# Looking for true tea FOs



## TheBobbiesRSurly (Feb 28, 2017)

Hi all!

   Seems like I have a tough time finding true tea-smelling FOs.  The one I picked up smells like flowers =/  Does anyone know or have recs for some good tea FOs that actually smell like tea?  

  I'll be using them for bath bombs, in case that helps or changes anything


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## BattleGnome (Feb 28, 2017)

I recently used Brambleberry's green tea FO. It smells like cold green tea to me but it's currently curing in CP. I also picked up their black tea FO at the same time, oob it smells strongly of tea but I haven't used it yet.


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## artemis (Feb 28, 2017)

BattleGnome said:


> I recently used Brambleberry's green tea FO. It smells like cold green tea to me but it's currently curing in CP.



I have to disagree: my sister-in-law gave me a couple bars of CP scented with it and I don't think it smells like any tea I have ever had. For the record, I drink several cups of different teas throughout the day (tonight it's "Sensei Wu" which I got at Adagio). 

I would also like a good tea scent. I bought "Afternoon Tea" from Nurture. OOB I think it smells like lemon water, which is refreshing, but not tea. After about 3 days worth of cure in CP, it has a little more if a tea-like scent along with the lemon.


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## lenarenee (Feb 28, 2017)

I have some 4 month old BB black tea salt bars. They smell more smoky than anything right now. The scent changed many, many times during cure, but only once did I ever detect black tea.


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## BattleGnome (Feb 28, 2017)

artemis said:


> I have to disagree: my sister-in-law gave me a couple bars of CP scented with it and I don't think it smells like any tea I have ever had. For the record, I drink several cups of different teas throughout the day (tonight it's "Sensei Wu" which I got at Adagio).



I wonder what cure will do to it. My husband smelled it and immediately hated the scent, but he doesn't like iced tea. I also drink a lot of teas and it doesn't smell like anything I'd make for myself. 

I was thinking more of Arizona green tea that you'd get in a can. I added pure honey fo to the bars and the sweetness might be swaying that thought.


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## artemis (Feb 28, 2017)

BattleGnome said:


> I wonder what cure will do to it. I was thinking more of Arizona green tea that you'd get in a can. I added pure honey fo to the bars and the sweetness might be swaying that thought.



Maybe it is more like that. I must confess that I am a snob and don't really think of that as tea. My nose is in the air as I type. And my pinky is up as I sip my tea.


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## TheBobbiesRSurly (Feb 28, 2017)

Sounds like finding a true tea scent is gonna be a challenge  

@artemis - I love Adagio.  LOVE THEM


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## Stacyspy (Feb 28, 2017)

I really like WSP's Iced Tea Twist... smells just like Southern sweet tea.


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## doriettefarm (Feb 28, 2017)

Out of the very few tea FOs I've tried, I think BB's Black Tea smells the most like straight up brewed tea.  It's not sweet or floral to my nose and doesn't contain vanilla so won't discolor your bath bombs.  I just made a batch of CP with it so I could mail you an end piece of soap or a small sniffy sample if you'd like.


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## IrishLass (Feb 28, 2017)

The best truest tea scent I ever used was TheScentWork's Iced Black Keemun Tea. Pure straight-up tea without any honey, lemon or flowery notes. The bad news: TheScentWorks is no longer in business. The good news- according to those who have used it, Daystar's Black Tea FO is an excellent replacement for it. I have not used it myself (yet) because I still have a little under a pound of the Iced Black Keemun Tea FO on hand, but once I run out, I know where I'll be ordering it from.


IrishLass


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## artemis (Feb 28, 2017)

TheBobbiesRSurly said:


> @artemis - I love Adagio.  LOVE THEM



Have you made any blends of your own at Adagio?


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## Susie (Mar 1, 2017)

IrishLass said:


> The best truest tea scent I ever used was TheScentWork's Iced Black Keemun Tea. Pure straight-up tea without any honey, lemon or flowery notes. The bad news: TheScentWorks is no longer in business. The good news- according to those who have used it, Daystar's Black Tea FO is an excellent replacement for it. I have not used it myself (yet) because I still have a little under a pound of the Iced Black Keemun Tea FO on hand, but once I run out, I know where I'll be ordering it from.
> 
> 
> IrishLass



That sounds lovely.  And they have more things I would love to try!  However, everything I want apparently contains phthalate.  Which is one of the very few things that give me migraines.  

Anyone have any good tea scents that are phthalate free?


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## Soapmaker145 (Mar 1, 2017)

IrishLass said:


> The best truest tea scent I ever used was TheScentWork's Iced Black Keemun Tea. Pure straight-up tea without any honey, lemon or flowery notes. The bad news: TheScentWorks is no longer in business. The good news- according to those who have used it, Daystar's Black Tea FO is an excellent replacement for it. I have not used it myself (yet) because I still have a little under a pound of the Iced Black Keemun Tea FO on hand, but once I run out, I know where I'll be ordering it from.
> 
> 
> IrishLass



Would you please consider getting the Keemun Tea duped or asking Nurture soaps to dupe it?  

