ease.
