Archive Coffee
Base note · Sweet
Coffee.
Dark roast, bitter and rich, with a faint chocolate warmth.
Our read on the material, not a measurement.
What it smells like.
Coffee smells exactly like you expect: dark roasted beans, bitter and rich, with a chocolatey depth and a faint nuttiness. It is one of the few notes that almost everyone identifies correctly on the first try, which makes it a strong choice if you want a blend to be a talking point.
It works by contrast. Against caramel, vanilla or cherry it stops the sweetness being one-note; against rose it produces something unexpected and quite striking. It is also among the loudest materials here and it lasts. In a shared office, coffee is a decision you make on other people's behalf as well as your own.
A true coffee absolute exists, extracted from roasted beans, though most coffee notes are accords built around it. Roasting is what creates the smell: green coffee beans have almost none of it. In a blend, coffee behaves like a bitter counterweight, which is why it partners sweet notes so well.
In a blend.
Bold and immediately recognisable. Coffee gives a blend a dark, bitter contrast to sweetness. It is loud and it does not fade quietly.
Sweet. Soft sweetness without overpowering. Shop the sweet scents.
Pairs beautifully with.
Questions about coffee.
What does coffee smell like?
Dark roast, bitter and rich, with a faint chocolate warmth. Coffee smells exactly like you expect: dark roasted beans, bitter and rich, with a chocolatey depth and a faint nuttiness. It is one of the few notes that almost everyone identifies correctly on the first try, which makes it a strong choice if you want a blend to be a talking point.
Is coffee a top, heart or base note?
It is a base note, so it appears last and stays longest. Bold and immediately recognisable. Coffee gives a blend a dark, bitter contrast to sweetness. It is loud and it does not fade quietly.
What does coffee pair well with?
The studio would start with caramel, vanilla, cherry and rum. It works by contrast. Against caramel, vanilla or cherry it stops the sweetness being one-note; against rose it produces something unexpected and quite striking. It is also among the loudest materials here and it lasts. In a shared office, coffee is a decision you make on other people's behalf as well as your own.
What fragrance family is coffee in?
Sweet. Soft sweetness without overpowering.
Can I use coffee in a custom blend?
Yes. It is one of the 42 notes you can choose at the Bench, where you build across the three tiers and we blend it by hand in Adelaide.
Blend with coffee.
Pick it at the bench, choose up to four notes per tier, and we blend it by hand in Adelaide.
Open the bench
