- Beverage makers are borrowing inspiration from candle scents to craft cozy, nostalgic drinks.
- Aromatic profiles like vanilla, cedar, and spiced florals are moving from living rooms to lattes.
How Candle Scents Are Inspiring New Beverage Flavors
If your latte smells a little like your favorite candle, it’s not an accident. Beverage brands are taking cues from the home fragrance world, translating cozy candle scents into drinkable flavors. Think vanilla-bourbon cold brews, lavender-linen lemonades, and smoky cedar teas that feel like sipping a candle—but in the best way possible.
This cross-pollination of scent and sip makes sense in a culture where aroma is tied to mood and memory. According to Food Dive, consumers are increasingly seeking sensory-driven products that do more than just taste good—they want drinks that comfort, transport, and soothe. Candles already excel at evoking feelings through scent, so beverages borrowing their aromatic notes feels like a natural evolution.
From Wick to Whisk
Popular candle profiles like vanilla, pumpkin spice, sandalwood, and rose are inspiring baristas and mixologists alike. Coffee shops have begun experimenting with “cozy scent” menus—drinks that taste like autumn candles but without being cloyingly sweet. Some craft brewers are even leaning into “woodsy” and “smoky” notes for seasonal beers, reminiscent of popular masculine candle scents.
What’s driving this trend is the emotional resonance of aroma. A lavender-chamomile spritzer can mimic the calming vibe of a spa candle, while a cinnamon-cedar latte channels the comfort of a cozy living room in fall. For Gen Z and millennials especially, drinks that double as self-care rituals are appealing.
Why It Works
The overlap between the candle and beverage industries lies in their focus on experience. Candles don’t just smell nice—they set a mood. Similarly, beverages that smell (and taste) like a warm candle tap into the same emotional effect, creating comfort and nostalgia in a cup.
There’s also a strong Instagram angle. A smoky maple latte with a rosemary garnish not only smells and tastes unique but also looks striking in photos. These drinks deliver a multisensory punch designed for both sipping and sharing online.
The Bigger Picture
The rise of candle-inspired drinks underscores a broader cultural shift: food and beverages aren’t just consumed, they’re experienced. As scent-driven menus and seasonal drinks expand, we may soon see the gap between the fragrance aisle and the café menu shrink even further. For now, the line between lighting a candle and sipping a latte has never been blurrier—or more delicious.
Jacklyn is a San Diego–based food journalist with a background in the confectionery world. Before diving into food reporting, she worked at a startup crafting plant-based, low-sugar sweets designed to make candy a little healthier
