Qahwa

First few sprays from the bottle, to put it succinctly, smells like a coffee-flavoured muffin, or a coffee-flavoured biscuit, or a generic muffin with a cappuccino beside it. It's cappuccino coffee with a bready smell. This is not black coffee with a bready smell, but more-so cappuccino with a bready smell - cappuccino has a bit of milk to take the bitter edge off and provide body/richness. I suppose that bready smell is the cardamom, but it doesn't come off like the cardamom in other fragrances like BDK Gris Charnel, nor Tom Ford Oud Wood, and definitely not like YSL LNDL, because of the coffee mixed very well with it. This will make you smell like you just drank a coffee. This might be a little difficult to wear, regarding versatility. This transports me to a hotel restaurant breakfast early in the morning, as if I had a cappuccino and muffin in front of me, tired from waking up too early but excited for the adventurous day to come. I quite like the smell, but I especially love this because of the transportative nature - it's also my favourite true coffee scent (well, with an added bread/biscuit smell), and I prefer it over Paris Corner Eternal Coffee (scent of cappuccino but with very minimal milk, as to say it lacks the body and creaminess of a typical cappuccino) and Al Rehab French Coffee (scent of black coffee). I also recommend Fragrance World Irish Coffee, which smells like coffee liqueur (a drink of coffee, alcohol, and a ton of sugar). And I recommend Fragrance World Caramel Macchiato, which smells very similar to Lattafa Khamrah Qahwa (i.e. creamy vanilla and a bit of coffee) with a little extra coffee - this one needed a couple of weeks of maturation with 5-10 sprays expelled - however, I actually recommend skipping it and just getting Lattafa Khamrah Qahwa which is smoother and much richer/denser, and therefore more intoxicating, albeit having a touch less coffee.

Spicy, bitter coffee. Oh my goodness. Qahwa opens up with a blaaaast of smoky cardamom and is a little overwhelming. As the smokiness settles a bit, the cardamom and coffee mend together and create this chocolatey aroma. On the dry down, the fragrance fully settles into a smoky cardamom coffee, with a hint of sweetness in the background. The smokiness definitely mellows down as the fragrance dries (which i appreciate). I like to layer this fragrance with very sweet, photo-realistic gourmands (like vanilla bean and macedamia nut by Victorias Secret, or Sticky Dates by Lush). Qahwa takes me to a cafe in the woods. Its a foggy, cold, october morning. The owner of the cafe is roasting fresh coffee beans along with fresh cardamom. The barista is preparing a dark chocolate mocha with two extra shots of espresso. I grab a pain au chocolat from the display and sit down near the crackling fireplace. The cafe cat walks towards me and makes herself comfortable in my lap. The barista comes around and sets my warm cup down. 10/10

Qahwa opens with an assertive burst of cardamom—sharp, aromatic, and intense. In the opening, the spice definitely dominates. I can see why some may find this part challenging, but I love it! As it settles, it softens into a beautifully rendered qahwa accord: roasted coffee with a gentle smokiness, warmed by resinous labdanum. The base is where I found the scent becoming truly comforting. While the coffee notes are never lost, a subtle sweetness emerges, possibly from the date note, melding seamlessly with smooth cedarwood and sweet benzoin. The result is warm, enveloping, not too sugary and to me, rather addictive. Wearing Qahwa feels like wandering through a medieval city at dusk: stone walls still warm from the sun, the air scented with coffee, smoke, and resin drifting from hidden cafés. It’s atmospheric, grounding, and evocative. While it has significant lasting power, it doesn't have an overt projection. A satisfying unisex fragrance for lovers of coffee, resins, and softly spiced woods.

Big fan of this fragrance, it reminds me heavily of being inside a coffee shop. Roasted coffee and dates are the main notes that I get from this and they work well together. The coffee is strong but the dates work to sweeten it up a bit. Performance-wise, this fragrance is solid. The fragrance pushes out to my nose for about 3 or so hours and lasts on my clothes for over 8 hours. I find this one to lean more masculine, though anyone could smell like coffee if they really wanted. Qahwa by Fragrance World is one of my favorite takes of a coffee fragrance. I understand that not everyone wants to smell like coffee, but for those of us that do, Qahwa is a strong pick. This is definitely one of the best and most balanced fragrances within the Coffee Collection. If you're interested in more, I recommend also checking out Affogato and Caramel Macchiato. Those two are great as well.

Wow. I’m so impressed, it’s high end niche quality for sure. To me this smells like the opening of the likes of AP Bleu Lazuli, Minuit et Demi, Memo African Leather due to the cardamom. Then smells like freshly ground coffee with a bit of freshly made waffles in the background - ever so slightly though as this is not a sweet fragrance per se. This is exactly what qahwa actually smells of if you are familiar with it - incredibly comforting and perfect for this time of the year. Not too familiar with the performance but as of now, I’d say the performance is a typical designer and is projecting well. I will update after a few months to see if the fragrance changes over time. I’m considering buying a backup bottle because for only 22 GBP it’s a steal! Performance - 8 Projection - 9 Scent - 1000