On vacation in Morocco years ago, I spent a week inexplicably pronouncing the French word for “mint” (menthe) as “mountain” (mont). During that week, in Fez, Marrakech, Casablanca, I ordered lots of ‘mountain tea’ (thé à la mont) before I realized my mistake. I turned red as I remembered all the waiters and café owners who had looked at me strangely as I ordered mountain tea (no such thing!) when what I really wanted was a glass of thé à la menthe. I recall one café proprietress — in the Atlas Mountains of all places — her eyes lined in kohl, shouting at me maniacally (between hearty guffaws) when I asked for some mountain tea:
ME: Thé à la mont, s’il vous plaît.
SHE: (eyes opened wide, shaking head from side to side) Non.
ME: (a bit louder) Thé à la mont, s’il vous plaît.
SHE: (frowning, shaking head from side to side and moving arms up and down) Non!
ME: (emphasizing each word) Thé à la mont, s’il vous plaît.
SHE: (hands on hips, eyes almost popping out of their sockets, spittle flying) NON! NON! NON!
At this point, I left the shop — thirsty, confused and a bit scared; the woman’s other clientele became silent during our exchange and they gave me pitying looks as I left the café.
Thankfully, most Moroccans were “understanding” of my inadequate (WRONG) tea orders and figured out immediately that I wanted a pot of spearmint tea. I drank gallons of sweet mint tea on that trip and was so enthusiastic about the national beverage of Morocco I came home and planted several varieties of mint in my back yard so I could make my own mint tea. When I make mint tea, using green tea and handfuls of fresh mint leaves, and, yes, handfuls of sugar too, I always remember Morocco; I loved the fields full of fragrant mint and it was always a pleasure to smell the aroma of spearmint in the countryside (or in the city) when a large truck would drive past loaded with huge bundles of bright-green mint. (And don’t get me started on the cute big-eyed donkeys munching wads of mint — a sight I saw often.)
Perfumer Stéphanie de Saint-Aignan’s Un Thé au Sahara perfume was inspired by Morocco and her love of Paul Bowles’ writing. In The Sheltering Sky, we read of three women, Outka, Mimouna and Aïcha, who dream of having tea in the Sahara Desert. One day they pool their money and join a caravan heading south and when they finally reach the sandy dunes of the Sahara at sunset, they take their teapot, tea tray and three glasses and walk into the desert. All night, with the bright moon above them, they search for the highest dune with the best view on which to prepare tea. Night turns to day, it becomes hot, and the women, at last, on top of the tallest dune of all, decide to sleep before making their tea.
I not only love to drink tea, but I love tea fragrances. Un Thé au Sahara contains tea, mint, incense, wood and leather; it is not an attempt to recreate the aroma of a cup of hot mint tea. Un Thé au Sahara opens with a lightly sweetened and milky citrus-mint-tea accord, then one detects a bit of smoke, a drop of patchouli and a faint leather note. Un Thé au Sahara develops quickly and its aroma stays close to the body. Un Thé au Sahara becomes “talcy” in the dry-down; overall, it’s a subtle, smooth, and quiet fragrance.
I like my tea perfumes STRONG: give me powerful scents of black tea leaves or tea “syrup” and if the tea is “smoked” — let the fragrance smell as if logs of dried tea are burning in a fireplace. I prefer Comme des Garçons Series 1: Leaves, Tea and Parfumerie Generale L'Eau Rare Matale to Un Thé au Sahara, but if those perfumes are too strong and “rough” for your tastes, give Un Thé au Sahara a try; also, if you are one of the many people who loved Nasomatto China White’s dry-down, but had trouble with its opening, Un Thé au Sahara may please you.
Un Thé au Sahara smells feminine to me, and it has a drowsy quality; it also makes me a bit “sad” — like the ending of Bowles’ tale of the women whose most pressing wish was to enjoy tea in the desert:
Many days later another caravan was passing and a man saw something on top of the highest dune there. And when they went up to see, they found Outka, Mimouna and Aïcha; they were still there, lying the same way as when they had gone to sleep. And all three of the glasses…were full of sand. That was how they had their tea in the Sahara.*
Stéphanie de Saint-Aignan Un Thé au Sahara is available in 50 ml Eau de Toilette. For buying information, see the listing for Stéphanie de Saint-Aignan under Perfume Houses.
