Another yummy-looking caramel color

[Ruthie]

The farmer daughter made the loveliest caramel colored soap, and I was wondering WHERE I would get elderberries! Guess I will not have to find them. This is Rooibos tea, 3 teabags in the lye water while it cooled. It looked so dark, I was a bit worried. But it turned out a nice color.

 

[Lindy]

Gorgeous!!!!

 

[Hazel]

That is a pretty color. I never thought of setting the tea bags in the lye water. I've always made the tea and then added the lye. Good suggestion! Thanks for sharing! :grin:

 

[Genny]

Beautiful! I love the darkness and the texture to the top.

If you do the tea bags in the lye water thing, just make sure your tea bags don't have staples in them. Most of the staples in tea bags today are aluminum. Not too long ago a fellow soaper used tea bags with staples in them & the staples ended up reacting with her lye water.

 

[Relle]

Beautiful! I love the darkness and the texture to the top.

If you do the tea bags in the lye water thing, just make sure your tea bags don't have staples in them. Most of the staples in tea bags today are aluminum. Not too long ago a fellow soaper used tea bags with staples in them & the staples ended up reacting with her lye water.

Thanks for the info about the staples Genny. That colour will go really well with my caramel FO and an idea I have been wanting to do.

 

[Ruthie]

WOW! Thanks for the info, Genny! Bet that was an icky mess!! These bags DO have staples, so I am so glad they did not react.

Update: While cooling in the mold, the top split and it started turning dark underneath. So I stuck it in the refrigerator. This morning the split has mostly closed and the color is lighter again. I can hardly wait to cut into it and see what the inside looks like. This ia only my 2nd cold process. But I think that darkening was gelling? Cause the cooling seems to have stopped it.

I think I need to HP this same recipe to see what happens. NO staples in the lye this time!!

 

[2lilboots]

Very pretty color. The white zinfandel wine/almond milk batch I did turned a caramel color but I used oxides in it so you would never know.

 

[thefarmerdaughter]

That's a very nice caramel color. When I did mine i forced gel in the oven. That's not something I normally do. But my mold was cardboard, and shallow. I was worrried about getting a partial. Next time I may go un-gelled so I can compare.

Relle, when I was looking at caramel Fo's on NG, all of them discolored any way. Do you know of one that doesn't? or one that goes tan instead of dark brown....

 

[lizflowers42]

I need to take a picture of my beer soap! Ot turned out a pretty caramel color too!

 

[Relle]

That's a very nice caramel color. When I did mine i forced gel in the oven. That's not something I normally do. But my mold was cardboard, and shallow. I was worrried about getting a partial. Next time I may go un-gelled so I can compare.

Relle, when I was looking at caramel Fo's on NG, all of them discolored any way. Do you know of one that doesn't? or one that goes tan instead of dark brown....

I have no idea about any that don't discolour, this one I've had a while, so not sure how it will react. Try adding some td to lighten, not sure of that will do anything.

 

[Pepsi Girl]

That is a pretty color. I never thought of setting the tea bags in the lye water. I've always made the tea and then added the lye. Good suggestion! Thanks for sharing! :grin:

Ditto that!!

 

[Ruthie]

Well, I had to report back. The color did not stay that pretty. I mean, it is not just horrible, but it is not so pretty as it was. I think I'll still look for elderberries come summer.

 

[thefarmerdaughter]

I think I'll still look for elderberries come summer.

If your thinking of picking your own....
Not sure what part of the country your in, but in Tn the elderberry bushes began blooming in late June. I point this out b/c when they are in bloom they are easiest to recognized. I like to spot them then make a mental note, or even tie a bit of ribbon on the bush. They tend to like wet areas, but many are just growing roadside, fence rows or unkept lots. My friends, family and neighbors let me pick their's. Most people don't know what they are, or what to do with them lol. The berries will be green then red and finally purple. Only pick purple! There is a poison variety the berries only ripen to red and yellow not purple, and their juice is yellow so they are easy to spot.

 

[Ruthie]

Thanks for the information. I'm pretty sure I have seen them growing. But I have not paid a lot of attention til now. I'm in central Oklahoma.

 

[Relle]

Well, I had to report back. The color did not stay that pretty. I mean, it is not just horrible, but it is not so pretty as it was. I think I'll still look for elderberries come summer.

I think it turned out to be a nice caramel colour :smile:.

 

[sweethavenarts]

How does it smell? I love the smell of Rooibos. I've got a rooibos chai blend around here that would be fun to play with too.

 

[Ruthie]

How does it smell? I love the smell of Rooibos. I've got a rooibos chai blend around here that would be fun to play with too.

I scented it with rose fragrance oil, and now it smells "rosy" but right out of the mold I smelled the Rooibos and not the rose. Interesting to use the chai blend. Please try it and let us know how it turns out.