WARM. QUIET. GROUNDING.
A dark tea accord, left to steep a little longer.
Slow Steep builds a dark tea accord that has been softened and rounded until no sharp edges remain. Smoke-dried leaf, a whisper of fig and a bed of cedar give it quiet depth, while a faint bitterness keeps it grounded rather than sweet.
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THE SCENT STORY - SLOW STEEP
Slow Steep is the collection at its most grounded.
It opens with a thin brightness, bergamot and bay, the way steam lifts off a cup before anything has settled. Underneath, a dark tea accord does the real work: dry leaf, faint tannin, a bitterness held just short of astringent.
Fig softens the edges without sweetening them, and cedar carries the whole thing down into something still and warm.
The result is a fragrance that asks nothing of the room. It sits low, holds its temperature, and stays exactly where you put it.
The Notes Pyramid
Bergamot peel, bay leaf
Black tea leaf, soft fig
Cedar, tobacco leaf, clean musk
A NOTE FROM THE STUDIO
From the Director of Innovation
Slow Steep is part of our Slow Hours Collection, where we approached fall through intimacy rather than intensity.
Tea is difficult to do well. It is usually either too thin to register or pushed into something sweet and spiced that stops being tea altogether. We wanted the version you actually drink: dark, a little bitter, more about warmth than flavour.
The bitterness was deliberate and we protected it through several rounds.
Removing it made the composition pleasant and forgettable. Keeping it is what gives the fragrance its grounding quality. Fig and cedar were chosen for texture rather than character. They round the tannin without covering it, so the astringency reads as depth rather than as a rough edge.
This is a fragrance about restraint. It is the one in the collection that rewards sitting with it.
— The Studio
Creative Pairings
Why It's Distinctive
Rather than sweetening the accord into a spiced chai or a fruited blend, Slow Steep holds the dry, tannic character of actual leaf, a profile rarely achieved in fragrance oils at this strength.
A controlled bitter edge gives the composition its grounding quality and keeps the warmth from tipping into comfort-sweet territory.
Designed to sit close rather than project, making it particularly effective in candles and body care where a quieter presence is wanted.
IMPORTANT: All New Directions Aromatics (NDA) products are for external use only unless otherwise indicated. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, and it should not be used by anyone who is pregnant or under the care of a medical practitioner. Please refer to our policies for further details, and our disclaimer below.