* The Sheltering Sky, Paul Bowles, HarperCollins, 2000; 50th Anniversary Edition, p. 31.
Note: top image is Sahara - Erg Admer by aterracielo at flickr; some rights reserved.
Thanks, Kevin…that made me laugh when I remembered one of my “French stories.” Years ago, I was returning home from Paris with my parents and my mother sent me, with my high-school French, to ask the cab driver if he'd take us to Charles de Gaulle. I was so confused I asked him if he WAS de Gaulle. Got back a weary Parisian 'whaa' — hey, it's a fare. Must try these tea frags…don't like to drink it but do like to wear it.
fc&g: those cringe-worthy moments stay with us for life!
Glad I'm not the only one who can't forget silly slips.
Lovely review as always, Kevin…but I think you've piqued my interest in the book rather than the frag.
boojum: the book's GOOD and of course, MUCH less expensive than any of the perfumes….
This is something I wanted to try.
I like lots of leather and lots of smoke though. I might try this eventually, but its not at the top of my to-try list
once the boy who sits beside me in Calculus was chewing spearmint gum and I was wearing Bvlgari Black and they smelled very pleasant together in my opinion.
Thanks for this post, Kevin! I've actually been yearning for the perfect iced tea scent. I have to say, I haven't tried many, though. I'm dreaming of light, crisp, refreshing, bright, iced tea, with perhaps a drop of mint, sugar, and NO lemon. The Pour Un Ete seems like it would be perfect, but it strikes me as a bit too clean and masculine. Maybe it's the musk that throws me off. Not sure how I'd fix it. Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea is much too sweet and overpowering. Tea for Two is great fun, and I like it, but it's not the type of tea I'm searching for. I wore Bulgari's green tea years ago, and liked it enough at the time, but now it's not something I want to wear. There's a note that puts me off.
I'll have to try Un The au Sahara…and I suppose I also need to get my hands on Osmanthe Yunnan. But I'll throw this question out to the NST community – are there any other tea fragrances that I should try that fit that iced tea description I mentioned? Thanks for any ideas!
krokodilgena: for smoke, go for the PG or CdG teas. And I can imagine Bvlgari Black would smell nice with spearmint gum.
karin: I like PdN Fig Tea…very refreshing.
Masaki Matsushima, at Sephora
Mintea $25
Minty Fresh
Care for a spot of tea? This calming blend is steeped in refreshing green and mint teas, as well as splashes of lemon, lily of the valley, and white rose. One spray or two?
karin: also read Robin's review of Carthusia Mediterraneo…there's lemon, but more tea…and so good!
What a lovely… well I hesitiate to say 'review' – this is a charming story with a review thrown in. NST certainly has more than it's fair share of expressive and skillful writers. I love hanging out here.
Ooooh! Yes, I've been anxious to try this, as I LOVE PdN. Thanks, Kevin.
Great! I'll add this one to the list.
Thanks, peanut!
Ohh, now I”m craving mint tea with honey! Thanks Kevin
Fortunately, we have it growing right out our back door, very convenient…
In general I like lighter tea scents (LA's Pour Un Ete is one of my faves) But, I do love incense smoke & leather. (I'm such a Gemini!)
I definately have to add this to the list..
RusticDove: thanks…very kind of you!
SFLizbeth: mint has taken over “the lower 40” in my yard…it LOVES Seattle weather. I'm anxious to try other scents from the Saint-Aignan line….
So would you compare this at all to the new Olivier Durdano scent, Jade? When I smelled it at Scent Bar I swear it smelled JUST like iced tea.
Wish the S-d-S-A scent wasn't so hard to pronounce.
It's an amazing book!
hello-
what is your sweet mint tea recipe? i'd love to try to make some– sounds delish!
Great post! Have you ever tried CDG Sweet Nomad Tea? That's one of many tea scents I like. (Too bad it's discontinued.)
Berberiades is a nice cool weather scent…very warm and spicy.
I'd like that recipe too – I didn't realize their mint tea was made with spearmint, not peppermint.
