Reicha - Coffee Aroma

QUESTION: I walk past a coffee shop every day. From outside the store, I can smell the coffee. Should I recite a beracha on this aroma?

ANSWER: The Mishnah Berurah (216:16) writes that one who smells hot ground coffee should recite the beracha of “asher noson rei’ach tov b’peiros” since it has a pleasant aroma. However, it is questionable whether one should recite this beracha on a cup of coffee, since there are no coffee grinds in a cup of coffee. The drink is only the residual flavor and aroma that were captured in the hot water (see Shulchan Aruch 216:6). Similarly, one would not recite a beracha when passing a coffee shop, as the aroma wafting from the store is likely from the brewed coffee and not from coffee grinds. Furthermore, Teshuvos Yaskil Avdi (vol. 8, hashmatos 14) writes that one who passes a coffee shop is exempt from reciting a beracha because coffee is a drink and is not brewed for aroma. In such circumstances, a beracha would only be appropriate if there was specific intent to smell the coffee. He writes that this is true even though the proprietor uses the coffee’s aroma as a method of attracting customers.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.