Lemon Tea
Note Profile
About
Lemon squeezed into brewed black tea. Sharp citrus peel and juice sit on top, a tannic tea body sits under, and a roasted-sweet warmth joins the two. It is sourer and less floral than Earl Grey.
Scent Profile
Lemon tea smells of a zesty burst of lemon citrus poured into a cup, sharper and more sour than plain brewed tea. Underneath is the cured, tannic body of the tea leaf itself, closer to hay than to a fresh leaf. A roasted sweetness runs alongside it, like sugar stirred through the brew. It is less floral than Earl Grey.
ScentWheel
Read off the wheel, not a label applied to the note.
ScentArt
Materials That Can Make This Note
Perfumers can build Lemon Tea from materials such as:
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Furfural almond · caramellic · caramelic
Smell words come from published sources.
A given perfume with this note may use this material, or something else.
Origin
A prepared drink, not an extract. The referent is hot black tea (Camellia sinensis, fermented leaf) with lemon added, either as juice, a slice of peel, or as a blended citrus black tea. Perfumery builds it as an accord: a lemon or bergamot-lemon top over a black-tea base. A 2020 sensory and GC-olfactometry study of citrus blend black teas measured the lemon-blended type and named furfural, a roasted-smelling compound formed during tea processing, as one of its characterising odourants.
Usage in Perfumery
Used as an opening-to-heart accord in tea fragrances, colognes and gourmand-adjacent citrus compositions. It gives a citrus lift that does not fly off as fast as a bare peel oil, because the tea body holds it down.
Similar Notes
Perfumes featuring Lemon Tea
A selection of reviewed perfumes where Lemon Tea appears prominently.
No perfumes featuring this note have been reviewed yet. Check back soon.