EPICHRON
TWIN PEAKS
2025
PERFUMER
Michael Wong
bergamot
incense
lapsang tea leaf
black tea
honey
rose absolute
cedarwood
vetiver
musk
‘Two of a kind, two names, two stories. Plant the same seeds onto two peaks; Let it grow in parallel, and see the fate split. 1841 Himalayans: Mountain to mountain, East to farther east. Harsh heights it traveled in secret hands, in new soil it settled on the spiced land. The water flows in fruity carmine, Assam replacing the other gemini. Silhouetting a far sight, Darjeeling becomes a new-named sibling. – 1646 Wuyi mountains: Valleys so deep and hills so cold, pots whistle yet barely make an echo. Tang of earth imbibed by buried roots. Strange mountains on which it grew. Withered green on cremated pinewood, smoked and brewed in a less-known title. Lapsang Souchong fore the relocated seed; Or otherwise another name, on another peak, in another life, like the other twin.’ – Epichron
Twin Peaks is the first release under the Epichron brand, by Michael Wong from One Day, which is one of my favorite brands that I discovered a couple of years into my niche perfume journey. And with Twin Peaks, I feel like we’re getting something that would fit right within the excellent One Day Tea collection and especially the limited edition Darjeeling Zero. In fact, I think Twin Peaks could be a rebranded or reworked Darjeeling Zero (they share the same notes at least, but I’d have to try Darjeeling Zero again to compare).
What I get in Twin Peaks more than anything is a slightly bitter, black tea. Bordering on a unsweetened tobacco; like a cold smokiness. I also get a chocolate undertone throughout the opening, which is what I most remember of Darjeeling Zero. In that review, I mentioned D:SOL MMXVI Terram, which has a dry chocolate-esque patchouli and that’s the vibe I get briefly in Twin Peaks.
As opposed to the Terram, that chocolate here is more subtle and fades almost instantly, leaving a more brooding, contemplative opaque bitter tea. To me this feels moody and melancholic. Quite dark, but still easy to manage, calm and introspective. I get a similar feeling and direction from Angelos Creations Olfactives Salon dt, although that one is a lot more watery and ‘drinkable’ tea in comparison to this spicier, drier Twin Peaks.
As I zoom in on the scent after the initial opening, green, camphor edges reveal themselves. In the air, I don’t get a strong green vibe from Twin Peaks, but up close to the skin, I can almost taste the sappy tree resin coming through. Yet, what is prominent from start to finish is that rolling tobacco, shag-like tea leaf. It’s not as green as One Day Pu’er Tea for example.
Again, this could be more or less similar to Darjeeling Zero than I remember, but from memory, I felt that Darjeeling Zero had a more pronounced honey as it dries down. This extra sweetness could also be due to aging however. Either way, I find Twin Peaks only mildy honeyed and sticking to the smokier side more. It’s on the more daring side for quite a long time.
This is an excellent fragrance. Not as easy to wear as my favorite from the One Day Tea collection, Oolong Tea, but I could easily see this being my second favorite tea-forward scent by Michael. It’s the type of smoky, acrid vibe that I would often steer away from when it comes to frequent, casual wearing, but there’s something in the way the One Day fragrancs and this Epichron fragrance are crafted that makes them wear nicely and comforting. They don’t wear the wearer down.
Sidenote: I’m rarely a proponent of layering, but I happened to wear the citrussy Jeju with the smoky bitter tea Twin Peaks side by side and the combination is heavenly. It brings some more levity to Twin Peaks and I think I’ll wear them together more often.
