Rooibos Tea in perfume is a warm, honeyed accord inspired by the red bush tea of South Africa, made from Aspalathus linearis. Although drunk like tea, rooibos is not a true tea, and its scent is sweeter and softer: woody, hay-like and faintly vanillic, with a caramel and dried-fruit warmth rather than the tannic bite of leaf tea.

What does Rooibos Tea smell like?

Brewed rooibos smells round and gently sweet, with notes of honey, dry hay, warm wood and a faint tobacco-like earthiness, sometimes with a fruity nuance like dried apricot. It has almost none of the bitterness or astringency of Camellia tea. Compared with the Tea note, which is fresh and transparent, and with Black Tea, which is malty, smoky and tannic, rooibos is softer and more cosseting. Green (unoxidised) rooibos is lighter, grassier and slightly malty.

How perfumers create Rooibos Tea

Rooibos is usually reconstructed rather than extracted. Perfumers use coumarin or tonka bean for the hay-like base, honey materials and a little beeswax for sweetness, damascones and ionones for dried-fruit and dried-leaf warmth, and soft woods and a trace of vanilla for the reddish, cosy impression. Tobacco or mate touches can add earthiness.

• Also known as: Red bush tea, red tea, rooibos, Aspalathus linearis
• Fragrance family: Aromatic, with woody and gourmand facets
• Type: Accord (created by the perfumer)
• Main origins: Cederberg region, Western Cape, South Africa (for the plant)
• Key aroma molecules: Coumarin, beta-damascenone, ionones, vanillin (in accords)

Rooibos Tea in perfume history

The plant grows only in and around the Cederberg mountains. Indigenous Khoisan communities may have used it long before colonisation, and commercial trading began in the early twentieth century, with Benjamin Ginsberg developing a curing process in 1904. In the 1930s Pieter le Fras Nortier found a way to germinate its seeds, making cultivation possible. The oxidation stage gives the leaves their red colour and sweeter aroma. In May 2021 the European Union granted rooibos protected designation of origin status. As a perfume note it is recent, following the broader tea trend.

Rooibos Tea in modern perfumery

Rooibos appears in soft tea scents, comfort fragrances and home fragrance, where its caffeine-free, wholesome image and cosy sweetness are appealing. It suits perfumers wanting a tea effect that is warm rather than fresh.

How Rooibos Tea wears and what it pairs with

Rooibos usually sits in the heart and fades into a soft, woody-sweet base. It pairs with honey, vanilla, orange, cinnamon, tonka bean, fig, sandalwood and tobacco.