Coffee is actually one of the notes that I can't stand in perfumes. The coffee in the fragrances I've tested so far has always been somehow bitter, biting, almost burnt. That's why I had actually decided never to test coffee scents again. However, a sales associate in a perfume store sprayed "Costa Rica" on me to test without me knowing that the fragrance contains a coffee accord. I sniffed and was initially taken with it, and I remained so as the scent developed. The coffee here is beautifully sweet, but not too sweet, as if flavored with caramel syrup.
At the beginning, the lemon seems a bit disturbing; in my opinion, it doesn't pair very well with the coffee. However, I don't find it particularly bad, especially since the citrus note fades away after a few minutes. Ginger lingers for a while, and it fits quite well. The coffee becomes the main player of the fragrance after about 15 minutes. The flowers creatively and interestingly underscore the coffee; they are used rather subtly, allowing the coffee to remain dominant. I can only faintly detect the base notes. Towards the end, the scent primarily smells of the beautifully soft, sweet caramel coffee. "Costa Rica" is very intense and has impressed me so much that I treated myself to a bottle (there was a 20% discount).
