Philtre Ceylan
Atelier Cologne (2016)

Atelier Cologne seems to have cornered the market for good, fresh colognes that nonetheless cost far too much for what they actually offer. But Philtre Ceylon is excellent, an example of where Atelier Cologne’s simplicity of structure works to the benefit of the final effect of the perfume.

Philtre Ceylon is essentially a cold, black tea fragrance with a hit of leafy mint for added freshness. There is spice too, but the perfumers have cleverly sidestepped any reference to hot, sweet chai or to the vague milkiness that seems to come along with chai for the ride. Philtre Ceylon does a great job of retaining a dark, bitter edge that works very well in hot weather.

Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on your liking for Atelier Cologne – the strangely glassy white musk that forms the base for most of their fragrances eventually shows up here as well, diluting the pungency of the tea. But the black tea accord up top is just so well done that it would be curmudgeonly of me not to give this an unreserved two thumbs up for casual summer wear, especially if you’re a tea freak.

My daughter said, "Don't ever wear this again".

I concur...

Rough, dirty tea that does not quit. If this is your bag, the longevity may very well be worth the admission price. I probably would've preferred a smokey Souchong to this.

So my 5/10 rating could be somewhat subjective.

I love Philtre Ceylan's fresh and blue spices. I love the non-cloying mint tea. I love that it's so simple. I also love that it's original anyway. I never smelled something like this before. Great!

Whilst there is some freshness in the opening minutes, consisting of a spearmint note that has been touched up by an undercurrent of bergamot, very soon a cardamom arrives that it overgrowing the initial fresh olfactory dyad very soon, the it becomes the dominant part of the top notes.

The drydown adds a cumin impression, which gains in strength gradually and combines with the cardamom to form a smoothly and slightly spicy set of heart notes. Concurrently I get a soft and weak notes of black tea, which remains quite nonspecific on me and is of a nigh perfunctory character; this is no Bulgari Black. A few florals make transient appearances, mainly a gentle green iris with whiffs of jasmine, but the cumin remains in the foreground well into the base.

Towards the end I get a woodsy finale, which expresses whiffs of a papyrus/grassy side briefly, but the cumin makes its presence feel until the end.

I get moderate sillage, good projection and seven hours of longevity on my skin.

A pleasant scent for warmer summer days, restrained sufficiently to make it suitable for the office, but being a bit too generic to make it past the post to a positive score. This is not an olfactory aphrodisiac for me. 2.75/5

Cooling black tea with a minty aroma and a healthy dose of cumin that brings a dirty and interesting kick. Smelling up close, the cumin is dominating the blend for a good couple of hours and it can be too much for me, but from the distance the smell is nicer, the adding of cumin works well with the minty black tea.

Wow - this Atelier realy crosses over into niche territory in terms of quality, unique scent, and combination of notes. The card with the sample listed only ceylon tea, bergamot and spearmint from india. Forget the bergamot this is never going to be an earl-grey citrussy tea. Also, think about the Black Tea and Mint combination - how weird, and it doesn't go down the mint-tea route. This is a well oxidised strong black leaf tea combined with a menthol type mint note: The thought of it on paper turns my stomach, it don't sound right - but on my wrist it smells divine. Its one of the best Tea scents I've experienced. A realistic strong black tea note, bitter and dark - like smelling a container full of black leaf tea. I get some spices such as clove and cinnamon and some patchoulli earthiness. I think there must be something in a black tea accord that perfumers use that reminds me of clove as I get a real clove O-D from tea-for-two - the tea note here is much better IMO whereas tea-for-two never quite chimed with me. I am even treated to a tarry caramel dry down.

I will need to test further to ensure all the magic is not gone within the first hour, and it doesn't get too sweaty on my skin. But first impressions are very favorable. A dark scent, and quite off piste from the brand. A knock-out black tie masculine. My feeling is it could go under-appreciated due to getting crowded out by the more typical Atelier scents. Smells like something Comme des Garcons would release 80/100. Needs to be in the conversation when discussing top black tea scents. Brings to mind TFT, Bulgari man in Black. Murdocks black tea.