I recently read an article in Perfumer & Flavorist about how coffee culture can be used to imagine the next wave of niche perfumery. Taking some information (and a lot of inspiration) from that article, I did some research into the culture of coffee, and noticed some parallels within the culture of fragrance.
Coffee is associated with luxury, intellect, and leisure. Its aroma is distinctive, familiar, and comforting, but also bold and sophisticated. So, it’s no surprise that the scent of coffee is popular in fragrance. While explaining the history of coffee culture, which can be divided into three “waves.” I’ll also suggest some coffee-centric fragrances that could represent each stage of perfume culture development.
Prior to the late 1800’s, coffee was not as popular and accessible in the United States as it is today. It didn’t have a long shelf-life, and it required equipment for “proper” preparation that most people didn’t own. During this time the American perfume industry was also in its infancy. This meant that perfume was largely a luxury item back then, because most of it had to be imported from Europe. Today, both coffee and fragrance are ubiquitous in our society. I’ll discuss how these markets, and the consumer culture surrounding them, grew and developed.
THE FIRST WAVE: CREATING CUSTOMERS
The first wave of coffee culture occurred because entrepreneurs saw a market for providing coffee that was affordable and “ready for the pot.” Examples were Folgers and Maxwell House. The invention of vacuum packaging in 1900 to keep coffee fresh meant that it could be stocked and sold in grocery stores, which led to increased branding, marketing, and consumption. The invention of instant coffee made coffee more convenient and meant that people without equipment could enjoy it. Instant coffee was especially important to American soldiers in WWI and WWII, who came home from the war accustomed to drinking coffee every day for an energy boost and a comforting, familiar taste.
In 1972, the first home-use drip coffee maker was introduced, allowing people to make better tasting coffee more conveniently. It was named “Mr. Coffee,” and advertised on TV by celebrity baseball player Joe DiMaggio. By the end of the 1970s, over 40,000 Mr. Coffees were being sold every day.
The first wave is criticized for sacrificing taste and quality for convenience and mass production. However, it was the innovations in processing, packaging, and marketing from the first wave that allowed the coffee industry to skyrocket later.
Accomplishments of the First Wave: innovation, proliferation of coffee to the masses, incorporation of coffee into people’s daily routines, establishing coffee-making appliances as common fixtures in homes and businesses.
Parallels in Perfumery: The development of synthetic scents and new scent extraction technologies made perfume more affordable. In the 1920’s, leading French perfume house Coty started investing heavily in the American market, setting up separate companies to produce perfumes in the U.S. Other large French perfumeries, like Guerlain, and Caron, followed suit. Men who served in WWII came home accustomed to using products that kept them clean-shaven, which had changed the way that they viewed grooming products.
Avon recruited housewives to sell highly affordable perfumes and colognes (in bottles that doubled as home décor) directly to other women. Revlon’s successful fragrance “Charlie” in the 1970’s popularized a new, sporty “American-style” perfume which focused on clean and fresh notes. As fragrance became more popular, there were more options available at more price points. Fashion brands and celebrities began to market fragrances using their name recognition. Brands like Bath and Body Works and Axe started creating simple scents that are sold in lighter concentrations as fun and affordable body sprays.
A First Wave Coffee fragrance to try:
Michael Jordan Legend (1997). One of the first coffee fragrances to be released after Mugler’s A*Men, it combines typical masculine elements like bergamot, lavender, leather, and woods with a simple coffee note. It is widely available, very affordably priced, and associated with a name that most people already know. Few people call it their favorite, but many consider it a solid fragrance that gets the job done.
THE SECOND WAVE: DEFINING AND REFINING THE EXPERIENCE
The second wave was a reaction to the “bad coffee” being marketed during the first wave. Examples are Starbucks and Caribou Coffee. Consumers had a desire to know the origin of their coffee and understand unique roasting styles of what became “specialty coffee beans.” Coffee vocabulary began to change with the second wave, as words like cappuccino, latte, espresso, and barista became part of the common vocabulary. This knowledge allowed the consumer to begin enjoying coffee as an experience, not just a beverage.
Consumers in the second wave enjoy the feeling of “personal service” offered by a multitude of choices and customization options, as well as the social aspects of meeting and interacting at coffee shops. The addition of sweet, flavored syrups and rich dairy products make coffee more attractive to people who don’t like “coffee taste.” Seasonal offerings like the Pumpkin Spice Latte, and cold coffee drinks for “happy hour,” have created new ways that we associate coffee with specific times, seasons, and activities.
The premium coffee, and premium experience, means that it is now worth “going out for coffee,” and people are willing to pay a premium price. Coffee is no longer just a vehicle for caffeine or a way to start your day, it is a tool for business and social interactions. The coffee shop is not just a place to buy a beverage, but a unique setting that bridges the gap between home and workplace.
The second wave is criticized for eventually losing its way and forsaking the integrity of coffee in favor of the social experience of coffee drinking. Coffee shops went from neighborhood joints to “big business,” and the goal was to lure the masses into a brick-and-mortar shop rather than to produce the best coffee possible.
Accomplishments of the Second Wave: introducing the concept of specialty coffee and giving it its own language, engendering coffee snobbery, making coffee drinking a social experience by introducing the masses to the “coffee shop,” normalizing the idea of paying more for choice and quality when buying a cup of coffee.
Parallels in Perfumery: Early niche brands, such as L’Artisan Parfumeur, Serge Lutens, and Amouage, rebelled against the “clean aquatic” movement with heavier and more complex woody aromatics, chypres, and ambers, made with huge lists of notes. Brands like Creed and Clive Christian told customers that their extraordinary ingredients set them apart from mainstream perfumes. Stand-alone fragrance boutiques in major cities become showcases for single brands to showcase not just fragrance, but their overall aesthetic.
