The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Jarekhye Covarrubias saw tea as an underutilized anchor in perfumery, usually a top note, fleeting and astringent, rarely the foundation. High Tea was an attempt to change that. The goal wasn't a simple tea scent. It was tea as a structure: one that could hold creamy, buttery warmth without collapsing into sweetness. Milk, butter, and white musk temper the tannins. Patchouli adds grounding. The black tea itself provides the spine, and the melancholy. Released in 2018, the result is a study in restraint: lactonic richness, nutty warmth, and something unexpectedly tender. You catch a whiff and wonder if you've walked past a bakery or met someone wearing perfume. The answer is both, handled gently.
The lactonic note, milk, cream, that soft dairy richness, is what makes High Tea unusual. In perfumery, lactonic is often paired with fruity or sweet elements, creating dessert fragrances that announce themselves. Here, the dairy serves the tea instead. It softens the tannins, adds body without sweetness, and lets the black tea feel herbal rather than bitter. The almond and biscuit notes arrive as warmth, not sugar. Patchouli does what patchouli does: keeps everything grounded, stops the composition from floating away. The overall effect is edible without being a novelty. It's the kind of fragrance that makes you lean closer, not step back.
The evolution
The opening is all tea, bright, slightly astringent, a bit green. The milk and butter arrive within minutes, softening the sharpness into something creamier. Then the biscuit and almond reveal themselves: a soft nutty sweetness that feels more like warmth than sugar. The patchouli stays quiet at first, then emerges as an anchor, keeping the lactonic richness from becoming too airy. The drydown is the quietest part. White musk close to the skin, faint biscuit warmth, the faintest ghost of patchouli. It lingers, but it doesn't project. You catch it when someone leans in. The fragrance offers respectable wear time on most skin types, and the sillage stays close rather than filling a room. It's a fragrance that rewards closeness.
Cultural impact
Since its 2018 debut, High Tea has cultivated a quiet following among niche fragrance enthusiasts drawn to unconventional gourmand compositions. It occupies a specific corner: tea-forward but lactonic, sweet but grounded, wearable without being safe. The discontinued status has only deepened its appeal among collectors seeking something that doesn't follow the usual rules.
