Coffee as a note
Coffee notes in perfumery.
In perfumery, the "coffee" note is a complex and versatile scent used to add depth, warmth, and a feeling of richness to a fragrance.
The origins of coffee
Coffee, Coffee in Latin, is native to Ethiopia and tropical Africa. It has long been valued for its rich, distinctive aroma, as well as its stimulating properties. Its worldwide popularity as a beverage naturally led to its exploration as an ingredient in perfumery.
In a perfume, coffee notes bring an enveloping warmth, often combined with gourmand, spicy, or woody facets. Used alone or in harmony with other ingredients such as patchouli, vanilla, or leather notes, coffee gives compositions a unique depth and sensuality. It can evoke intimate and sophisticated atmospheres, from the roasted and energizing scent to the comforting warmth of a moment of relaxation, from a café terrace to the interior of a cozy nest.
It was discovered with the advent of gourmet flavors from the 1990s. The round and sweet coffee is often associated with sweet notes such as caramel, chocolate or vanilla.
In oriental and woody fragrances, coffee also brings a mysterious depth and character. It is often combined with spices (cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, etc.), amber notes, or even precious woods.
Extraction types and synthetic compounds
The most well-known and widely cultivated types of coffee are Coffea arabica (Ethiopia) and Coffea canephora (Central and West Africa), more commonly known as Coffea robusta.
Robusta contains more caffeine than Arabica, which has more fruity and floral notes. The beans are rounder and have a stronger, often more bitter flavor with earthy and woody facets. They are also less expensive to produce.
Each species and variety of Arabica or Robusta has its own characteristics of cultivation, flavor, and aroma.
Coffee beans can be processed using a variety of extraction methods. Coffee absolute is obtained by extracting roasted coffee beans with volatile solvents. It offers notes of raw, deep, and authentic coffee. Supercritical CO2 extraction captures the essence of coffee without altering its natural aroma with its fresh, green notes. There is also an essential oil obtained after roasting, distillation, and condensation. Although less commonly used, its aroma is sweeter and rounder, developing light notes of hazelnut and chocolate.
Additionally, synthetic molecules allow for the reproduction of the myriad facets of coffee aroma. In addition to the creative virtues they offer for accurately bringing a flavor to life, they are also used for reasons of cost, stability, and durability.
Here are some essentials for obtaining a coffee pairing, which can be enhanced according to your tastes and the composition in which the "coffee" note is included:
● Coffee absolute for the dark, bitter and intense side
● Pyrazines for roasted nuances like acetyl pyrazine with its hazelnut facets and toasted notes
● Cocoa absolute for softness and roundness
● Coumarin for its sweet, powdery and vanilla notes reminiscent of tonka bean and often associated with coffee
● Furaneol to recall the caramel notes of mocha and cappuccino
● Methyl Cyclopentenolone / MCP : a compound that adds a burnt caramel note, slightly woody with its nuances of syrup and licorice
● Guaiacol for smoked veneers
● Vanillin to recall the softer, powdery and sweeter preparations
● Maltol to enhance the deliciousness with its sweet notes
The coffee note in your tailor-made perfume
Do you want to create your own perfume around the note “coffee”?
Nothing could be simpler, just search and select the ingredient “coffee” in the Superfumista mobile app from a choice of more than 150 notes.
The second step is undoubtedly the most exciting: discussing with the perfumer to clarify your perfume project and of course the type of coffee note:
🖤 Black or sweet espresso
🍦 Mocha or Mochaccino
🤎 Cappuccino
🥛 Coffee with milk…
Once we have found the balance between bitterness, roundness, and sweetness for this coffee accord, we then choose the raw materials to formulate the suggestions for your perfume that you receive at home and compare calmly!
The coffee note in Superfumista perfumes
Terra Moka puts coffee in the spotlight in a raw, roasted version, enhanced by the delicacy of cocoa and subtle caramel notes as well as the warm, woody and earthy notes of Haitian vetiver supported by the depth of dark and resinous myrrh.
