# Adding tea to cold process soap



## idreamaboutsoap (Mar 21, 2014)

Has anyone used brewed green tea in their soap? I want to add this to one of my recipes but unsure of what it may do. Should I count it as part of my water in my lye solution or add as additional water? Will it go crazy and seize up my batter?? I love the idea bc of all of the wonderful properties of tea but unsure and don't have the resources to lose a batch...TIA


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## Dennis (Mar 21, 2014)

I've used coffee but not tea  -  yet.  The room temp coffee was used as lye water with no problems.  I weighed the coffee and lye and mixed as usual with no problems at all.  Tea may be different but I'm sure we will know shortly.


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## seven (Mar 21, 2014)

i've used herbal tea. i did a full liquid swap. brew the tea extra strength, chill it, add lye. don't add lye to the tea when it's still hot. as far as the wonderful properties, i'm not sure how much (if any) will survive saponification. it's more of label appeal to me. 

as far as green tea. i've used powdered one to color my batch once. it turned nasty brown. the nice muted green is gone. just a heads up.


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## Belinda02 (Mar 21, 2014)

I used black tea concentrate as my water in my last batch with no problems. More for color than anything. Soap started off brown but now a light cream.


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## osso (Mar 21, 2014)

seven said:


> i've used herbal tea. i did a full liquid swap. brew the tea extra strength, chill it, add lye. don't add lye to the tea when it's still hot. as far as the wonderful properties, i'm not sure how much (if any) will survive saponification. it's more of label appeal to me.



^This. You can use any tea as a full liquid swap. Beneficial properties and lovely colors may not survive saponification.


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## idreamaboutsoap (Mar 21, 2014)

Thanks so much for the input everyone!


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## DeannaM (Jul 12, 2014)

I've done a full liquid swap as well with no problems! I couldn't tell any difference either but it's got good label appeal. I plan on making "sweet tea soap" and "Unsweet tea soap" by adding sugar and a little lemon fo to the first and just lemon fo to the later and using tea for a full liquid swap in both.


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## Ellacho (Jul 12, 2014)

Of course, you can use herbal tea and it does not cause any problems in soap. But you will have nice colored tan/grayish soap.


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## ourwolfden (Jul 12, 2014)

DeannaM said:


> I've done a full liquid swap as well with no problems! I couldn't tell any difference either but it's got good label appeal. I plan on making "sweet tea soap" and "Unsweet tea soap" by adding sugar and a little lemon fo to the first and just lemon fo to the later and using tea for a full liquid swap in both.


 
I saw a sweet tea FO somewhere but I don't remember where...


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## LunaSkye (Jul 12, 2014)

I used tea in my soaps as a base & additive (2 bags total were used). I want to stretch the usage of the tea bags so my next tea soap will just be brewed in a portion of the liquid needed while the lye solution is made in the remaining liquid. I'm thinking that I could add the tea in at trace and keep more of the benefits if I CP at a lower temp.


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## eucalypta (Jul 13, 2014)

osso said:
			
		

> You can use any tea as a full liquid swap. *Beneficial properties and lovely colors may not survive saponification.*


 
 They surely don't!
 Besides that: soap is there to clean.
 You rinse it off.
 Even if there would be some goodies left after the lye attack, they are there for a very short time and in minimal amounts.



			
				LunaSkye said:
			
		

> I used tea in my soaps as a base & additive (2 bags total were used). I want to stretch the usage of the tea bags so my next tea soap will just be brewed in a portion of the liquid needed while the lye solution is made in the remaining liquid. *I'm thinking that I could add the tea in at trace and keep more of the benefits if I CP at a lower temp.*


 
 Makes no sense as saponification takes quite a while to complete. 
 I know you don't like to hear this, but why not make a hand/body lotion and add green tea extract (bought at one of the suppliers, because tea in a lotion is a nono). That way you really benefit from the tea.


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## navigator9 (Jul 13, 2014)

I love to drink pomegranate green tea. It's a beautiful pink color. Early in my soaping days, I used it, expecting my soap to be that lovely color. Yes, it's another story of lye not being kind to things we'd like to add, for color, decoration, etc. You can use it, but as stated above, I think the label appeal is really the only benefit.


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## jesfayven (Jul 14, 2014)

New to forum. 
I just started (newbie).  I've made 4 batches so far and they have gone well I think.
The last batch I made was a complete swap with brewed tea for the water.  It came out well.  The color is turning to a caramel color?  maybe.  i like the scent it is giving off.


