Coffee...in a handy bar form

The experiments continue! What's up with all my soap experiments, you might ask? In simplest terms, I'm trying to figure out what people like. That means I am making small 2 lb. batches of soap, giving them out as samples and gathering feedback. It helps me streamline what soaps I want to put effort into and what people would actually buy.

Mmmm...coffee. 

Okay, so this week's experiment was (drumroll)...coffee soap!  Why would one want to use coffee soap? Well, I've been reading up on soaps and coffee happens to be good at removing kitchen odors from your hands. Specifically, garlic, onion and fishy odors. I love me some garlic and onions, but don't want the smell on my hands all day after I made my morning scramble, ya know? So, I wanted to make a batch to see if all the hype is actually true. I don't want to sell a product that doesn't deliver the goods.

Okay, so here's what I did to my basic soap recipe. I replaced my distilled water with brewed coffee, similarly to how I used beer in my previous post. I made sure my coffee was cool before mixing in the lye. Once the soap was at trace, I removed some soap and added some finely ground coffee and cinnamon to it which I swirled into the rest of the soap. I didn't add a scent because I wanted to see if the smell of coffee and cinnamon would shine through in the final bars.

right after being poured into my lined wooden mold

That's some swirly goodness, isn't it? Maybe all my time as a barista making latte art has finally paid off.  It's worth mentioning that this batch came to trace FAST and I had to work pretty quickly after combining the oils with the lye. I'm not sure if this is common with coffee soap, but I was hustling.

The finished bars look pretty swell If I do say so myself and are on the curing rack as we speak. They have a nice, light cinnamon coffee smell which is really comforting, in my opinion. Ready for willing testers in 4 weeks or so.

Coffee Soap