Education of consumers has led to mainstream understanding and use of fragrance terms like top notes, sillage, eau de parfum, and eau de toilette. Instead of using one scent every day, people are encouraged to have “seasonal” scents, and different scents for different activities. Consumer focus has shifted from simply smelling good to what the scent can DO for you – such as portraying confidence, expressing uniqueness, demonstrating wealth and prestige, and attracting compliments and attention from potential mates.
A Second Wave Coffee Fragrance to try:
Bond No. 9 New Haarlem (2003). This fragrance has a coffee note that is “smoother” and more true to the real thing. The coffee aroma is presented in a sweet, gourmand fragrance that is considered universally likeable. It is balanced and blended so that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts — so you don’t necessarily have to like coffee fragrances (or gourmands) to like New Haarlem. It is sold in high-end department stores and boutiques at prices that far exceed mass-market fragrance, giving the buyer a sense of prestige and exclusivity. Inspired by a specific place and time (the Harlem Renaissance), it gives the wearer a connection to a meaningful experience. New Haarlem is a real crowd-pleaser that will get you tons of compliments.
THIRD WAVE: REVERENCE FOR RAW MATERIALS
The third wave is characterized by coffee lovers being interested in the character of the coffee itself. It is described as a reaction against both bad coffee and the way that coffee has been promoted. The Third Wave is characterized by increasing connoisseurship and “letting the coffee speak for itself.” Some have compared coffee’s Third Wave to wine culture, where consumers expect to be told the grape variety, vineyard, and vintage, and wine shops and Sommeliers provide tasting notes and can aid in bottle selections and food pairings.
With a new emphasis on transparency and terroir, Third Wave coffee consumers can trace their coffee’s heritage from plant to cup. The soil conditions and altitude for growing have become important to know, as well as the method of processing. Sustainability and fair trade have become concerns. Artisanal preparation matters, such as in-house roasting. The roasters and coffee shops associated with the third wave are, for the most part, small businesses that are independently owned and operated by coffee enthusiasts, who are “evangelists for quality.” Some examples of Third-Wave coffee shops are Stumptown Roasters in Portland, Counter Culture in Durham, and Intelligentsia in Chicago.
In the third wave, coffee drinks are highly refined, showcasing the coffee and minimizing the distracting accoutrements like flavored syrups and whipped cream. Baristi will be able to tell you exactly where the beans were grown, as well as how and when they were roasted. “Cupping Notes,” which describe a brew’s flavor profile, are commonly provided. Complexity of flavor and storytelling are hallmarks, and consumers are prepared to pay more for the higher quality because they understand the amount of work that goes into it. Consumers are interested in coffee’s natural attributes, and the connection between coffee and holistic wellness.
Accomplishments of the Third Wave: returning the focus to coffee quality, educating consumers about the origins of their coffee, providing a more “farm-to-cup” experience, increasing consumer choice to include single-origin and roast-to-order beans, movement of the market to be more vigilant about fair trade and sustainability.
Parallels in Perfumery: Ingredient-driven scents (where a perfumer starts with an exceptional ingredient and builds a complimentary scent around it) are becoming more common. Fragrances are named by their key ingredients rather than abstract concepts or stories. There is a strong movement toward natural ingredients, as well as knowing specifically where the ingredients originated. Customers care about sustainability and cruelty-free production, as well as about how fragrance impacts their health and wellness.
There is increased demand for unique scent profiles, and the beginning of a shift in favor away from “crowd-pleasers” and toward “the best example of” a particular ingredient. The role of the perfumer is expanded and celebrated. Micro-distilling/extraction and other artisanal techniques for creating ingredients are increasingly utilized. Small-batch perfumery and limited-edition releases are becoming more common. Perfumer-entrepreneurs interact directly with consumers through social media to tell the complete story of the fragrance from inspiration to final product, highlighting the materials and work that go into each step.
A Third Wave Coffee Fragrance to try:
Areej Le Doré Oud Luwak (2018). A coffee scent built around pure Maroke Noir oud oil which was meticulously extracted by the perfumer, Russian Adam. The entire fragrance was specifically created to emphasize the different nuances and aspects of this rare material. The coffee note comes from Indonesian Kopi Luwak coffee, one of the most rare and expensive coffees in the world, sustainably and ethically sourced and extracted by the perfumer. The result is one of the richest, most complex coffee aromas imaginable. Some other ingredients include wild agarwood oil from Papua New Guinea, Texas cedar, and Indonesian vetiver absolute. This hand-blended artisanal fragrance is a single batch limited-release, and when it’s gone it will be gone forever. Combining rare ouds and a bold, animalic coffee note, this fragrance isn’t “office-friendly,” or appropriate for cuddling with your squeamish partner who only likes “freshies.” This is hardcore oud juice for connoisseurs who want to experience the rarest raw materials in their full glory.
THE FUTURE: THE FOURTH WAVE
In the original Perfumer & Flavorist article, author Eddie Bulliqi talks about what might be on the horizon as a fourth wave for coffee culture, and what we could see in niche perfumery. Some of the ideas that he mentions are social spaces where people can enjoy “scent backgrounds” or buy “scent prompts” while working and interacting, targeted use of ambient scenting in spaces to support specific activities, and olfactory bars where people can choose raw materials for at-home distillation using amateur distillation machines.
Mr. Bulliqi proposes that increasing social uses of scent and making information and raw materials more accessible to the general public will help culturally reposition fragrance alongside coffee as an agent for personal change which is available to everyone. This article, entitled “A New Scent Culture,” appeared in the February 2018 issue of Perfumer & Flavorist (p. 34-40). Thanks and credit to Mr. Bulliqi, and Perfumer & Flavorist, for the inspiration for this article.
