Collection Homme Thé Brun (2005)
by Jean-Charles Brosseau

This is strong and singular, a bit shocking. I get a leather impression from it. I have not smelled tea like this~ though I do drink Lapsang Souchong. I was unsure at first if I liked it. So I sprayed some on the shirts hanging in the man of the house's closet. That was good. Now I do like it. It's not an everyday. I like how unapologetic it is. It is dark. But not murky. It just means business.

27th May, 2010.

Strong tea leaves and lemon. Almost minty. Rather bland otherwise.

7th October, 2008.

The initial smoky tea note is quite nice, bearing some resemblance to CdG's Leaves-Tea and Annick Goutal's Fier, but in a matter of minutes it settles into a sweet, powdery and rather unimaginative drydown (just like the other two men's offerings by Brosseau, at least on my skin). Overall, too timid and generic.

13rd January, 2007.

This beauty - created by Pierre Bourdon - is part of the Collection Homme, the other two fragrances being Atlas Cedar and Fruit de Bois. True to its name, it recreates the scent of a pot of Russian tea, one with more than a dash of lapsang souchong. The smokiness is quite apparent but does not totally dominate the scent as it does in Tea for Two. It is more submerged and gives a very well rounded, very well composed fragrance. Very nice, indeed!

15th December, 2006.

Most unusual scent -- this one definitely intrigues me. Imagine a faint citrus lingering behind a veil of smoke and dark tea, perhaps Lapsang Souchong or a similar brew. Very dark and brooding at first, with heavy emphasis on the smoky notes. Dries down to a lovely tea scent -- by far the strongest I've ever smelled.

This is, I'm sure, what a 19th century Chinese teahouse must have smelled like. All I need now is a Mandarin sitting across the table from me, smoking a black bamboo pipe and stroking his long, white beard as he speaks. Very evocative stuff, but not for everyone. (You must be a tea aficionado, or at least a fan of tea notes in fragrances, to appreciate this gem. If you like Bulgari Black and/or Silver Mountain Water, you'll most likely go crazy for Thé Brun.

Average longevity (four to six hours), with good sillage.

I was glad to see, too, that this house has finally come out with men's scents, as I had said for years that Brosseau's Ombre Rose was one of the best buys out there on the women's market.

Very, very good stuff, this.

27th October, 2006.