Flavorful scents Monday: Coffee and tea … ahhh

After doctoring up YSL’s Black Opium with Bond No. 9’s New Haarlem on last week’s post, I found myself smitten with NH and craving its coffee for several days. And then I was mixing it with other things, just to see, you know, how they behaved when “caffeinated.”

A favorite pairing turned out to be with Le Couvent des Minimes Eau des Mission Cologne, an absolutely delicious, mouth-watering confection of coffee, vanilla, lavender and incense.

And this, of course, prompted a major jones-ing for more coffee scents (and tea as well). Here are several I particularly enjoyed during my “binge”:

Ava Luxe’s Café Noir, with its deep coffee aura topped with a luscious dollop of mocha, was as equally mouth-watering and tempting as the New Haarlem/Couvent blend, and just a bit less sweet.

Taking more of a spicy, oriental bent was Dawn Spencer Hurwitz’s Café Noir (pictured). After the little sugar rush above, I appreciated its black pepper and cinnamon undertones, among other notes, which balanced out any sweetness.

Another scent that nicely straddles the spicy and sweet fence is Abdes Salaam Attar’s Scents of the Soul Milano Caffe, stirring into its coffee brew some incense, wood and perhaps even cardamom to keep things interesting.

I had each of these on a portion of wrist, forearm and inner elbow, and I must say, I felt surrounded by a near-edible aura of delicious comfort. Almost as if I had visited several coffeehouses, each with its own personality, and took a little of each away with me in a tiny scent cloud. I would happily own a full bottle of one or all of these, would my budget allow.

As for my beloved tea, when chilly temps come calling, I’m quick to pull out my old favorite L’Artisan Tea for Two, with its smoky, sexy Lapsang Souchong, softened by honey, cinnamon, ginger and more. I don’t particularly care for lapsang tea in the cup, but in this scent, it is wonderful. Sometimes I even think I detect gingerbread and a bit of leather here. So happy L’Artisan brought back this delight.

Almost masculine-leaning Annick Goutal’s Duel and its mate leaves, absinthe, leather and musk, gets some love as well (when I can find the sample – it plays hide n’ seek with me, I think).

More recently, I was excited to read about Masque Milano’s Russian Tea and made haste to get a sample of it. I tried it several times, but alas, I must confess it was just too deep and intense for me. But for those of you who love dark, dark, dark with little or no sweetness in sight, this just might be your cuppa.

These scents are so comforting and soothing for me when cold, rainy days loom and gray skies seem never-ending. What about you — is your mouth watering yet? What are your favorite coffee or tea scents? I know I’m forgetting some and haven’t tried others, so I’m eager to hear your suggestions.

Note: I didn’t include any of the lighter, green and white tea type scents here that I enjoy because they seem more refreshing and warm-weather appropriate, for me at least — of course, YMMV.