Thé Brun Jean-Charles Brosseau 2005

Jean-Charles Brosseau himself describes this fragrance as an "aromatic spicy fern with tea accord." At first, I struggled to understand how he envisions this image of the fern, as the scent begins quite the opposite, very distinctly with a duet of dark, smoky Lapsang Souchong tea on one hand and bergamot on the other, initially lightly caressed by delicate fruity notes (perhaps melon, pineapple I can only guess) and somewhat later, quite pronounced floral tones (lavender is clearly present, as well as violet and jasmine which are easily perceptible). Against the base, amber, musk, and vanilla bring a bit of softness and rounding, while the characteristic cumin note of caraway, along with the still smoky tea accord, continues to provide a rather gnarly, knotted underlying current.

This herbal-woody base mood, which somehow feels shadowy and has a distinctly "plant-like" note through the floral elements, bears a good resemblance to various green, multi-layered, herbaceous ferns when you have the image in mind. Just as the leaf layers of these plants form dense, impenetrable levels and surfaces, so too do the notes of the fragrance connect and weave into one another. The scent does not come across as overloaded or overly complex, as the multitude of different notes in the pyramid might suggest, but rather builds on its consistently present underlying currents, appearing quite simple and densely woven - the image of the fern fits.

For those who, despite its fruity-floral opening, appreciate rather dry, green, smoky fragrances without them having to become bitter, biting, or brutal, but rather maintaining a more ethereal, in this case green shimmering character, "Thé Brun" is a very good choice. Interestingly, it is not available online in Germany as far as I know, but is usually quite affordable at the main "brick-and-mortar" perfumeries. (By the way, I really like the design of the bottle, see my picture below.)