Earl Grey Tea Soap - Product Tester Results!
It started with a question – “can you make a tea inspired soap?” the request came from Great Wall Tea, a local loose leaf tea store known for its striking wall of tea.
“Well, we haven’t tried that before, but let us give it a shot”
We got to work experimenting. First, we needed to familiarize ourselves with the tea varieties at Great Wall Tea and sort out an essential oil blend to create a scent that aligned with a tea. This meant lots of pots of tea and testing essential oil blends. What a pleasure.
Second, we needed to figure out how tea leaves would interact with the soap making process. When and how should we incorporate the tea? We made three test batches and put the call out for product testers. You can read more about our test soaps in this blog post.
While we are confident in our soap making ability (we have been making soap together for almost 4 years now) we wanted some constructive feedback. Our product testers did not disappoint. Here is some of what we heard from our product testers.
- The soap smells like earl grey tea but could be improved by reducing the Palmarosa and increasing the Bergamot. This would align it more closely with Great Wall Tea’s Cream of Earl Grey Tea
- Tea leaves incorporated into the soap yielded the most visually interesting bar with its dappled brown colour and texture. Although some product testers liked the simplicity of a smooth even colour, the dark brown colour was a bit polarizing – some testers loved it while some thought it reminded them of chocolate.
- Loose leaf tea can make a mess in the sink/drain.
- Some great ideas for variations like London Fog or Lavender Earl Grey
Armed with this feedback, we were able to make some decisions. We adjusted the essential oil blend (Palmarosa, Bergamot, Cedarwood Atlas) as per our product testers’ suggestions. Next, we decided to move forward with two methods of incorporating the tea leaves.
For our first variation, we infused the tea leaves into the oils but strained them out at the last moment. This produced a creamy and smooth bar. We sprinkled tea leaves on the top for visual appeal (but only a little so they can be brushed off during use).
For our second variation, we ground the tea leaves up as small as we could and mixed them into the soap. This created a subtle exfoliant while minimizing the danger to drains.
This Earl Grey Tea Soap is available at Great Wall Tea locations in the New West River Market and The City of Lougheed shopping centre.
We asked our product testers to write a review style description and here are some of them
“The earl grey soap offers a refreshing and soothing cleanse, with a captivating citrusy aroma that leaves your skin feeling soft and subtly fragranced.”
“This collection has tea top of mind. The soap smells like my favourite cup of tea in the morning and now so do I! My skin is buttery soft thanks to the quality ingredients. Easily an everyday go to."
“FIVE STARS
Simons Soap Box Earl grey soap is hand crafted with care, intention, and a whole lot of heart. The warm sent is both refreshing and calming. And the natural ingredients leave your skin feeling soft and hydrated. You will LOVE this new bar of soap!”
“Love this new soap made with love, purpose and community! It leaves me feeling calm and fresh.”
A huge thank you for the support and encouragement we’ve received for this testing process. We had a lot of fun making this new soap together!
Have you tried our Earl Grey Tea Soap? Leave a comment below!