Milano caffé – La Via del Profumo
Tuesday, june 4
“Where coffee is served , there is grace, splendor friendship, and happiness. You flow through the body as freely as life’s blood, refreshing all that you touch”
Sheikh Abd-al-Kadir, 16th century
Coffee the day, Champagne the night, that’s my “water” regime in Paris, with other special preparations made by great houses one needs to be inspired – the pleasure lies in a drop.
One of the most extraordinary and addictive natural perfume launches of this year comes from Italy. Milano caffé is a fabulous creation with a high degree of complexity and smoothness, equal to any XIXth century Guerlain. Sweet, balsamic, oriental, the perfume portrays one of the daily pleasures Italy is famous for. They do not dilute their dark drink, they love it sharp, bitter and ultra concentrated. This perfume is not the bitterness, but the sensual pleasure.
All the facets of the drink, all the facets of the grain, all the facets of the ritual are explored in a quintessential oriental which has the same standards as my beloved Shalimar. The flamboyant oriental, rich in vanilla-tonka, is now set in its original historical context. When cocoa and coffee were served several centuries ago, they were mixed with other precious ingredients because there was no real distinction between the liquor you drink and the perfume which transforms your skin. Another famous candle made in Versailles portrays the same exquisite combination in an interpretation à la française.
Gray amber, brown (caramelized) sugar and Venetian balms were part of the many preparations served by Giacomo Casanova in the coffee houses in the XVIIIth century. I wrote the invocation of Venetian Florian last week. Both drinks were known among Jesuits.
“Coffee, I must have coffee. Anyone who would refresh me, must pour me out some coffee” sings the Coffee Cantata (J.S. Bach 1735)
The modern perfume “Milano caffé”, probably inspired by the small caffé near La Scala (it was the high-society place where composers, artists, anarchists and diva met in the XIXth century) is the best combination between the coffee version made by Rimmel and the pre-Shalimar made by Guerlain. Launched in 2013, but its fabulous scents transcend space and time. If you love Dior Homme, you will adore la Via del Profumo.
Coffee and cocoa produce a certain euphoria which is associated with perfume, as it is portrayed in a famous and amazing creation signed several years ago in a highly original perfume made by IFF New York.
In this perfume you can experience the magic of precious classic natural ingredients which are almost extinct – like the ultra precious amber family. It is combined with a small, yet delicate floral heart, which generates the sweet cocoa macaroon effect found in summer honeysuckle and Sambac jasmine. The amber sweet base with its toffee-opopanax aspect belongs to the ambreine family (not to be confounded with 83 or the Lutens modern version) where the woody-rooty-mossy-honeyed base plays an important role. It is 100 times better than Dior Addict and the result is really impressive. The coffee theme is dominant, but in a subtle way, it suggests the candy and burnt aspect without being obvious.
The accord dates back to Conquistadores and Jesuits, when these precious ingredients made their way in Italy. They were mixed with other elements to generate the first new perfumes, while the citruses provided the freshness. The Shalimar idea, dates back to that era when all ingredients which made the perfume were fashionable in Italy. The grand duke of Tuscany had its own recipe of jasmine chocolate. Much later, the Montezuma recipe made its way into perfumes with an accord launched in Paris 200 years ago.
“Milano caffé”, a very elegant smooth composition, based on traditional ingredients and craft, smells as if it was done centuries ago during the time of great explorers. Cocoa beans and chocolate had their official rendez-vous in Casanova’s time. De Sade was chocoholic, Voltaire coffee-shaman.
If you want to experience the daily magic of a good coffee, put in your sugar jar 2 tonka beans and half Bourbon vanilla. Wait for a week, then open the jar, smell and add the sugar in the coffee. If the tonka bean is slightly roasted (the sugar too), the effect is fabulous. All you need is a drop of aged rum, very balsamic with its unmistakable animalic flavor (present only in the vanilla brown skin). You can also try the combination with Sambucca and will obtain the flavor of another discontinued Guerlain.
Milano Café, made by “La Via del Profumo” is part of a project dedicated to various cities from and has been developed with the contribution of members of the Basenotes and you can discover the entire project on the website.
Nothing compares to this perfume, a unique composition in the entire range of creations from La Via del Profumo. When it is mixed with the special pheromone perfume from the collection, the result is similar to the grand duke of Tuscany very old formula.
The perfume is inspired by modern Milano, but I can’t stop thinking of Venetian one thousand delights. With Milano caffé you get highly intimate.
Go to the perfume Milano Caffé
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