Guatemalan Volcanic Coffee Bean

[hexnut]

In Vitro The scent of the roasted seeds of Coffea arabica, so intoxicating in real life, has resisted capture again. What I do get from sniffing the bottle is the sweet and playful smell of coffee-flavored candy, and that is not a bad thing.

ETA:
on skin The sweet note was first, but almost immediately something else swelled up. Something slightly scorched and somewhat acrid that was strongest next to my wrist. It's not as bad on me as Miskatonic University or The Two Old Men, but it is not pleasant.

second addendum:
Eight hours after application, having literally slept on it, the unpleasant note is gone and what remains on my wrist is faint but slightly sweet and smells almost like - dare I say it - brewed coffee. Now this, I like! If only it was stronger.

If I can figure out a way around the thuggish middle note, I will declare GVCB a success. As with any Single Note, I need to make a room spray of it before I pass final judgement.

[Numanoid]

So excited to try this... I love coffee notes!

 

In the bottle : very yummy, and a tad sweet, coffee note! Pure coffe!!

 

On skin : This starts out as a bitter yet sweetened coffee. It kind of reminds me of The Worst Pillow. Just a hair less sugary.

 

Dry down : Oh yum... this is a soft, coffee note. There is the bitterness that is the scent of coffee, but this is *quietly* bitter... not sure if that makes sense, but this is not overpowering or has a lot of throw and has a tinge of sweetness with it.... stays close to my skin, but I think this will be a keeper!! Will be fun to see how this ages.

[kscha2017]

Surprise, it smells like Guatemalan coffee. I opened the bottle and a big plume of spiciness burned my nose with a brewed coffee note peeking through. I opened the bottle again a few hours later, and this time there was the expected spicey-chocolate-floral-coffee blend. I haven't tried it on the skin yet, but if this has any throw and staying power, I'm gonna have a hard time resisting a 3rd pot of the brew on the days I wear it.

[Casablanca]

Yummy. I get more from this than beans: It's like coffee candy, sweet and molasses-toned. The beany part of the blend is strong on me at first, but the sweetened molasses tone is dominant on me over the rest of the wear length, flavored by coffee beans.

I wasn't drinking coffee when I put this on, but I had to get some after. The Guatemalan Volcanic is a craving-inducer. Best to be prepared.

 

Edit: I like how this layers with Alice's Evidence. I want that breakfast...

Edited June 29, 2016 by Casablanca

[Mellifluous]

A very nice coffee SN, although there is a throbbing pulse of vetiver that creeps up every time I huff my wrist. I think that may be the scorched/acrid note Hexnut picked up on. It definitely does not overpower the warm roasty coffee, but adds just a touch more darkness and I'm sure helps with longevity. Very interesting blend.

 

Still looking forward to a coffee blend thats closer to BPTP's Jonathans Coffee House, but I'm definitely keeping my GVCB's too.

[Candice Chen]

Sweet roasted coffee beans right at the start when wet, but as it warms up on the skin, an interesting burnt coffee facet comes out, which is not bad despite how it sounds. Makes this smell like a very strong shot of espresso.

However about a few minutes in, a peppery, bitter, almost savory clove/nutmeg-like undertone comes out which sort of takes away from the coffee note itself.

 

I haven't drunk Guatemalan Volcanic Coffee so I can't say if this is how the real bean tastes or smells, but I do wish the initial phase lasted a bit longer and the spice notes were a bit more subtle and not so acrid. That's just my personal taste though. I personally prefer good ol' Coffee Arabica extract which is less exciting and doesn't morph as much as Guatemalan Volcanic Coffee, but dries down to a yummy, almost mocha-like scent.

Edited July 2, 2016 by Nightphlox

[LiberAmoris]

Wet, Guatemalan Volcanic Coffee Bean smells like an intense coffee liqueur, with a strong roasted note and some sweetness. On my skin, I also get some sub-notes like light almond/cherry and something rooty. As it dries, the intense coffee note burns off and it mellows until it smells almost like coffee with cream and sugar. A few hours later, I still get faint coffee and cream with sugar.

 

It's unlikely that I'd reach for this to wear on its own, but I think it will be fun to layer this with other perfumes.

[zankoku_zen]

Guatemalan Coffee does smell like guatemalan espresso drip. It's got smokiness but also a light citrus, and underneath is a smooth palate of sweetness. This is a good coffee blend.

 

I don't really find it wearable as itself, but it really is an amazing single note.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: True, slightly bitter, slightly sweetened coffee beans. This is not the scent of brewed coffee, so it has no acidity, to my nose. It's just pure coffee bean with a hint of sweet. Love it.

 

 

Dry: Stays true. Pure coffee! I imagine it would be perfect for those who don't like spice or vanilla or anything else in their coffee. It's slightly sweetened, and that's it.

