Ingredient Guide
Maté, Argentina’s national drink, is prepared locally by placing yerba maté leaves and small twigs in a special gourd-shaped vessel, steeping them in cold or hot water, and sipping the infusion through a straw. It contains caffeine and tastes similar to green tea.
Its scent is woody, smoky (because maté leaves are dried beside a fire), herbal-green, and tobacco-like. It is used to add a green quality to florals or to lend lightness to herbal and citrus notes.
What Does It Smell Like in Perfume?
In perfume, maté is a warm, astringent green scent reminiscent of dried tea leaves, grass, hay, and tobacco. Natural maté absolute is a complex fragrance material obtained by solvent extraction of the dried leaves of Ilex paraguariensis. With shades of pollen, fruit, leather, and a slight phenolic nuance, it gives tea accords a dry depth or makes tobacco notes seem more natural. It differs from drinking maté in both concentration and processing, and a maté note in perfume may also be created with a reconstructed accord.
Choosing a fragrance with maté
Maté fragrances offer green tea leaves, dry astringency and hints of hay or fragrant wood. They suit an interest in the leaves themselves rather than the sweetness of milky tea.
- Fresh green leaves: Citrus or petitgrain adds a green, refreshing impression.
- Dry tea leaves: Hay-like and dried-leaf notes may appeal if you prefer tea without much sweetness.
- A woody, smoky finish: Incense, cedar or guaiac wood adds another layer to the tea.
Two fragrances featuring maté
Chaco Eau de Parfum (Nissaba)
Paraguayan maté absolute and petitgrain meet citrus, a tea accord and woods including guaiac. Cologne-like freshness comes with the green character of tea leaves.
Above The Waves Eau de Parfum (Etat Libre d’Orange)
Green maté and Ceylon tea are layered with rose, cardamom and incense, followed by cedar, vetiver and tonka bean. Flowers, spice and incense are woven through the tea.
Find your next fragrance
In Fragrance Finder, choose “Favorite fragrances & notes” on the home screen, then look for notes you enjoy under “Favorite notes”. Select from the available suggestions and press “Next”.
