The Smell of a Freshly Turned Coffee Root
When the lathe cuts into coffee root, a particular scent fills the shop. It is not what most people expect from wood.
I expected sawdust. I got something closer to a warm pantry.
Summary
- Freshly cut coffee-root wood has a distinctive scent that many find warm and slightly sweet.
- The smell fades as the wood dries and is finished.
- Beeswax on the finished piece adds its own gentle fragrance.
Key takeaways
- Material has smell as well as sight and touch.
- Fresh wood smells different from finished wood.
- A good workshop is a sensory place.
Most of us have a clear idea of what wood smells like. Pine, cedar, oak. Resinous, sharp, or smoky. Coffee root is something else.
The first cut
When the turner's gouge meets the wood for the first time, a smell rises from the spinning root. It is warm and slightly sweet, with a hint of something earthy. I find it hard to describe. It reminds me a little of a pantry where dried fruit and spices are stored.
Other people describe it in different ways. Someone once said it reminded them of dry tea leaves. Another said, honestly, "It smells like old books." Smell is slippery that way.
Does it smell like coffee?
People always ask this. The honest answer is: not really. The wood does not smell like roasted coffee. It does not have the rich aroma of beans. It has its own scent, which is gentle and woody.
I wish I could tell you that it carries a whiff of coffee, since that would make a lovely story. We prefer to be accurate.
How it changes
Fresh shavings smell strongest. As the wood dries, the scent fades. Once the piece is finished, the dominant smell is the beeswax, a soft, honeyed warmth. A new piece unwrapped from its cloth bag carries that note.
Over time, the smell fades almost to nothing, though a gently warmed piece may release a little.
A shop of smells
The workshop is full of scents. Fresh wood, machine oil, beeswax, coffee from a small cup on the bench. They mix in the warm air and cling to your clothes. I come home smelling of it.
I think smell is underrated in how we experience made things. We talk about how an object looks and feels, but rarely how it smells. For those who spend time in a workshop, it becomes part of the memory.
For the owner
Do not expect a strong scent from your piece. It is subtle, and it is not meant to compete with candles or flavors. If you light a candle, the wax will dominate. If you handle the piece in a quiet room, you may catch the faintest hint of beeswax.
For more on the sensory side of the work, see The Sound of the Lathe.
Common questions
Does the wood smell like coffee?
No. It has a mild, warm, woody scent of its own.
Does a finished piece smell?
Faintly, mostly of beeswax. The fresh-wood smell fades as the piece dries.
Keep reading
Every piece is one of one.
Browse the specimen archive and acquire the piece that speaks to you. Each is catalogued once and sold once.