Chinese Black Tea CO2

The tea originated in the Wuyi Mountains of Fujian Province, China, where the Jiang family of Tongmu claims 24 generations of continuous production at the same site. Legend attributes the smoked character to a Qing dynasty army that occupied the village in around 1840, forcing tea farmers to dry their leaves quickly over pine fires. The leaves absorbed the smoke, and Dutch traders later favored this unexpected flavor. The resulting tea became known as Lapsang Souchong, named after the Song dynasty term for the region. Tea trade reshaped East-West commerce in the 17th and 18th centuries, but perfumery took longer to embrace tea as a fragrance material. Jean-Claude Ellena pioneered tea notes in 1992 with Bvlgari's Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert, though he used synthetics rather than natural extracts. Natural tea extracts only entered perfumery significantly later. Black tea CO2 captures hay, tobacco, and smoky leather—qualities that made tea notes slow to gain traction in perfumery, which historically favored cleaner, fresher scents. This raw intensity is precisely what makes black tea CO2 compelling as a natural fragrance material today.