Munnar, a hill station in the southwestern state of Kerala, is one of India’s largest tea producers. Ensconced in the Western Ghats mountain range, the town is surrounded by plantations that cascade down the hills and hide in misty ravines. I was in Munnar for my honeymoon, and my recollections of long languorous walks around the tea gardens, the tolling church bells, and the opulence of flower garlands at the Sri Subramanya Temple are laced with the scent of tea leaves. Crushed in my fingers, they smelled green and tannic; when carried by the morning breeze, the aroma resembled violets and driftwood.
The fragrance of tea has captivated many perfumers, but it was Jean-Claude Ellena who created the tea accord that became a trendsetter. Today it’s known as Bulgari Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert. Curiously, the fragrance wasn’t meant to make a big splash. When the Italian jewelry house of Bulgari approached Ellena, they were merely looking to offer a perfume in their boutiques, an elegant addition to their collection of adornments. Meanwhile, Ellena had a sketch of a fragrance that his other clients deemed a bit too innovative. It was an etude evoking the aroma of tea, and it was perfect for Bulgari. However, as soon as the house started offering Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert in its boutiques, it drew so much attention that Bulgari had to stage a wider launch.
The appeal of Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert is due to its ability to present the familiar as novel. The scent given off by tea contains hundreds of aroma-molecules, and Ellena had spent hours at the Mariage Frères boutique smelling different grades and varieties of Camellia sinesis leaves. Ellena built the composition on the accord of two important materials in the perfumer’s palette—violet and jasmine, with violet being played by the velvety, hazy ionones and jasmine by luminous, lemony hedione. Ionones are naturally present in violets, red wine and berries, while hedione exists in jasmine. Yet, in Ellena’s olfactory trompe-l’oeil, or trompe-le nez, violet and jasmine made up the scent of green tea.
Another suprise is that Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert reinterprets the classical citrus eau de cologne. Ellena blended his tea accord with bergamot and cardamom for a bright, exhilarating opening, and then he rounded out the composition with woods and orange blossom. It’s a refreshing, airy perfume, but with a soft, tender finish. Meant for men and women alike, Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert anticipated the androgynous minimalism of CK One and inspired a large family of tea perfumes, from Elizabeth Arden Green Tea to L’Artisan Thé pour un Été. Subsequent creations by Ellena, The Different Company Osmanthus and Hermès Eau de Narcisse Bleu, continue the artist’s reading of tea leaves.
Wearing Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert recently, I realized that even more than reminding me of the aroma of tea, the perfume conveys my idea of Munnar. It evokes the freshness of mountain air, the bitterness of fresh leaves, and the sweetness of night-blooming jasmine dissipating with the morning mist. Like many notable perfumes, Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert is an invitation to a reverie.
Photography by Bois de Jasmin
17 Comments
Alityke: My pick of the tea bunch is the L’Artisan The Pour Une Ete. The Bulgari was worn by my brother, until he discovered people thought it was for women. Then he swapped to Bulari Homme July 19, 2024 at 9:01am
Jo: I adore this but absolutely loved the Extreme flanker. I wish it was still available. July 19, 2024 at 9:29am
Hilde: Hi Victoria,
The first time I got to know some tea based perfumes, was with Elisabeth Arden’s Green Tea and l’Occitane Thé Vert au Jasmin.
But I didn’t go further in my ‘green tea journey’, because I was not found of the above mentioned perfumes.
So that’s the reason that I have never smelled Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert from Bvlgari.
On the other hand, I adore Eau Parfumée au The Bleu from the Bvlgari tea range.
And Tea for Two from L’Artisan Parfumeur is also amazing.
Buy the way, I have bought your book in Dutch as a gift for Monique. I am sure she will enjoy reading it. July 19, 2024 at 9:31am
Carolyn Middleton: Pardon me if I have said this on here before – if I have it was a very long time ago! When this perfume was first launched it was only available in Bulgari boutiques, & I had read about it in a news article somewhere, not that I could afford to buy a bottle at that time! Visiting London, I popped into the Sloane Street location – dressed in jeans & a t-shirt from a recent gig no doubt – security person opened the door for me, sales assistant asked what I was looking for. Explained I’d read about the perfume & those were the magic words – I was ushered to a seat, offered tea/coffee/water/champagne, chatted about perfume in general, then a lovely little package was brought to me (along with a glass of bubbly!) – it looked like a small book & had a cut-out section at the back which held a mini replica bottle of the perfume, with information about the ingredients, what inspired it etc described in the booklet’s pages. Absolutely beautiful! I left very happily & bought a bottle shortly afterwards, & have recently returned to it (& will do again) after many years. I still love it, & last year when checking out of a London hotel the receptionist said “Madam, if you don’t mind me saying so, you smell lovely” – that works for me, every time! July 19, 2024 at 9:41am
Hilde: I like the way your story telling.
