Written by Kristina Kybartaite-Damule
Hot mocha, Thai tea, and a father writing at his desk: a childhood memory inspired Pissara Umavijani’s latest creation for Parfums Dusita. During an intimate presentation in Cannes, the founder and perfumer introduced Mocha Absolu with the warmth I have come to associate with meeting her.
Images by Darius Damulis
I am always curious to discover what Pissara has prepared next. I love the signature running through her perfumes, and her presentations bring another dimension to the experience. Her paintings, the stories she shares, and the warmth with which she welcomes people make these encounters something I look forward to.
This time, the Thai tea served during the presentation offered a direct connection to Mocha Absolu. There was a lovely sense of everything belonging together: the drink in the glass, the fragrance on the blotter, and the memory Pissara was sharing with selected group of media and content creators.
Mocha Absolu was created to mark Dusita’s tenth anniversary. The second gourmand in the collection turns towards Pissara’s childhood. She recalls returning from school to the aroma of hot mocha and Thai tea, finding her father writing at his desk (he was a great poet).
Her father’s memory is woven through the world of Dusita, where his poetry often finds a new expression in her perfumes. Here, that connection takes the form of a familiar everyday scene. A father at his desk, the aroma of warm drinks, a child returning from school: small details that become precious with time.
It is a touching starting point for an anniversary fragrance. A milestone can invite a grand statement, but it feels especially moving celebrating it through such an intimate memory.
Coffee, Thai Tea, and a Gentle Sweetness
On my skin, Mocha Absolu feels cosy, enveloping, and slightly nostalgic. Coffee and Thai tea are both clearly present, surrounded by the comforting sweetness of dark chocolate, almond, and vanilla.
What I enjoy most is the balance. The chocolate brings sweetness, while the coffee and tea have an unsweetened character to my nose. Their aromatic depth gives the softer notes something to settle around, keeping the composition from becoming too sugary.
There is a lovely tension between the darker impression of coffee and chocolate and the gentler, more airy presence of tea. The almond and vanilla soften the edges, giving the fragrance a rounded comfort. I imagine the warmth of a cup held between both hands, its aroma rising slowly as the drink cools.
The Thai tea is what makes this interpretation particularly interesting to me. It has enough presence to shape the perfume, giving the coffee another dimension and keeping my attention as I return to smell it. Both drinks seem to have their own space within the composition.
It is unmistakably a gourmand, with the refinement I associate with Dusita. The edible references are easy to recognise, yet the overall impression feels considered and poetic. There is pleasure in the ingredients themselves, and also in the atmosphere they create together.
A Little of the Ritual to Take Home
For the launch, Dusita also introduced a limited-time illustrated presentation containing two vials of the fragrance’s central accords, mocha and Thai tea, alongside a bag of mocha drink mix and a perfume card signed by Pissara.
I find the idea very thoughtful. Being able to explore the accords separately offers another way into the composition, while preparing a drink at home brings its inspiration into an everyday ritual. The attention given to these details feels entirely in keeping with the presentation in Cannes.
Mocha Absolu is a perfume I can easily imagine wearing on long winter evenings by the fire, with a book nearby and no particular reason to hurry. It invites me to pause, make something warm to drink, and enjoy the evening while it is still unfolding.
Perhaps that is why its nostalgic quality feels so natural. The evenings we barely think to remember can become the ones we miss most later.