Coffee accords in perfumes

More than just a food product, coffee arouses or rekindles emotions, because between the many varieties of coffee beans available today, no two beans give off the same aroma. And in the coffee absolute used in perfumery, it is precisely its versatile character that makes it appealing. Some young noses tell us about this natural raw material.

By Loetitia Gerolami de Rocca Serra . 28/02/02

Although two types of coffee trees (Arabica and Robusta) are exploited, their beans have many characteristics that depend on altitude, climatic conditions, the type of soil, and the harvesting and roasting methods. The flavors are actually released during the roasting process. In perfumery, only quality beans containing two or three times more essential oils than others are used.

An intoxicating aroma and a complex flavor

This is precisely what appealed to Jean-Jacques, a nose at Tagasko. When contacted by the Torrente house to compose "Or", a women's fragrance, he wanted to give the timeless rose absolute a new companion. To underscore his unusual approach, he had to find an intriguing note. "I wanted to use a gustatory raw material. I chose coffee because of its freshness, which I enhanced with pink berry. I wanted the fragrance to be troubling and sensuous so I coated it with vanilla."
"Coffee has two facets: one is rising and fresh, the other one, like mocha, is warm and sensuous. I chose to exploit the roundness of a preparation, such as the last drop of sweet coffee. I wanted to foster and promote well-being. The idea was to avoid an aggressive fragrance, because Torrente's Haute Couture is never outrageous. And in this fragrance, coffee tones down the rose note and enlivens it to give it a new face.

A sensational ingredient

"Coffee accord has so far been used mainly in men's fragrances, but today it is starting to appear in women's perfumes," says Christine Nagel, a nose at Quest International. It appeals to perfumers because of the many accents it takes depending on the notes it is combined with. And since coffee beans are very aromatic, coffee extract yields a roasted coffee scent, the scent of cappuccino, the flavor of coffee with milk or coffee with glazed chestnuts. It's perfect for us perfumers, as we have a vast palette we can play with to create contrasting sensations. We can go from bitter to sweet, and from rough to soft."

A warm note that blooms on the skin

That is exactly what spurred Raphael Haury's interest. Although this promising coffee accord has been used only for the past 6 years. "It was associated with tobacco accords found in some men's fragrances. The trio Tonka bean, coumarine and liatrix (a tobacco-smelling plant that grows in Florida) worked very well for many years. What I like with the coffee note is its oriental facet usually enhanced by vanilla, benzoin and Tonka bean. And that is how you create a coffee note. I like its multiple facets. Roasted coffee, mocha, espresso (animalic notes) are all very attractive notes for perfumers.
To me, coffee can be used as a top note, a heart note or a base note. When used as a top note, it gives the fragrance warmth and body. As a heart note, it rounds out the other notes, and as a base note, it gives the other notes a powdery facet. I used the coffee note three years ago in Gourmandise by Rodier, a fragrance hinging on a fruity-oriental accord featuring a very strong note of coffee with milk. I added Tonka bean in the end to create a link."

Seduction above all

"I believe that coffee can be used as a top note, a heart note or a base note. When used as a top note, it gives the fragrance warmth and body. As a heart note, it rounds out the other notes, and as a base note, it gives the other notes a powdery facet. I used the coffee note three years ago in Gourmandise by Rodier, a fragrance hinging on a fruity-oriental accord featuring a very strong note of coffee with milk. I added Tonka bean in the end to create a link."
The coffee note is very powerful because it is alive. This is why it was used in the woody note of Thierry Mugler's A. Men. Its personality and original facet give character to a powerful accord. Jean-Michel Duriez's Yohji Homme, released in 1999 also spurred the same enthusiasm. Woody notes (typical of men's fragrances), spicy and ambery notes are energized by the mouth-watering combination of licorice, rum, and coffee, natural and intriguing scents of childhood. A way of rekindling one's emotions, regaining warmth and of finding a form of refuge.

Coffee accord is all that and much more. It has not yet revealed all secrets, so stay tuned...