” Before becoming a perfumer, I worked as a sommelier. Something we learnt plenty about during my wine days at university was terroir, wine houses all over the world pride themselves in having the ideal soil, the perfect amount of rain and sun and even what type of stones the vine passes in its search for water. The significance of terroir is still being discussed, but to me personally it’s clear that the environment where something grows has a considerable impact on the final product.
Since getting into perfumery I’ve always been confused by the fact that terroir is rarely spoken about, sure we know that you find the best jasmine, tuberose and rose in Grasse but not really why they are so much better (they truly are though). Or why Madagascar produces some of the most finely tuned raw materials in the world. Terroir once again, and the more I think about it, perhaps only a way of describing growing conditions where nature is at the top of its game.
The same thing applies to coffee. When I had my first sip of Ethiopian coffee I was completely taken aback, a wonderfully acquired taste, like a concentrate of Africa itself. Infinitely complex with hundreds of facets my brain couldn’t make sense of at the time. The more I had the more my fascination grew. I found it earthy, with the darkest of black currants steeped in plum wine lingering at the back of my mouth, gentle sparkling tart acidity and beautiful animalic floral hints of jasmine. I was sold! How could so much soul find its way into one single bean? To me drinking Ethiopian coffee is like drinking life itself.
Translating this into a fragrance was an enormously fun pursuit. I used a beautiful aged quality of patchouli to capture the very cradle of life itself and topped it up with a generous amount of coffee co2. An invaluable material since the complexity of real coffee simply can’t be recreated. A cushion of jasmine softens it all and a rich sultry plum creates the velvety mouth feel Ethiopian coffee evokes. A fragrance as complex as its inspiration, well that was the aim at least”. Fredrik Dalman In-House Parfumeur.
To explore the Alinea Collection from the comfort of your home, we offer the Alinea Sample Set HERE
Make a selection of five different Alinea creations that you love to try and receive a € 35 gift voucher redeemable against any monadiorio.com 50 ml Eau de Parfum Intense flacon.
To truly experience the artisanal craftsmanship of the Alinea Collection, we welcome you to our Atelier in Amsterdam where you will be greeted by our in house-perfumer Fredrik Dalman and/or creative director Jeroen Oude Sogtoen.
Request your fragrance session
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