Coffee and Cocoa Soap: Easy 3 Oil Recipe and Tutorial

Fresh Brewed Coffee and Cocoa Soap.....

Easy Crock Pot (Hot process) Recipe

 and Full Tutorial How-To

Updated 6/22/16

                                                                                                                   

Mocha just took on another meaning for me!     I love making fresh brewed coffee soap!

I've made soap with fresh brewed tea and honey and wanted a coffee recipe to compliment it.  How fun is that, tea and coffee luxury homemade soap!

I also wanted to make a simple 3 oil recipe that would be a good starting recipe for new soapers as well as a good basic and affordable cleansing, nourishing bar. Full tutorial and recipe below.....

If you wish to make a smaller batch, please use soapcalc (click here), and reformulate your
recipe to get correct lye and liquid amounts, etc.  This batch is a 40 oz oil batch which makes
about a 3 LB loaf of soap.

Recipe:

12 oz of Coconut oil

16 oz of Crisco  (don't use the store brand, use only Crisco)

12 oz Olive oil  (no need to use the more expensive extra virgin olive oil, the skin properties are just as great with the "regular" oo)

1 - 2  TBL cocoa powder  (optional amount, the more you use, the darker the soap)

5.6 oz  Lye

15.2 oz  water (cold coffee)

1.2 oz to 1.5 oz of fragrance oil  (optional)

Ingredients For 3 Oil Recipe:
Lye, Crisco, Coconut oil, Olive Oil, Liquid of choice (I used coffee)

Crockpot, Stick blender, pyrex or something like it to mix lye/water, long handled mixing spoons, I use silicon.  Rubber gloves, and eye protection.
Scale to weigh ingredients.

If you choose to make this with distilled water instead of coffee, that is the only other ingredient along with your fragrance (optional) you will need.  ( I added cocoa powder to go with the coffee )

You can purchase Lye on line at Brambleberry or Essential Depot  (my favorite) which is food grade. In the USA you can still find 100% lye at ACE hardware in the plumbing section. Make sure it says 100% LYE on the container. Other varieties contain particles for drains, which is NOT the correct lye for soap making.  This lye is also very affordable.

 Always wear protective eye ware and rubber gloves when working with lye.
I use a glass container to measure my lye into. Plastic containers conduct static and the lye beads stick to it ridiculously.

Have vinegar near by to neutralize any splashed lye. If you get it on your skin wash immediately under water.


Designate a crock pot for your soap making adventure, I got a used one at a thrift store.

1:   Measure your brewed COLD coffee, you can even use coffee ice cubes, 
never use a hot or warm liquid and add lye to it.
Your liquid is measured by weight, NOT volume. In a separate container measure lye by weight.

2:  In a well ventilated area, (I go outside) pour your lye crystals into the  

cold coffee  ( or liquid of choice).

NEVER pour liquid into lye, always pour lye into liquid.  Now stir until all lye crystals are 

dissolved. Gloves and eye wear a must.

  When thru stirring lye into water, drop the empty lye

cup, spoon into vinegar water to neutralize it.  Always put anything with active lye on it into your vinegar solution when you are thru using it.

3:  Preheat crock pot to LOW.  Measure (by weight ) coconut oil, olive oil and crisco into large container that is microwave safe.  Place in microwave and heat until melted.

                                                     
4:  When all oils are melted together, pour into crock pot. Crock pot should be on LOW.

NOTE: if you are making this with cocoa powder, at this point take out a little of your melted oils and mix with your cocoa (unsweetened) powder and stir, consistency liquidy, not dry, just want to make sure you don't have lumps of cocoa powder in your soap!  Add back to crock pot and stir.

                                                             
5:  Now you slowly pour your lye mixture into the crock pot with the melted oils. Stir with long
        handled spoon a bit.

                                                             
6:  Get your stick blender out and begin to slowly blend, stirring blender around  the crock pot.  This is when the magic begins!  As you blend away, the liquid/lye and oils begin to saponify, which
        means you are literally turning your oils into soap by the chemical reaction to the alkali (lye).

                                                                     
Your mixture will begin to get thicker, when it gets like a soft pudding, and you lift up your blender (turned off of course) and the mixture leaves a trail, or a trace on top, this is called "Trace".  Continue to stick blend until it gets like pudding.

7:  Next, place lid on crock pot, leave on LOW, and watch as you make soap!
        Never walk away from  a crock pot of soap cooking, watch thru the lid, if it starts to boil up as
        if to over spill, stir it and release the heat, it'll go back down.

Your mixture will go thru changes. It's edges along the crock pot will rise and curl in towards the center. You will see a clear liquid pool in the center, this is glycerin!     Commercial soap makers remove this awesome natural soap by-product and use it for other purposes, that is why store bought soap is so drying, no glycerin. Your homemade soap keeps all that moisturizing goodness.

 

My crock pot was a bit too small for this size batch, make sure your crock is big enough.

Depending on the ingredients added to your soap mixture, your soap can take a half hour to an hour to be done, I've had my coffee and tea recipes take 20 mins, so don't walk away!

My soaping friend who taught me how to make soap, showed me an easy way to tell if your soap is done......

Think of the sides of your soap as waves, and the center as a glycerin-island.   The waves will continue to grow and rise around the island which is smooth.  As it cooks, the waves roll inward closer to the center making the island smaller and smaller.  When the island has sunk beneath the waves, you will see some clear glycerin on top. Stir it back in. Turn crock pot off. If you have a removable crock, take it out. Stir to cool down your soap. Yes, I said soap....you made soap!

8:  If adding fragrance oil or essential oil, this is the time to put it in.  Stir well.  General rule of

        thumb for fragrance is no more than 1 oz per 2 pounds of soap.

        Of course this is entirely dependent on the fragrance or essential oil used. 

        Some are quite potent. Most manufacturers give their recommendations for their product. 

        ONLY use bath and body safe fragrance oils, NOT candle ones. Some fragrances can be used

        for both candle and bath and body.... MAKE sure you know what you are using !

                                                             

                                                                   
9:  Now its time to put into mold (s). I used a wood soap mold, lined with freezer paper to
         easily remove the soap.  You can use any mold you want. Silicon works great, plastic too.
         Pringles cans work too, the next day after pouring, just rip can away from soap! Be sure and             tap mold on table after putting in soap batter to get out any air pockets.
         Leave in mold over night, this recipe with coffee and cocoa was still soft after one
         night, so I left it in for two.

           Your beautiful homemade soap is ready to be cut and used.  Tip: if you let your
            hot process (crock pot) soap dry for a week or two it will become a much harder
            bar,  hence, will last longer in the shower!  But, if you're like me, one bar ends up
            in the shower right away!  Crock pot soap also known as Hot Process soap when
            made correctly is ready to use right away, you do not have to cure it for 4 weeks like
            you do with Cold Process soap.

                                                                 

                                       

                This recipe made a bar of soap with large chocolate colored bubbles, lovely.

     

                                                                          

                                                                                           
             Any questions please ask away......   enjoy,       Anna