La Montana Alfredo's Cafe Candle

Up until two years ago I spent every Summer or at least a few weeks of it in Spain, certain scents and to an extent noises take me straight back. I guess you don't realise how fortunate you are as a youngster to be able to soak up the sun, culture and people of somewhere else until you have to pay for it out of your own pocket ha! Very few brands manage to capture the Mediterranean in scent form, sure there are plenty of great aquatic scents that will transport you to a beach but what about the Spanish/Italian or even French countryside? Even better the hustle and bustle of a small Spanish Cafe in the outskirts of Spain? Near impossible until I inhaled La Montana Alfredo's Cafe Candle.

La Montana Alfredo's Cafe Candle

First of all let me tell you a little about La Montana - a small collective of four fragrances each of which has been inspired by the founders new life in a Spanish mountain village. Surrounded by new scents the creators decided to give us back in the UK a little taste of Spanish sunshine and life in fragrance form. Each candle is lovingly made with high quality wax, natural fragrance oils and adorned with the coolest 1930's vintage inspired label. You can actually purchase the labels in poster form which is my plan for when I move home. Each candle burns for around 40 hours and has a great scent throw - a few hours of burning will scent your entire home rather than just one room.

La Montana Alfredo's Cafe Candle

If like myself your memories of Spain are more family based and chilled out then you are going to want to try La Montana Alfredo's Cafe Candle. The muse for such scent is very real both the man and the cafe - you simply have to read the charming back story here. La Montana Alfredo's Cafe is an unusual, slightly masculine but rather comforting blend of coffee (sweet), brandy (rich), and black tobacco, laced with leather (buttery) and incense from the church notes. Deep yet light at the same time, slightly smoky but in an incense manner that will most likely remind you of mass or any place of worship (assuming you have been to one at some point). Other than small, lively Spanish eateries filled with cheery locals the only real comparison I can make in terms of scent is that it is somewhat and I do say somewhat similar to Jo Malone Incense and Embers Candle. Truthfully La Montana Alfredo's Cafe Candle has more life and is as far from being a generic scent as you will ever find.

One last trip down memory lane? La Montana Alfredo's Cafe Candle reminds me of being a teenager in rural Spain with my Grandparents, catching every second or third word of Spanish yet being mesmerised by the hustle and bustle and the noise around me. Spanish cafe's in my experience are not somewhere you go to relax, there is always something going on and most likely a round of laughter ringing around the room. One quick sniff of this soothing, aromatic scent and I'm a million miles away from home, sun kissed and wishing I paid more attention in Spanish school (it is a real thing and less fun than it sounds) and realising that I will never be a champion Domino player. Now to scour Easy Jet for cheap flights back to my childhood...

You can purchase La Montana Alfredo's Cafe Candle (and the other three fragrances) direct from La Montana for £35 each - link.

This post contains a press sample.