Coffee isn’t just for fall, but there is something about cooler temperatures that has us craving it more intensely. If you need a caffeine fix, these Creamy Coffee Melt & Pour Soaps are the perfect project.
The bars are made with Goat Milk Melt and Pour Soap Base, which has a gentle feeling on the skin. A touch of coffee seed oil is added to the melted base. It’s extracted from freshly-roasted coffee beans, so it has an intense smell and dark color. When adding extra oils or butters to melt and pour soap, we recommend about 1 teaspoon per pound of soap. If too much extra oil or butter is added, the soap may not harden properly. It can also develop a greasy feeling and have less lather.
Used coffee grounds add a bit of exfoliation. Make sure to let them dry thoroughly before use. We don’t recommend fresh grounds because they bleed in soap.
Creamy Coffee Melt & Pour Soap
What You Need:
6 Cavity Silicone Circle Mold
22 oz. Goat Milk Melt and Pour Soap Base
1 tsp. Coffee Seed Oil
1 tsp. Used Coffee Grounds
0.4 oz. Espresso Fragrance Oil
0.4 oz. Vanilla Color Stabilizer
99% Isopropyl Alcohol in a Spray Bottle
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ONE: Chop 22 oz. of Goat Milk Melt and Pour Soap Base into small uniform pieces. Place the soap into a heat-safe container and melt in the microwave using 30-60 second bursts.
TWO: Add 1 tsp. of coffee seed oil (about 0.1 oz.) to the melted base and use a spoon to thoroughly mix in. Add 0.4 oz. of Espresso Fragrance Oil and 0.4 oz. of Vanilla Color Stabilizer and mix.
THREE: Add 1 heaping tsp. of the used coffee grounds and stir in.
FOUR: Allow the soap to cool to about 120-125 degrees F. That prevents the coffee grounds from sinking to the bottom of the bars.
FIVE: Fill each mold cavity. After each pour, spritz the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to help get rid of bubbles. Allow the soap to cool and fully harden for several hours or up to overnight. Remove from the mold and enjoy. To prevent glycerin dew, wrap each bar in plastic wrap.
- 6 Cavity Silicone Circle Mold
- 22 oz. Goat Milk Melt and Pour Soap Base
- 1 tsp. Coffee Seed Oil
- 1 tsp. Used Coffee Grounds
- 0.4 oz. Espresso Fragrance Oil
- 0.4 oz. Vanilla Color Stabilizer
- 99% Isopropyl Alcohol in a Spray Bottle
- Chop 22 oz. of Goat Milk Melt and Pour Soap Base into small uniform pieces. Place the soap into a heat-safe container and melt in the microwave using 30-60 second bursts.
- Add 1 tsp. of coffee seed oil (about 0.1 oz.) to the melted base and use a spoon to thoroughly mix in. Add 0.4 oz. of Espresso Fragrance Oil and 0.4 oz. of Vanilla Color Stabilizer and mix.
- Add 1 heaping tsp. of the used coffee grounds and stir in.
- Allow the soap to cool to about 120-125 degrees F. That prevents the coffee grounds from sinking to the bottom of the bars.
- Fill each mold cavity. After each pour, spritz the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to help get rid of bubbles. Allow the soap to cool and fully harden for several hours or up to overnight. Remove from the mold and enjoy. To prevent glycerin dew, wrap each bar in plastic wrap.
Hi, thank you for this formula. I tried making it and opted out of the oils and stabilizer as I wanted a fragrance free soap. The coffee grounds turned green after a few hours from the time it came off the mold. It was wrapped in saran wrap, sitting on my kitchen counter. Another one, which I started using after a few hours of setting, also turned green. It looked like my soap is growing molds. Any idea what might be happening? I Googled it and nothing comes up… Is this a reaction to the lye in the soap? Is it because I did not let it set overnight? Thank you!
I looked up the description of coffee seed oil on the website, and it is mentioned that coffee seed oil is not recommended for melt and pour soaps????
Coffee Seed Oil is not typically recommended for Melt and Pour soap because if you add too much it can cause the soap to be too soft and not set up. With this recipe the amount we used is perfect and doesn’t cause these issues. If you would like to use it just make sure you don’t use more than we did in this recipe.
Thanks for the clarification…..I made a batch of the soap using 1.5 times the recipe. Did not have vanilla stabilizer, so used a bit of brown oxide pigment to mask any discoloration. I must say the soap smells divine! This will be one of our favorites!
Just made this and I LOVE this soap. Will be make more of this one and it was so easy.
Just started doing the melt and pour soap and didn’t realize the 120 degree temperature warning was to help keep everything from floating to the top or sinking to the bottom. I recently made Oatmeal melt and pour soap and the oat part all sank to the bottom. Can I remelt and pour it? If so, is that true even if I have already added essential oils to it? Thank you!
You can remelt and pour even if you have already added fragrance or essential oils to it. Just keep in mind the more times you remelt the base the more moisture it will lose so if you have to do it multiple times you may want to add in a little extra Liquid Glycerin to help rehydrate.
