Green tea (brewed)
Replaces some or all of the water. Brown-green. Lovely Greens supplier or guide, Faiola, Soap Crafting primary source
Opens the calculator’s starter recipe, 1000 g of oils, with this additive at the dose it fills in, ready to change.
What it is
Brewed green tea, nearly all water. In the lye it turns a brownish colour.
USDA FoodData Central primary source, Faiola, Soap Crafting primary source
How much
- 100 % of the water filled in Faiola, Soap Crafting primary source
The calculator fills in 100 % of the water: 283 g for the 1000 g of oils in its starter recipe.
When and how
- Usually: as the lye liquid.
- Chill it well before the lye goes in.
Faiola, Soap Crafting primary source, Lovely Greens supplier or guide
What it does to the recipe
- 99.93 % is water, taken off the recipe’s water.
USDA FoodData Central primary source
Worth knowing
- It darkens the soap, to tan or brown. Faiola, Soap Crafting primary source
- Its phenolic compounds break down at soap’s high pH. Su et al. primary source
Spoons and drops
- 1 tsp ≈ 5.1 g
- 1 tbsp ≈ 15.3 g
- 1 cup ≈ 245 g
USDA FoodData Central primary source
INCI name
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
- CAS number
- 84650-60-2
- EC number
- 283-519-7
- As weighed
- Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract 0.07 %, Aqua 99.93 %
Recipes that use it
Guides that discuss it
Sources
Lovely Greens, natural soap colorants: cinnamon, "use up to 1 tsp ground cinnamon powder PPO. Be aware that cinnamon leaves a slightly gritty feeling"; beetroot, "Warm to dull brown", "Unfortunately, beets do not color CP/HP soap red"; black walnut hull powder, "Add powder at trace and be aware that they create a scratchy or exfoliating texture"; red sandalwood, "Add 1/4-1/2 tsp powder PPO at trace after premixing in a little oil. Can be very scratchy if you use more than this"; woad, "Add 1-2 tsp powder PPO to the lye solution"; rose hips, "Up to 1 tsp ground rosehip powder PPO"; nettle leaf, "muted green", "Premix dried and powdered nettle leaf with a little water and add at trace. Use 1-3 tsp PPO"; kelp, "Dark green", "at trace at up to 3 tsp PPO. Pre-mix in an equal amount of distilled water"; sage, "muted green that fades with time", or "1 tsp PPO dried sage at trace for dark speckles"; peppermint, "1 tsp PPO finely ground peppermint leaves at trace"; liquid chlorophyll, "stunning greens from using about 1 TBSP PPO", fading "into a greeny-yellow"; cucumber, "initially green but usually fades to a muted yellow"; chamomile, "Infuse flowers in distilled water and use the strained liquid to make the lye solution"; green tea, "Brown-green"; rhassoul clay, "Brown"; French green clay, "pale pastel green to earthy green"; "plant-based greens tend to be fugitive". PPO is per pound of oils.
Anne-Marie Faiola, Soap Crafting (Storey, 2013): 8.9 oz of coconut water as the whole lye liquid; "The lye turns the coconut water a bright orange color. This is normal and does not affect the final color of the soap" (pp. 129–131). "14.5 ounces freshly brewed and cooled green tea" as the lye liquid, which "turns a brownish hue when it reacts with the lye" (p. 173). Wine: "boil off the alcohol before adding the wine to the lye", 10 to 15 minutes, topped up with distilled water to 16.5 oz for 50 oz of oils; otherwise "alcohol may react violently to the lye, causing a bit of a volcanic eruption" (pp. 148–150).
USDA FoodData Central, food 171917: Beverages, tea, green, brewed, regular (1 cup = 245 g).
Su et al., stability of tea catechins and theaflavins: "vulnerable to degradation caused by elevation of temperature and pH".