Beauty Care: Jousset Parfums Qahua Bunga 1 Perfume Review

Jousset Parfums Qahua Bunga 1 Extrait de Parfum is a gourmand fragrance that vacillates between almost caramelized coffee and bitter coffee with fruity, smoky notes and a hint of mint tea. It very much offered the notes listed as what I detected, and it had a linear progression, so if one loved the opening, the rest was largely the same (only blurring a bit over time).

Qahua Bunga 1 Notes

It is described as mixing “fruity tobacco” with “thick Shisha vibe and traditional Moroccan mint tea.” These are the notes:

top notes: organic coffee, coffee accord
heart notes: shisha (fruity tobacco, kiwi, melon)
base notes: nanah (traditional Moroccan mint tea)

What does Qahua Bunga 1 Smell Like?

It opened with thickened, inky black coffee with syrupy smoke that twisted with a sip of mint tea. There was a waft of melon that flitted in the background, less obviously as melon and more as something sweet, slightly fruity. The coffee was sometimes bitter and aromatic, while other times it was almost caramelized; there was a definite sweetness there but almost too fruity to be just coming from the coffee itself.

The fragrance had a very linear progression and became more blended, slightly blurred, and less fruity over time. Even after eight hours, it was still very much the same in feel as the opening, just softer and more blended.

Longevity

It lasted for eight hours until it was a skin-scent and about 14 hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage and projection were moderate and didn’t move closer until the fourth hour.

Testing Methodology

For testing, I used 1/3 of a 0.7ml sample vial dabbed to the underside and topside of my wrist area. I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise.

I purchased my sample in January 2022; fragrances are known to be reformulated over their lifetime, so be mindful of when a review was made, e.g. a review from 2010 may not reflect what the same-named perfume smells like in 2022.

Availability

Qahua Bunga 1 is available for $155/500ml.

If possible, I highly recommend trying a fragrance before purchasing a full bottle because fragrance can wear differently just because of skin chemistry. Skin chemistry can effect not just the longevity of a fragrance but also what notes are prominent or hidden.

Qahua Bunga 1 Samples

We recommend the following retailers for purchasing decanted samples (typically 0.7ml to 2ml in size). This is a fuller list, so individual availability may depend on inventory.