Coffee and Chocolate
Anna Zworykina Perfumes

I've made no bones about my aversion to gourmands, so when a description begins, "a gourmand perfume," I roll my eyes. So, my expectations of Anna Zworykina's Coffee & Chocolate weren't exactly high.

This, however, is not your designer's gourmand, nor is it niche free-trade coffee beans soaking in organic hot cocoa. Instead, as Zworykina promises, the coffee is black; the chocolate, more bitter than sweet. The OJ is likewise zesty in both relevant senses, and fleeting so as not to obscure the earthy scents beneath and beyond. Part of the magic is in a note Zworykina lists, but that somehow escaped the BN pyramid: frankincense. Along with the vetiver and black pepper, these emphasize the aromatic and spicy elements of both coffee and chocolate, elevating them far above the Frappuccino that "gourmand" typically implies.

As coffee-themed fragrances go, this is up there with l'Artisan's l'Eau du Navigateur and AbdesSalaam's Milano Café.