Getting a good tea FO isn't easy.  I tried the BB Black Tea and my experience with it was similar to LenaRenee's.  Initially, it smelled like somebody dumped liquid smoke in a cup of black tea.  It morphed multiple times and the smoke mellowed with longer cure.  Unfortunately, the scent disappeared before becoming a decent black tea and the soap developed DOS in under 12 months.  Sadly, I had this problem with a number of BB FOs.  I think there is a chemical in some of their FOs that acts as a catalyst for DOS.  

I have another black tea on the way.  I'll post after testing if it is decent.

White and Green Tea FOs are equally tough.  I have the MMS Green Tea and it is nice but very light and doesn't survive a long cure.  The soaps keep a hint of the scent when wet and that is OK for me.


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## toxikon (Mar 1, 2017)

Another FO to throw into the "doesn't smell like tea" barrell is the Matcha Tea FO from WSP.

I'm also an avid tea drinker and I'd love to find some good tea scents. WSP's Matcha smells clean, grassy and perfumey (and sticks great)... but definitely does not smell like matcha!


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## RalphTheMastiff (Mar 1, 2017)

I wonder if you figure out what fresh tea has for a particle count that gives it the oder of a fresh cup of tea and at what the evaporation rate is on hot tea witch has a lot to do with smell. Then take and brew a 5 gallon batch of tea at a low temp and blend it till the tea leaves resemble dust in the solution and let it cold brew in the sun, then pump that thru a centrifuge to separate any undissolved solids and take the remaining liquid, distill it out or concentrate it.  Ad it in at a heavy trace to represent the same parts per millionths as it does in fresh tea.  Than wait and not judge it as it smells in the bar but in a hot shower and see if it leaves the same notes as fresh hot tea, i think the key with this is going to keep the brewing of the tea under 90 dF and same with the soap so the notes are not lost.  You may be able to take this a step further and evaporate to a strip and freeze dry it into a powder and mix it with a binder like mustard that you bleach.  That would not make the soap smell but in the shower could give the robust tea smell.  Possibly adding raw tea as well so when it gets wet its is fragrant.  

thoughts?


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## earlene (Mar 1, 2017)

I really like BB's Chai Tea Cybilla.  I used it in some cammo soap back in October & it still smells fabulous to my nose.  It discolors due to vanilla content, but that works perfectly in cammo soap.


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## TheDragonGirl (Mar 4, 2017)

Okay since I've been looking for a black tea myself, I went ahead and ordered that recommended one from Day-Star to see. It _does_ smell like tea, but it leans toward one of the more floral teas, I dont know if its quite up there with jasmine tea but it does smell like some of the more naturally floral ones taste, theres none of that bitter back note of some of the 'stronger' teas.


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## Arimara (Mar 4, 2017)

I've only used BB's Black Tea FO once and Eventually, I rebatched thatsoap with another soap scented with BB's Spiced Amber Ale. I loved that scent pairing but the Black Tea FO didn't remind me of tea at all. Maybe I just don't know what to look for or maybe I want an FO to smell EXACTLY like tea. I don't know.

Side note- I LOVE ME SOME ADAGIO!! I've been meaning to order some tea bags and a blend I've been craving.


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## gdawgs (Mar 4, 2017)

I really like the BB Black Tea scent.  But it's quite heavy on the tobacco scent(which I love).  I personally don't think it smells much like tea.


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## Soapmaker145 (Mar 4, 2017)

TheDragonGirl said:


> Okay since I've been looking for a black tea myself, I went ahead and ordered that recommended one from Day-Star to see. It _does_ smell like tea, but it leans toward one of the more floral teas, I dont know if its quite up there with jasmine tea but it does smell like some of the more naturally floral ones taste, theres none of that bitter back note of some of the 'stronger' teas.



Do you think it smells like a darjeeling tea or does it smell more floral like the white tea FOs?

I poured 2 tea testers today, one from Nurture and the other from Flaming Candle.  I still don't trust my nose 100% after the flu, but both of these have citrus and/or floral notes.  They are definitely not straight black tea.


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## TheDragonGirl (Mar 4, 2017)

Soapmaker145 said:


> Do you think it smells like a darjeeling tea or does it smell more floral like the white tea FOs?
> 
> I poured 2 tea testers today, one from Nurture and the other from Flaming Candle.  I still don't trust my nose 100% after the flu, but both of these have citrus and/or floral notes.  They are definitely not straight black tea.



it smells like an oolong on the greener side, milk oolong maybe, its a little greener than formosa?, I havent actually smelled the white tea FOs!


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## Arimara (Mar 5, 2017)

gdawgs said:


> I really like the BB Black Tea scent.  But it's quite heavy on the tobacco scent(which I love).  I personally don't think it smells much like tea.



That's the same thing I noted, even after the standard 6 week cure. Nurture's Afternoon Tea actually smells like a citrusy sweetened tea, now that I used some of it. I wish I had used a little more of it though. The smell is going to be a little light, even for my nose.


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## TheBobbiesRSurly (Mar 8, 2017)

Good golly, there's so much to comb through here!    Thanks for all the input folks, I really appreciate all of it 

@artemis - I have been playing with blends actually, yes!  I'd love to make some SPN teas sometime, just got to dust off the tablet for the art part of it all!


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