Ayala Moriel is pleased to announce the launch of Charisma tea - the 5th creation in our series of authentic perfumed teas made for us exclusively by Inner Alchemy Tea Co.

Of course, Charisma originates in the perfume of that name – a concoction of green tea, jasmine sambac, osmanthus, kewda and spearmint that creates a very distinct scent. But it also has another significance for me personally which I would like to reveal here.

Back home in my little organic village in Israel, we hardly ever drank proper “tea” from tea leaves – but only tisanes brewed from fresh herbs from the gardens or wild ones from the hills and meadows surrounding our homes. My favourites since childhood were lemon verbena, lemongrass and spearmint. The brewed fresh leaves are magically refreshing and calming. A true pleasure to the palette as well as the nose.

Inspired by my friend and colleague Dawna and the exceptional teas she has created for me, I set on experimenting with my own stash of herbs and tea to create a matching tea to my original refreshing and Charisma perfume.

Those of you who visited the studio in the past year are probably familiar with my “secret house blend”. I took my all-time favourite freshly dried herbs from my mother’s organic garden in Israel – lemon verbena, spearmint and lemongrass – and added an equal amount of authentic perfumed jasmine green tea, and a touch of dried osmanthus blossoms.

Wanting to share this beautiful blend with friends and clients around the world, I asked for Dawna’s help to refine the ratios and create a small batch of this beautiful tea. In her skilled and sensitive hands and with her expertise in the flavour and aroma profiles of teas and herbs, Dawna has transformed this beautiful tea into something out of this world. The jasmine tea was replaced with a rare pomelo blossom perfumed tea*, which seems to have captured the essence of Charisma more fully – including it’s rounded floralcy and pungent aroma from the kewda and spearmint. When I first tasted Charisma tea I felt like I was sipping an orchard in full bloom. It left my mouth with a tingling sensation and with butterflies in my tummy.

- Traditional ‘Pomelo Flower’ Tea, premium grade (Fujian region, China)

- Lemon Verbena Leaf, organically grown (Turkey)

- Spearmint Leaf, organically grown (USA)

- Osmanthus Blossoms, premium grade (China)

Brewing Instructions:

Bring freshly drawn water to a boil. Infuse 1 tsp. per 5 oz. cup of tea desired for 1 ½ to 2 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly to appreciate full taste profile. May be re-steeped up to 4 times.

* The reason why pomelo blossom tea is so rare is because pomelo trees don’t have that many blossoms to begin with. The pomelo fruit being so large, the tree can only burden itself with few fruits; and the blossoms are few to begin with.