Funny! I love the tea and vanilla smell of Bulgari Black. What others interpret as rubber, my nose interprets a clear minty note. Viva la difference! Do you like Bulgari Black? And do you think it's more feminine or masculine? I find it comforting and more feminine. But I'm curious to here a male prospective.
I love your posts, your writing is sublime.
Joy,
Becca
Adding a correction: I guess it's not discontinued. Supposedly it's still available at the Comme des Garcons boutique in NYC.
….that would be “hear” a male opinion. See I can't even conquer English!
alotofscents: whenever I smell BB it has a masculine vibe…but I've never known a man who wears it…just women!
Mike: JADE just went to the top of my to-try list then…was about to place a Lucky Scent order anyway! (So far I've liked all the O.D. perfumes)
Mint Tea Recipe:
8 cups boiling water
8 tablespoons sugar (optional)
3 tablespoons dried green tea leaves
1 and one-half to 2 cups of fresh mint leaves, stems removed
Optional: a few strips of orange peel for the teapot
Place sugar, green tea, orange strips, mint leaves in the bottom
of your teapot. Holding the tea kettle with boiling water one foot above the teapot…pour the boiling water into the teapot. DRAMATIC. Let steep for 10-15 minutes. Pour tea into the glasses from 1 ft. above the glasses…a THIN tea spout works best. This high-altitude pouring aerates the tea…you can also do that by pouring a glass of tea, pouring it back into the teapot and pouring once more into the glass. If you have lots of mint, put a sprig or two of mint into each cup before pouring the tea into the glasses.
SuzanneK: it was my favorite from that series…but I never got around to buying a bottle.
wheee! thanks!
Karin — CB I Hate Perfume has some different teas with no lemon. Also Ava Luxe has a Mint Tea and a couple others. Finally, I think Duel is an excellent tea scent, although maybe it's more “cologne-y” than you want, the CB or Ava Luxe might be a better bet.
Kevin – I keep meaning to suggest that you try the Speziali Fiorentini The Nero (Black Tea). It's online, it's cheap (less than $30) and it's an excellent strong black tea along the lines of the CdG. I love the drydown. Ava Luxe also has a Moroccan mint tea.
I'm pretty sure I just saw this at Lucky.
— Your friendly neighborhood enabler
Great suggestions. Thanks, March!
Thanks, March…I'll try the The Nero.
Kevin, loved your story! I have three Saint-Aignan fragrances. Li Altarelli is a wonderful lemon/green/floral mix with a whiff of the ocean — I believe it's the perfumer's tribute to Corsica. Embruns d'Ambre is an aquatic amber – it's one of my top favorites right now (just pushes all the right Haunani buttons!). And the pretty Le Pot Aux Roses, despite its name, is a soft & powdery iris-violet combo.
Thanks, Haunani…the green/lemon/ocean sounds good.
I just got a sample of CDG Sweet Nomad Tea from Luckyscent in the mail today, had to go to work so didn't dab.
Love Osmanthe Yunnan.
What a lovely athmospheric story, Kevin. I'm sure every one of us has had those charmingly awful moments of making a complete fool out of themselves (embarrassed/embarazada… classic).
You're *almost* convincing me to go out and try this one, and that's a feat. I once tried Stéphanie de St.-Aignan's Amande Honorable, and it is easily one of the most foul scents I have ever tried. That makes me very apprehensive re: the rest of her line.
For a truly minty experience, I look to Ava Luxes Moroccan Mint Tea. Just tea and mint in large quantities (and some sugar), very simplistic but oh-so-gorgeous and refreshing in summer.
I think of it as androgynous
I think it's both masculine and feminine at the same time (I think unisex would mean it's neither)
but this is a female opinion…….
zoe: AL Moroccan Mint Tea sounds like it has a 100 percent approval rating…I'll try it.
Kevin lovely story/review. Of course it led me right back to luckyscent to pop a few (more) samples in my basket.
It's funny that you mention being “just about to place a Luckyscent order anyway”….I think so many of us here (at least this is true for me) are just about to place an order, OR just did place an order….I love this blog…and I bet Luckyscent loves it too!
Mary Kay has a nice lotion that's called Red Tea & Fig. There's also a body splash and body scrub if I remember correctly. It's definitely more tea than fig, and not overly sweet.
It really is! Li Altarelli will be one of my staples this summer, I am sure.