The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Serge Majoullier created Oolong Tea in 2016 as part of Jo Malone London's Rare Tea Collection. The fragrance captures the essence of oolong with its distinctive character. The tension between different tea characteristics became the whole fragrance, creating a scent that feels both familiar and unexpected.
Honey and tonka provide a sweet foundation that lingers in the base long after the tea itself has faded. Cacao contributes a dry, bitter quality reminiscent of dark chocolate, pulling the composition toward something more grounded. This isn't a tea scent that happens to be sweet. It's a sweet scent that happens to smell like tea.
The evolution
The opening is all atmosphere, a waft of smoke, the faint green of the leaf, honey just starting to warm. There's a sweetness here that arrives quickly, not shy, not pushing. The middle phase brings tobacco and hay forward, a rounder quality that feels almost herbal in the best way. Then the cacao begins to assert itself, dry and bitter in the way dark chocolate does, pulling the composition toward something more grounded. The drydown is quiet but persistent, tonka and smoke together, the smell of an empty cup, the warmth left behind on your wrist.
Cultural impact
Oolong Tea sits apart from the typical tea fragrance. This 2016 release chose smoke and warmth instead, a reading that diverges from conventional expectations and offers something more complex for those seeking depth in their scent choices.
