When I worked at Sephora, there were always small glass jars filled with coffee beans near the fragrance wall. The idea was that you could sniff the coffee beans to “reset” your nose in case it became overwhelmed.
But do coffee beans really have the ability to neutralize scent? The answer is simple: no. Your nose doesn’t actually become saturated — it’s always “on.” Scent can’t truly be neutralized, just like taste can’t be neutralized.
So why are coffee beans still used so often? Scent works similarly to taste. If you eat sweet candies and then drink chocolate milk, the milk may not taste as sweet. But if you eat something salty or sour in between, your taste buds will better register the sweetness again. It works the same way with scent. To overcome olfactory fatigue, the best thing you can do is smell something different. Whether that’s coffee beans or your own skin doesn’t really matter.
