How to Make Coffee Soap

Make this soap that smells good enough to eat...or drink.

Things You'll Need

• Soap Coloring
• Soap Fragrance
• Soap Molds
• Bath Towels
• Black Coffee
• Cocoa
• Coconut Oil
• Distilled Waters
• Olive (not Virgin) Oil
• Shortenings
• White Vinegar
• Latex Gloves
• Lye
• Double Boilers
• Kitchen Knives
• Mixing Spoons
• Old Wooden Spoons
• Mitre Boxes
• Safety Glasses

Instructions

1. Using distilled water, make 2 c. of the strongest coffee possible.

2. Heat 2 c. olive oil (not virgin) and 2 c. coconut oil to 100 degrees F in a double boiler.

3. Stir in 1 tsp. powdered cocoa.

4. Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool.

5. Add 4 ounces of lye flakes to 1 ½ cups (12 ounces) of cold coffee. Add the lye to the coffee, not vice versa. When lye meets water, it immediately begins to heat.

6. Stir constantly with a plastic spoon until it's well-mixed.

7. Let the lye-coffee mixture cool to room temperature.

8. Confirm that the oils are also at room temperature - ensuring that both mixtures are at the same temperature.

9. Pour the lye mix into the oils slowly, and stir slowly and constantly for about 30 minutes. If you see bubbles, stir more slowly. The mixture will get somewhat grainy - this is normal.

10. Once in awhile, drizzle the soap into the pot. When it keeps its shape momentarily before sinking into the rest of the mix (tracing), pour it into a mold greased with Crisco.

11. Wrap the mold in a towel and leave it undisturbed for 18 hours. The soap mixture will heat up and then cool down. Don't uncover it until it's cooled.

12. Allow the soap to sit in the uncovered mold for another 12 hours.

13. Loosen the sides by wiggling the mold a little.

14. Turn the mold over onto a clean counter.

15. Cut the soap into bars with a knife. Some people use a miter box to make square corners.

16. Allow the bars to cure for 3 to 4 weeks before using. Smaller bars cure faster than larger ones.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't wash your soapmaking supplies in the dishwasher or you'll be cleaning your kitchen floor as well.

• Keep a cup or two of vinegar handy in case you get lye on your skin.

• Lye is wickedly caustic. Always wear eye protection and gloves when using it.

• Never use aluminum with lye.

• Don't use containers or utensils used for mixing lye solutions for anything else.

• Add lye to water - not vice versa! If you add water to lye, it could react by splashing and burning you. Add the lye slowly.

• Ensure that the lye mixture and the oil mixture are the same temperature and at room temperature before combining the two.