Should my green tea taste bitter? In a word, no! Green tea should be sweet, crisp, creamy, delicate, nutty, seaweedy, or greenish. But not bitter. If your green tea tastes bitter, it is either weak quality tea or hasn't been appropriately brewed.
While the statement mentioned above is valid for drinkable green tea beverages, it does not apply to wearable green tea scents. Believe me or not, Roger&Gallet Thé Vert is one of the best bitter green tea cologne I've ever smelt. I don't know if the guaiac wood is the source of such a trace of bitterness. Yet the result is so pleasant, masculine, making the scent not only for women. If you take a cup of green tea and dilute it with lemon juice, you'll get something close to this Roger & Gallet number. It starts tart and sharp, but the musk makes it sweeter as it dries down. A posy of white flowers softens the lemon, and the rest of the story doesn't change much until Thé Vert fades.
Thé Vert opening is brilliant, tart, and sharp; it creates around you a scented aura that recalls the bright and divine atmosphere inspired by the Far East land. More, it reveals all the complexity, tenderness, and harmony of the oriental tradition and offers a pleasant soothing effect on the skin. I can recognize a zesty mix of citrus fruits, allegedly sour lemon, bitter grapefruit, and gentle mandarin orange peel's oils. The blend even has a floral tone, which reminds me of the powdery facets of iris and violet blossoms, perhaps the lily-of-the-valley or the freesia provide that fresh accord. The white flowers soften the lemon, and the rest of the tale doesn't change much until Thé Vert fades in. That floral moment is the only prominent feminine aspect of this wondrous scent, anyhow so soft and delicate, not overwhelming or annoying people around or close to you. When it comes to green tea scents, you might immediately think about Elizabeth Arden or Victor Green Tea takes, yet this scent is different. I like how it kindly hugs my skin and smells fresh and uplifting throughout the day.
The heart contains a green tea extract, a kind of like yerba mate or matcha, and the sheer presence of white flowers. I bet some citrus blossoms such as orange or lemon, zagara, or neroli, call it as you prefer, they must be in there cause a pleasant and uplifting citrus aroma stays in the background all the times. The green tea is very pure and natural here. It merely dominates, yet doesn't overstand, and with the added woods, it gives a more masculine character.
Afterward, the dry down reveals with a musky, sweet amber, and woody accord that lasts for 4 to 5 hours on my skin, then it's completely gone, but by then, I'm ready for a more substantial evening or night fragrance. Thé Vert is one of those casual perfumes that don't pretend to be great works of art and deliver plenty of enjoyment for few bucks. More, this is an eau de cologne, a so-called Fragrant Water, and it does a great job compared to many other eau de toilette scents that are gone in half an hour or so.
My flavor suggests me to wear during late spring and all summer daytime, even pleasant but too light for evening or night out. No matter how old you are, it performs well at office, leisure, or weekend with friends. Test it, and you will be surprised about how good is this cologne.
-Elysium