MAISON TAHITE
I-RISTRETTO

2022

PERFUMER
Paul Guerlain

Pink Pepper
Coffee Absolute

iris
Violet

patchouli
Cashmeran

I-Ristretto is quite an unusual coffee fragrance, at least in its opening minutes.

From the first sniff, it’s a clean, bright take on coffee. The violet accord has a fruity tinge and the pink pepper is prominent, but that only lasts minutes. It has an almost clean linen, white musky essence, mixed with a soft coffee aroma.

It’s described by the brand as a balance between flowery and talcum powdery iris and the bitterness of the coffee and I can definitely see that, although it gets rather sweet and creamy as it dries.

For me, this is probably the smoothest of the 4 coffee scents from Maison Tahite and most of the drydown is a smooth soft and light coffee scent to my nose. I’d argue it’s also the most gourmand one from the line.

Where this fragrance almost goes wrong is in the cashmeran. It adds a dry papery scent (like a newspaper), but in some wafts it almost goes towards muddy, which is one of my fragrance allergies. I-Ristretto keeps it at bay just enough for me to enjoy however. Definitely my second favorite from the brand’s coffee collection, after Coffee Bomb.