North Country Mercantile

Gin’s Coffee Soap

I had always heard coffee was a good odor remover, regardless of the recipe. I used wet grounds in my first batch and got a really interesting design. The grounds were dry the second time and the soap was really dark, but the lather was white. Third batch the grounds weren’t quite dry. The soap is uncolored around the grounds. First batch used commercial ground, they were a little large for my liking. I now have a coffee grinder so they are ground finer, and I like it a lot better.

I make triple strength coffee the night before using distilled water. Refrigerate overnight. The lye is added to the cold coffee.

Coffee Soap #1

Canola, 500g (20%)
Castor, 50g (2%)
Cocoa Butter, 75g (3%)
Coconut Oil, 325g (13%)
Palm Oil, 200g (8%)
Palm Kernel, 300g (12%)
Sunflower, 350g (14%)
Lard, 700g (28%)

Lye, 348.5g (one Red Devil can -- I usually weigh the lye first and then adjust my ingredients)
Triple strength coffee, 28 fl. oz.

Coffee Soap #2 (double batch)

Canola, 600g (12%)
Castor, 100g (2%)
Cocoa Butter, 100g (2%)
Coconut, 800g (16%)
Corn, 400g (8%)
Palm Kernel, 600g (12%)
Sunflower, 600g (12%)
Lard, 1000g (20%)
Tallow, 800g (16%)

700g lye
63 oz. coffee

I like the second recipe better. It comes out harder. Plenty of lather. And the animal fats give it plenty of cleaning power.

DH took two bars in for the shop mechanic. One for shop, one for home. The motorheads of course had to try it. One of them exclaimed, “My wife is going to think I’m having an affair, my hands have NEVER been this clean!” They used the shop bar daily, washing to their armpits. Needless to say, I now have regular customers for coffee soap.

submitted by Gin B.

Note: The usual disclaimers apply, and we cannot personally guarantee the success or results of any of the recipes included in this library. These recipes were submitted by many different people, and because each recipe reflects the individual contributor's own method of soap making, the instructions and methods vary widely. If you are new to soap making, be sure to familiarize yourself with basic soap making and lye safety procedures before trying any recipes, and always follow these basic safety guidelines. Also, it is always a good idea to first run any recipe through the lye calculator. The information included in the Soap Making Library is for your personal use only and is copyrighted material that may not be posted on other web sites, mailing lists, forums, etc. The format and compilation of the library is copyrighted by North Country Mercantile, and the recipes remain the copyrighted property of each contributor.

Copyright Information: The information included in the Soap Making Library is for your personal use only and is copyrighted material that may not be posted on other web sites, mailing lists, forums, etc. The format and compilation of the library is copyrighted by North Country Mercantile, and the recipes and hints remain the copyrighted property of each contributor.