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## Dorymae (Jul 14, 2014)

Even if you could keep the temperature under 95 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the point at which herbals begin to lose their benefits, the reaction with lye would probably destroy the herbals anyway.

(95 degrees is the highest temperature you should ever dry herbs at after that they are said to degrade very quickly when using them for homeopathic reasons)


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## LunaSkye (Jul 14, 2014)

eucalypta said:


> Makes no sense as saponification takes quite a while to complete.
> I know you don't like to hear this, but why not make a hand/body lotion and add green tea extract (bought at one of the suppliers, because tea in a lotion is a nono). That way you really benefit from the tea.


I actually forgot about the time it takes soap to saponify. Your idea is a good one & I have thought about making a cream at some point. I just need to do some research & find a good preservative (I'd like to make a liquid soap in the future).


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## eucalypta (Jul 14, 2014)

navigator9 said:


> I love to drink pomegranate green tea. It's a beautiful pink color. Early in my soaping days, I used it, expecting my soap to be that lovely color. Yes, it's another story of lye not being kind to things we'd like to add, for color, decoration, etc. You can use it, but as stated above, I think the label appeal is really the only benefit.


Been there, done that. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





I think almost every starting soaper does things like that. You envision the most wonderful soaps and ... with benefits.

There is quite a list of "don'ts" - mistakes that everyone is entitled to make and learn from.
Let's give them that opportunity. :twisted:


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## Claudia (Jul 14, 2014)

I used Chamomile and Spearmint in my first soap, brewed strong and used in place of water. It gave a subtle colour and I added the leaves to half the batter at trace. It may not have added any herbal extras but it looks pretty..


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## DeannaM (Jul 14, 2014)

ourwolfden said:


> I saw a sweet tea FO somewhere but I don't remember where...




If you find it again please let me know!!! I would love that! I've only checked WSP so far (I love free shipping). The lemon scent was the closest I could get to sweet tea because a lot of people put lemon in their tea.


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## leeleetrue (Jul 19, 2014)

LunaSkye said:


> I just need to do some research & find a good preservative (I'd like to make a liquid soap in the future).



I went looking into natural preservatives (if there is such a thing) and found a really good article on the subject here - http://www.soap-blog.com/2012/05/great-debate-is-there-natural.html 

i followed the link to Texas Natural Supply for the Silverion 2400, and it sounds pretty freaking amazing.


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## clhigh29 (Jul 19, 2014)

I swapped out brewed green tea for water.  I refrigerated it first before adding lye.  I saved the leaves to use as an additive for the green side, and used yellow oxide for the right side.  One of the easiest and most satisfying soaps.  I used lemongrass for scent.  I've also used brewed hibiscus tea in a hot processed soap for a beautiful facial soap.  Don't be afraid; just do it.


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## seven (Jul 19, 2014)

i remember the first time i used green tea powder, hoping for a nice, green soap. what a mess, the lye totally broke my heart. it came out yucky brown instead.


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## Corinne (Jul 20, 2014)

In regards to the green tea powder issues: most green tea powder is actually a mixture of potato starch, sugar, and a few other things. So you first need to make sure you're getting the real deal.

In regards to using green tea in soap, I've made 3 different loaves and I like it best if you let the tea steep til room temp, and then refrigerate (with the tea bag/s) for a day before mixing lye in. I did a full water substitution and mixed in a VERY small amount of honey at trace, along with the actual tea leaves (I used loose leaf green tea for the mix in) as a mild exfoliant/for texture and some visual appeal. Overall it turned out pretty well, but the smell is subjective if you don't add any EO/FO. I'll try to post a pic so you get an idea of the color.


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## coffeetime (Jul 21, 2014)

I use green tea leaves in one of my soaps but I almost-powder the dry leaves in my magic bullet. Gives me a khaki speckle and I use green clay to
colour the whole batch. Nice effect I think.


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## Spice (Sep 17, 2014)

clhigh29 said:


> I swapped out brewed green tea for water.  I refrigerated it first before adding lye.  I saved the leaves to use as an additive for the green side, and used yellow oxide for the right side.  One of the easiest and most satisfying soaps.  I used lemongrass for scent.  I've also used brewed hibiscus tea in a hot processed soap for a beautiful facial soap.  Don't be afraid; just do it.



I wanted to make a candy cane soap using hibiscus lye water, so I did a test of a small, I mean veery small, test batch. 
I poured the sodium hydroxide into the hibiscus water and it turned ugly brown. I didnt go past that point.:twisted:


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