Neutral Reviews of Black Vetyver Café 
Jo Malone London (2003)

Genre: Woody Oriental

The “Café” part is great: a delectable lightly sweetened coffee top note so photorealistic you'll go looking for the cup. The “Black Vetyver” I'm not so sure about. There's an interesting coffee and vetiver accord that lasts for about an hour while the two principals overlap, but once the coffee's gone the vetiver and artificial wood drydown is unpleasantly bare and hollow.

Too bad. Coffee and vetiver is as fine an idea as chocolate and patchouli (Borneo 1834, Coromandel), but it requires a more solid and nuanced execution than was paid for here.

Another nice fragrance that just doesn't have any legs. Black vetyver cafe is one of those fragrances that'll have you at first sniff, but after 2 hours there's nothing left. Yes it smells great, but it's so light that it negates the whole point of this fragrance. In the opening you'll get the vetiver infused with the dark bean coffee and a bit of sweetness. This lasts for about 20 minutes and then the coffee disappears and all your left with is a weak sweet vetiver/tonka smell. Even worse this seems to sour on the skin after a short time. I'm not sure about the concentration on this fragrance, but it would be a stretch to say this is an EdT. More like a weak EdC. At over $100 a bottle it's really a head scratcher.

Dark maple syrup, chased quickly by a heart of Vetiver. Dries down in minutes to a syrupy molasses and a vague moss. Little projection or longevity. Perhaps my sample is old but I smell little cafe. Woods but no smoke.

I find this overly smokey - I've actually been asked if I've been smoking when wearing it, not exactly a compliment. Sort of ok though I certainly wint be purchasing again

Looked very much forward to trying this fragrance after reading about it here on Basenotes and hearing some positive thoughts about it. Additionally, I bought some pretty nice body sugar scrub and shea-cocoa body butter creram in a (dupe) scent of BVC. So, I thought, "Why not...while waiting for my scrub 'n cream, I'll get a sample of the fragrance from The Perfumed Court to try in the meantime...just to see."

Well, perhaps in a (dupe) fragranced sugar scrub and/or cream this scent will be pleasant enough. As a cologne or EDT, it is just alright but nothing special. Certainly not a fragrance I would ever purchase or wear on a regular basis, if at all.

The notes??? Well to my nose-smile-BVC's initial opening is a very pleasant and rather fragrant note of a medium roast coffee...pretty interesting actually. What immediately follows (and I mean IMMEDIATELY) is a moderate middle note of, well vetyver and then...pretty much more of the same and a lot of nothing...at least that is how it landed on my skin.

Vetyver and coffee...that's it...in that order...on and on Mostly vetyver and little coffee, if any. I was actually hoping for a unique roastier, toastier, nuttier fragrance with less green (vetyver). But...nothing unique here, nothing particularly fragrant. All in all, I found it somewhat bland and boring. But again, I'm the type of gal who likes to smell unique and who likes to know that I am wearing perfume. Subtle, linear-type fragrances aren't my forte; complex ones are.

Having said that, I think the scrub and cream are gonna be great because I will be able to "layer" other like notes & scents...well, any scent actually. This fragrance is okay but not something I would ever purchase, wear or even recommend to anyone...except for someone looking for a neutral, clean, very linear, barely there fragrance.

Not an unpleasant smell, and does not feel cheap, but boring. A pale, earthy vetiver combined with an even paler coffee bean. Poor longevity on my skin, reaches the drydown quickly and without fanfare. Unobtrusive and at least not likely to be offensive.

Vetiver and coffee, the latter with some interesting turns of toffee, liquorice, and roasted nuts, recalling not L'Eau du Navigateur (1982) – the original coffee scent – as much as Méchant Loup (1997), also from L'Artisan Parfumeur. The woody drydown arrives quickly, this being a cologne, and while Black Vetyver Café isn't gonna change the world, it is nonetheless serviceable, if dull.

The smell is solid, but the longevity is weak. If either of these aspects were better I would not hesitate with a thumbs up, but alas, it is an "almost."

This is a sort of post-modern creation that needs to be explored more often, despite my moderate feelings about it. The vetiver n' friends form a solidly fresh base that could be considered ethereal and cloud-like. The coffee is dark, bitter, and resinous. The combination of the two make for a fluffy, refreshing coffee mist.

And I can't shake the feeling that this would be what people might be wearing on Coruscant, The Citadel, Deep Space Nine, and in Apple Stores.

This has a kind of nutty tone (like nuts, not goofy). I don't really detect a coffee note. And I don't get the usual sorts of vetiver notes, though I can imagine some sort of vetiver here. The drydown is interesting, a bit of "lite" incense there. This is kind of odd or unusual, in my opinion. It gets more powdery and sweet as it progresses. Don't really care for it.

The coffee top note in Black Vetyver Cafe is very sweet gourmand note, more like a coffee candy than a fresh brewed espresso. It reminded me of a coffee icing a local bakery used to use on one of their cakes. This coffee note fades in about 30 minutes revealing an earthy vetiver with hints of wood in the background. From here the development is linear. The longevity of Black Vetyver Cafe is reasonably good; on my skin it lasted about 5 hours before it needed refreshing. The coffee note really projects while it lasts but the vetiver and woody notes stay fairly close to the skin. If you are looking for a vetiver fragrance that is a little different then this might just be for you.

Indeed, in comparison with Mugler's damnable H*ll, this is a masterpiece. Now if I could only smell it 30 minutes after applying it, I'd give it a thumbs up.

Monsieur, have you been grinding your own coffee beans in the middle of the night again?, my valet asked me this morning. "No, my good man," I replied, "I just put on this new vetiver scent from Jo Malone called Black Vetyver Café. Do you like it?""While I don't drink coffee, I can smell this aspect of the scent and it is charming. However, it seems to be fading fast, Sir, and in no time there will scarcely be anything to smell!"I couldn't argue with him, for yet again he was spot on, this scent, while beguilingly charming straight away, lacks the lasting power that would really distinguish it and turn it into a contender. As it is, Black Vetyver Café pales against my cherished Guerlain Vetiver, which vanquishes it with stunning power, bravado, and persistence.Wicozani