It is like a psychological roman. July 19, 2024 at 11:52am
Carolyn Middleton: Thank you for your kind words – glad you enjoyed my tale! July 24, 2024 at 10:37am
Michelle Mayo: Love this story too much 🧡 July 28, 2024 at 2:30am
Carolyn Middleton: Glad you enjoyed my story & thank you for saying so. July 28, 2024 at 6:23am
Safran: Definetely have to re-visit Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert after I’ve read this, thank you!
The tea fragrance I am wearing today seems to fly a bit under the radar, Nomad Tea by Comme des Garcons. It might frighten people, that it belongs to the “Sweet” Series, but compared to the current wave of sweet fragrances, it is not really sweet imo. I like it very much on hot days, minty, herbal, soft and somehow calming. July 19, 2024 at 11:12am
Fazal Cheema: I did not buy Eau Parfumee Vert until, if I remember correctly, 2012 or so. However, the flanker Eau Parfumee Vert Extreme is probably my favorite tea scent (Bvlgari Black comes a close second though, unlike Eau Parfumee Vert Extreme, Black was not an instant love and it took me some time to appreciate it). Extreme also has a special place in my heart for the very reason that it was one of the first scents I acquired when I began my collection journey in first year of college. July 19, 2024 at 12:13pm
Maggiecat: I own and love Ineke’s Poet’s Jasmine (jasmine green tea) and Fragonard’s Green Tea and Jasmine. I think I need to revisit this Ellen’s creation again! July 19, 2024 at 12:48pm
Bregje: I love this fragrance. It is so soft and beautiful yet present. Oh you describe it better: an invitation to a reverie
Just the other day i was longing for it and realizing that i haven’t worn it for a while.
Thank you for reminding me July 19, 2024 at 6:53pm
Phyllis Iervello: I did buy this fragrance and still have a bottle of it. July 19, 2024 at 11:09pm
rickyrebarco: I love this fragrance. It’s one of Jean-Claude Ellena’s masterpieces. It is refreshing and calming at the same time, perfect for hot summer weather. July 20, 2024 at 12:41pm
Aurora: Munnar sounds like a magical place and obviously has a special place in your heart. How wonderful to have a perfume associated with the place. EPaTV is a masterpiece and I’m also fond of Thé Rouge too, it’s a fall perfume for me. July 21, 2024 at 11:18am
SoSuSam: I have loved this fragrance since it became available beyond the Bvlgari boutiques. Back then, I worked at a job I hated very near Saks 5th Ave. To cheer myself up at lunch, I’d wander the main floor of Saks, sniffing the latest perfume releases. Many were horrifying, but Eau Perfumee au The Vert was glorious! I couldn’t buy it quickly enough. Once my friends smelled it on me, they all wanted it, too. It really was–and remains–special. I always have a bottle, even though I wear it infrequently. But, thanks to your post, I will do so tomorrow and delight everyone around me. 🙂 July 21, 2024 at 4:50pm
Carolyn Middleton: A footnote to my original tale of a couple of weeks ago. Recently I was in Glasgow so popped into Space NK to buy a bottle of Eau Parfumee au The Vert, to be told by a very helpful lady that it was only available via their website (this was after I had asked in John Lewis & Frasers department stores, where I was advised they didn’t stock Bulgari at all, which surprised me. My most recent bottle was bought in Harvey Nichols in Edinburgh (I was there to see the genius that is Jimmy Webb in concert, if anyone is interested!) & was the last one on the shelf. Anyway, I placed my order with Space NK for a ‘combined’ package – a standard size bottle & a 10ml travel size, for GBP 85.00, which I thought was extremely good value, & the 10ml bottle will be great for a couple of trips I have planned where I’ll be flying (although why all these years later we still have such rules & restrictions still in place I have no idea). August 5, 2024 at 9:01am