[vanilla323]

This one totally smells like walking into a Starbucks! It's a perfect coffee single note! Love it! Decent throw and staying power too.

[Teipu]

In the bottle it smells like coffee-flavored candy, very yummy.

Wet on skin it turns a little bit bitter, more like true coffee, but this stage only lasts a few minutes.

Dry it turns very sweet, even slightly floral on me. There is a hint of coffee, but it smells more perfumy and feminine than I imagined. It's almost like a coffee scented candle, which I like!

Sometimes I still get whiffs of the coffee-flavored candy from the bottle-stage.

 

I haven't tried Guatemalan Volcanic Coffee, so I have no idea if it actually smells true to its name. It isn't the straight up coffee scent that I hoped for, but actually sweeter and more wearable.

I really like it nevertheless!

[Little Bird]

This is my third favorite single note (after Bulgarian Tobacco and French Tobacco). I was worried about the coffee having a bitter or burnt smell, or a lot of cinnamon, but this is just perfect. Sweet, creamy coffee and hints of really good, subtle spices. It really does smell like standing in a coffee shop, ordering a latte and admiring the pastry cart. It doesn't turn bitter at all on my skin.

Volcanic Coffee Bean reminds me of Bah with hints of spices that remind me of Mayan Chocolate with Annatto Seed and Mother Shub's Pfancy Pfefferneusse. I'm so glad that it's not sharp or weighed down with cinnamon, like most coffee fragrances. It's sweet, creamy and smells delicious.

[fundercat55]

From start to finish, this smells exactly like the coffee flavored hard candies you find in Asian grocery stores on me. I love it! Rich, warm coffee- sweet, but not overly so. It doesn't have as big a throw as I was concerned it might, but stays fairly close to the skin. Also shocking for me (whose skin gobbles up just about every oil I wear within an hour or two), is the staying power on this is insane. I dabbed a little on before bed last night, and I could still get a faint whiff of it while I ate my breakfast the next morning. Absolutely unheard of for me. I suspect this is going to be an absolute dream to wear come Fall, but even in the heat of summer, I'm enjoying it.

[Soupy Twist]

Freshly ground coffee in the bottle. Goes on as a rich roasted coffee note, almost burnt, but not in a bad way. Nice depth to it, with something which hints at tobacco. Not much throw, though — I like my coffee more aggressive, both on the wrist and in the cup. (she says, drinking her second espresso of the morning) Although it has ridiculous staying power; I was still getting teeny whiffs of it 12 hours later.

Edited September 2, 2016 by Soupy Twist

[JTobias]

This had the most straight forward wet to dry effect I've ever experienced. In the bottle, straight raw coffee bean, like the oily kind. Wet? Still dark coffee bean but now a very sweet bouquet in the background. Drydown? Very strong floral with a slight coffee in the background. Fade to spilled coffee over a sachet of dried flowers.

[sarandipitee]

It starts off super dark and chewy coffee and just a hint of sweet but dry down is dusty and a little plasticky. I just don't think coffee works on me.

[Lucchesa]

SN Guatemalan Coffee Bean is so great! It could be the TAL Concentration scent -- just a pure, unadulterated jolt of olfactory caffeine! Wet it's all roasted coffee bean with a tad of bitter greenness that made me feel there were some unroasted beans in the mix as well. As it dried it was more just bittersweet coffee. I didn't get the candy-like scent some other reviewers did. My only complaint is that it does not last long on my skin. I think this would be a fantastic layering scent.

[torikitty]

COFFEE! COFFEE! COFFEE! I can't believe I haven't reviewed this yet.

Fresh espresso in your face! Not too creamy, not too sweet. From start to end, it's enjoyable. Wet, it smells like super fresh-roasted coffee beans.

[puellacaerulea]

I can't believe I slept on the SNs when they originally appeared. I've snagged a few via sales pages and it's clear I was missing out. In the bottle, this is slightly astringent coffee, but most definitely fresh coffee, with a hint of sweetness. Once on, the astringency calms down, but the sweetness hangs out. One of my favorite cafes used to offer a "coffee soda" that consisted of their cold brew concentrate, plain soda water, and simple syrup -- this reminds me very much of that drink. It's not aggressively sweet, but definitely sweeter than sticking your nose in a bag of coffee beans. I like it a lot on its own, but I feel like this has a ton of layering potential, too.

[LavenderCoffee]

"The scent of the roasted seeds of Coffea arabica, so intoxicating in real life, has resisted capture again."

I can't improve on the first post here, so I'll echo it, but I will add my own two cents anyway. 😅

 

In the bottle this is sweeter than just plain coffee, but dry on my skin it comes pretty close to the real thing. To my nose, it smells more like brewed coffee than beans though.