Can I use a glycerin base M/P instead of goats milk M/P? If yes does the amount change? Also, can I add salt to make the soap harder and how much?
This is my first try and I’m loaded with questions, thanks for helping. Denise
Can additional coffee seed oil/ espresso fragrance be added since a previous comment mentioned the soap had a subtle hint of coffee? If so how much more of each and how much vanilla stabilizer should be added?
We don’t recommend going over 1tsp in this recipe for the coffee seed oil as more than that may adversely affect your consistency and lather. If our fragrance calculator has room for more fragrance oil in this recipe you can certainly use more (here’s a link: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Fragrance-Calculator.aspx) and you’ll want to use the Vanilla Color Stabilizer at a 1:1 ratio along with your fragrance oil.
Is there a way to add oats to this recipe?
Sure! Either use it at 1 tsp and remove the coffee grounds or you can do half coffee grounds and half oatmeal. I think that would work just fine.
If you had to use a different type of soap base, what would you recommend? Looking to avoid all animal by-products.
For a similar creamy feel and look I would recommend the SFIC Shea Melt and Pour Soap Base.
https://www.brambleberry.com/SFIC-Shea-Melt-And-Pour-Soap-Base-P3192.aspx
I made my first batch yesterday, replacing coffee seed oil with almond oil, using coffee essential oil instead of the fragrance oil and I omitted the color stabilizer. Unmolded it 12 hours later, but it’s quite sticky and has residue on top (glycerin dew?) and still feel a bit soft. I mixed the coffee grinds at 118 degrees F but it still sank to the bottom. im leaving it out now to dry as much as it can. Is this normal? How Long should I wait, and what can I do after in terms of packing to prevent more sweating?
Glycerin Dew can definitely cause your soap to be a little soft/tacky. On your next batch, once your soap has fully hardened and cooled, wrap it up airtight and you shouldn’t encounter that problem again. Saran wrap and cellophane work great for packaging.
I tried this for my very first attempt at soap making because it looked easy! And it is easy but my soap developed like a film and some chunks before I even poured it to the mold. Perhaps I overstirred/mixed it? What causes this film/scum to form and how to avoid this from happening again?
Thank you for your help!
That normally starts to happen as the soap starts to cool. If it becomes too chunky you may need to heat it again a bit before pouring it into the mold.
Melt and Pour Soap can also become thick and rubbery if it is overheated.
How to Avoid Burnt Melt & Pour: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/how-to-avoid-burnt-melt-pour/
I made these last night and they came out very nicely—just like the photos—and with a subtle hint of coffee. The Goat Milk Melt and Pour base is, indeed, creamy. These will make very nice gifts. Thanks for the recipe!
Do you need to add the vanilla color stablizer. Will the soap discolor if I don’t have any stabilizer.
Yes, the soap will discolor to a dark brown if you leave out the Vanilla Color Stabilizer.
is there something else you can you use to replace the coffee seed oil?
Coffee seed oil is used for the wonderful coffee smell it lends to your soap. You can always omit it or replace it with a different soft oil like rice bran or apricot kernel.
Could you add a lavender oil to the coffee oil, say half and half or add an additional .4 oz of lavender oil?
You can definitely add that, though that small amount of Lavender Oil will not really be able to go over the scent of the coffee.
can i omit the vanilla colour stabiliser and coffee fragrance oil? i cant get it from where im from.
Yes, but it won’t be as strongly scented if you omit the fragrance oil.
Will the used coffee grinds create mold porblem for the soap after a few weeks, also how recently used are the grounds, like day old?
Used coffee grounds add a bit of exfoliation – make sure to let them dry thoroughly before use. We don’t recommend fresh grounds because they bleed in soap – meaning that you’ll want to dry your grounds out before you use them, rather than using freshly used and wet grounds.
Margarita, there will be no mold in soap from the coffee grounds.
It’s best to use freshly used grounds, like within 1 day. That’s because the longer they stay moist, the more chance for them to start growing mold before you dry them.
Make sure to dry them very well before use (using a warm oven helps). After they are completely dry, then you can store them for a longer period of time with no problems and have them ready to use any time.
Still not sure what you mean by fresh grounds, as you seem to indicate that you must brew the coffee first and then let the brewed grounds dry out before you make the soap. Is that correct? Couldn’t one just grind coffee beans in a grinder and use the grounds in the soap without first brewing them? Please clarify.
If the grounds are used before you add them to your recipe there is less chance that they will cause color bleeding.
Ok. Thanks. I’ll give it a try.
his looks tasty and easy to make. Found you through #WAYWOW Social Media Blast Linkup Just Pin It. Thanks for sharing. Stumbling to share.
I’m new at this so this may be an odd question, but could I substitute coffee seed oil for vanilla extract mixed in a bit of coconut oil? Thanks!
We’ve never tried using vanilla extract and coconut oil together in melt and pour – presumably it would work, but definitely try a small test batch first just to see what you think.
Thanks! I’ll try it out.
can I omit the coffee seed oil? how will that change the soap?
You can definitely omit the coffee seed oil if you’d like, but your soap won’t be quite as creamy, and won’t smell as good.