Newbie tea question.

[Jackofhearts]

Hello all! This may be a stupid question or even a terrible idea but it occurred to me that one could use certain teas as the water in cp/hp soaps. I'm sure this has occurred to other people and I'm wondering what would happen. Is this possible? Would it leave a subtle color and aroma? Are there downsides?
Thanks for your time.

 

[Saponista]

I have used earl grey, which dyed the soap a pale brown shade, but didn't really give the soap any bergamot scent. I now make batches with added bergamot essential oil.

 

[new12soap]

Not a stupid question at all!

I have used teas in my soaps and I like it, but no the scent doesn't survive. Yes it can leave some color, but it may be morphed by the lye. Usually they just end up some shade of tan or brown.

The only possible downside is if you have chunks of tea in your soap that can get icky. If you grind up any botanicals you want to use very finely, they should be okay.

 

[KatieShephard]

I used a chocolate tea for one of my batches...turned out terrible...smelled really bad. It's the only batch that I can't use...it sits in the basement in my storage room because I can't bring myself to throw it out

 

[sudsy_kiwi]

I've used green tea, which left the soap a nice caramel colour. I don't think any scent survived though, but it's hard to tell as the other layer of the soap is made with espresso, and that's what it smells like :smile:

I also have some peppermint tea leaves soaking in olive oil, which I'm looking forward to eventually using. Been about a month so far...don't know if my patience can hold out much longer :shifty: