Allow me to introduce you to something that is wonderful and delicious. It is lip balm that has been infused with coffee and chocolate, resulting in a fancy coffee shop experience for your kisser. This mocha lip balm smells incredible, tastes pretty darn good, and moisturizes beautifully. It’s the perfect gift for the coffee junkie in your life… just tell them not to eat it 😉
The chocolate scent comes from wonderfully fragrant cocoa butter (USA / Canada) and cocoa absolute. As a plus, cocoa butter (USA / Canada) is also a fantastic moisturizer. It’s hard and brittle until it touches the skin, where it promptly melts, leaving a soft, silky finish.
The coffee hit comes from coffee bean infused olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada). You can use any relatively inexpensive, versatile liquid oil you like—safflower, sweet almond, and apricot kernel are all good choices. Just be sure to choose something with a good shelf life, and something with little to no scent of its own.
I cold infused my coffee oil (olive oil + roughly ground coffee beans) for about five months before turning it into lip balm, but three weeks should do. And, if you can’t be bothered at all, you can simply add a few drops of coffee essential oil to the lip balm along with the cocoa absolute.
After those two ingredients, beeswax thickens the mix, and coconut oil contributes to a perfect blend of hard, soft, and liquid oils for a wonderful lip balm with staying power.
The resulting lip balm is lightly caramel coloured and smells deliciously of coffee that’s been mellowed out with chocolate. It tastes great (please don’t eat it, though), and it delivers a solid dose of moisture to parched (or tired) lips. Mocha lip balm it up!
Mocha Lip Balm
8g | 0.28oz beeswax (USA / Canada)
12g | 42.g virgin coconut oil
10g | 0.35oz cocoa butter (USA / Canada)
20g | 0.7oz coffee-infused liquid oil, strained of solids
2 drops cocoa absoluteWeigh the beeswax, coconut oil, cocoa butter (USA / Canada), and coffee infused oil out into a heat resistant glass measuring cup. Place the measuring up in a pot of barely simmering water to melt the oils (this will take about ten minutes). Remove from heat and stir in the absolute using a flexible silicone spatula.
Decant into lip balm tubes—this recipe fills about 9. I like to use these cute Brown Kraft labels to label mine!
Don’t have the carrier oils called for in the recipe? Read this for a guide on how to choose appropriate alternatives.
Very nice! i like mocha flavor…and the color of lip balm is very nice too…hello! from Grecce. Athanasia.
Thanks, Athanasia!
I don’t like to DRINK coffee, but I absolutely love the smell, especially when coupled with chocolate. The only “coffee” I can stand to drink is, in fact, mocha (1/2 coffee, 1/2 hot chocolate). Guess when I’ll be infusing ASAP? MMMMMMMM
It sounds like we have identical tastes—blech, coffee. I’m also determined not to get totally hooked on it so I cannot function without a cup or two in the morning. I believe my determination may save me in the event of an early morning zombie apocalypse 😀
Oh. My. Goodness. Could this be any better timing… My father-in-law just sent me an antique coffee mill. The next three weeks are going to be so long…
Ooooh, lucky you! And hey, those three weeks will pass pretty quickly if you just keep making stuff all the way through 😉 That’s what I do… and my basement is positively overflowing, lol!
Good morning from Grecce! and you are welcome Marie (nice name) i wish to upload and other similar recipes for make up….hello….
Hi Anthanasia—I really have no idea what you’re asking here, or if you’re even asking a question. If you are asking about re-publishing my recipes, please do not do that. I am happy to have you link to my blog, but people should have to visit my blog to read my recipes.
Hi Marie! oh!…i did not said anything like this! i’m not asking any question, i did not said anything about re-publishing your recipes! i said that i hope to upload more new recipes for make up….and i come over for the same reason too! to read your recipes! and because i like your blog…but…if i bring problems to you i will not come back…
No worries, it was just a misunderstanding 🙂 Please don’t stop reading!
HI
This sounds wonderful.Would coffee or chocolate extract work? I have them on hand. Hello from Macon, GA, USA. I love reading your blog.
Hi Jo! If by “extract” you mean the stuff you buy at the grocery store for cooking with, then no. Those are in a base of alcohol and will just form bubbles of liquid in your lip balm. They’re also formulated for taste, not smell, so they won’t impart a super awesome scent. Have fun!
Where do you purchase your cocoa absolute?
I got mine from New Directions Aromatics, but I believe they’ve discontinued it. Saffire Blue also sells it 🙂
What is the trick to making lip balms come out so smooth and gorgeous -and professional (like yours above with the caps off)? I have read about using blow dryers or heat guns. I’ve tried the blow dryer but they usually look worse.
Thanks for any tips!
Liz
For me it’s a quick, smooth pour while the balm is still super liquidy, and then not disturbing the tubes while they set up. It helps to put the tubes really close together, and you can always pop the lip balm mixture back on the heat for a few seconds if it starts to thicken up. I hope that helps!
Although I was hoping it was just some magic words I could say while pouring, you’ve confirmed my need for one of those lip balm tube filling trays. My husband has a pretty steady hand but me -not so much. I’ll order one of those and let him off the hook;-)
Thank you so much Marie!
Sorry! I don’t have one of the trays (I never make that much lip balm at a time since I always have 10 kinds on the go, haha), but I hope it works for you 🙂
I can’t wait to make these! I hate drinking coffee, but love anything coffee flavored, ironic right? These are going to make great gifts, too.
I’m with you there, Sophia! Coffee is pretty blech, but coffee ice cream/ lip balm/ chocolate/ truffles/ candy—bring it on!
I went ahead and made my coffee infused oil and will be making these tonight. I have coffee butter on hand – could I replace the cocoa butter, or would that change the texture of the lip balm?
Hi Bronwyn! You can read more about carrier oil subs here, but the short answer is likely to be no, since I believe coffee butter is significantly softer than cocoa butter 🙂
Hi Marie. What were the ratios of the ground coffee beans to oil please?
Hi Margaret! I filled my mason jar with about 1/3 coffee grounds and then filled it with oil 🙂
Hello from South Florida!
I just found your website a couple weeks ago, and I’m hooked! You are such an inspiration and I’m so excited to try your recipes. I’m just waiting for my order to arrive from NDA. 🙂
My question is; for lip balms, do you ever add Stevia Powder or Liquid Stevia to give it a little sweetness? If so, how much would you add?
Thanks for everything that you are sharing! It’s very much appreciated.
Hello Stefania! Thanks so much for reading 🙂 I have never added stevia to my lip balms, it’s always seemed unnecessary—I find they taste perfectly nice as they are.
What is the shelf life on your lip balms?
Hi Danielle! Because lip balms are entirely oil based, rancidity is your only worry, but it takes a very long time to set in. Oils, when kept somewhere cool and dark, will generally last years (though some are more shelf stable than others). You’ll know an oil has gone rancid when it starts to smell off, sort of like very old lipstick or a bag of 10 year old trail mix you found at the back of your pantry.
So, for things that are just made from different oils (body butters, lip balms, massage oils, etc.), rancidity is what you’re worried about, and you’ll generally have a few years before that sets in. You can delay it by adding an antioxidant like rosemary seed extract. I store yet-to-be-started lip balms and body butters in my fridge.
Hi Marie, I’ve got a question. Will caffeine in coffee-infused-oil darken the lips?
Hi Nadia! I haven’t noticed anything, but if you are worried about it you could use decaf coffee to make the infusion or use plain liquid oil and add a few drops of coffee essential oil.
this smells SO GOOD! i’ve been trying to keep all my lip products very minimal, using unrefined beeswax is usually enough scent for me, but i’m officially a convert due to this recipe. This will be included in some holiday gifts, for sure. i need to go infuse some more coffee into oil!
I’m so glad you love it! Infusing oils is such a fun and easy way to add some variety to lip balm recipes without investing in a bunch of essential oils 🙂
I had one batch come out grainy… Do your balms ever do that? I know when you did the cocoa butter to liquid oil ratio experiments you had a lot of separation but i can’t remember you ever mentioning if your lip balms come out grainy.
I’ve read conflicting things about tempering butters, but I remelted some grainy mocha balm, left it melted for 15 min, then re solidified, and it was good. I think “heat and hold” is effective, at least so far.
I am considering being A TOTAL REBEL and skipping the coconut oil next time, making up the difference in liquid oil and cocoa butter. the ratios of brittle/solid/liquid will be a little different, but it will be EVEN MORE INTENSELY SCENTED!!!!
Yeah 🙁 I get the odd grainy tube here and there, though it’s pretty rare, and usually only on tubes that contain shea butter.
Have you checked out my chocolate lip balm? It’s pretty chocolatey, but definitely thinner and glossier than this one 🙂
Hi there. Maybe I missed it, but did you ever say the amount of coffee you use to infuse your olive oil? Does a tablespoon or so for a cup of oil sound about right?
Thanks.
Hi Dan! I probably used about 1/3 cup of coffee beans, lightly busted up, for that 500mL mason jar 🙂
Thanks so much. I probably used a little more coffee than that in my infusion. I’m only a week into it, so I’ll let you know if it turns out well. I’m also doing two separate batches with different single-origin coffees, to see if there’s a discernable difference. I’m both a beekeeper and a barista, so this is right up my alley.
Ooh, beautiful! I can’t wait to hear how your experiments turn out 🙂
Hi, Marie!
I’m planning to make this recipe as a gift.
I cannot find the coffee/chocolate absolute, would it be allright if I simply leave it out?
Thank you.
Hi Mrs G! As long as your cocoa butter is quite cocoa-y, it should be ok 🙂
Ok, thanks!
I will use an edible, unrefined cocoa butter in place of the cosmetic, refined one.
🙂
Hi, Marie!
Happy New Year!
I made this recipe as a gift and it was very successful. I just used a single deodorant stick tube so it can be used as hand cream while at work, you don’t need to touch the product with your finger, so you avoid to leave greasy traces all over your computer or contaminate the product with dirt.
Thank you again!
Beautiful! I’m so thrilled 🙂
Hey Marie! I love the smell of this lip balm! I recently tried making this and a few other of your lip balm recipes, however, I found that my lips have been more dry after using the lip balm than before. It’s fine when its applied but it seems like as soon as my lips are no longer slathered with lip balm they are dry and sore. Any ideas why? Is this a common complaint?
Hi Sandra! I have found this can be a problem for me if I haven’t been drinking enough water or if it’s extra dry out. It’s not that the lip balm dries out my lips, but that it doesn’t last long enough. Sometimes you just need something stickier (with more beeswax) for those extra dry days. A 1:1 ratio of beeswax to coconut oil works quite well 🙂
Can I gently heat the olive oil with the coffee beans to infuse them faster? I want to make these for Christmas.
Definitely! Just take care to err on the side of gentle so you don’t fry the coffee beans 🙂
I’ve been wondering about that very thing! I’ve seen/read you use heat to infuse lots of herbs, like in your lotion or hair conditioner recipes. I could not figure out why coffee would need to be cold infused. are the coffee beans just a little more delicate?
For oil infusions I usually go with a cold infusion simply because I can pop everything in a jar and forget about it (aka I’m lazy). You can do a warm infusion with coffee beans if you want to, just be careful not to fry them 🙂
Hi Marie! I wanted to let you know I recently made this lip balm. It came out very nice and Mocha-y. I cold infused olive oil with roughly ground coffee beans for about 4 months since I was not in a hurry to make the recipe. This was my first time to do such an infusion. I’ll be making more of this lip balm for sure as my friends are enjoying it also! Thank you for the recipe!
Beautiful! Thanks so much for DIYing with me and enjoy your lip balm 🙂
Hello !
after having read your recipe , i so wanted to make coffee oil , so i started out with that. what i witnessed was inspite of medium grouding of the coffee beans , they float on top as layers rather settling down in glass jar , oh yes ive used sunflower oil instead of regular olive or coconut. could you please help me with this, what could be wrong or where have i made mistake sort of? please. oh yes if i can make similar cacao bean oil as well ?
cheers
Manju
India
Hi Manju! There’s nothing wrong with the coffee beans floating on the oil, they’ll still infuse. You can give the jar a shake every now and then if you like to speed things along 🙂
Hi Marie! I just made this lip balm last night, and all I can say is it is amazing!!! Thank you so much for sharing all of your creative ideas and recipes!
Yay! Enjoy your lovely, soft mocha lips 😉
Sounds like a yummy recipe! I happen to have coconut oil infused with coffee on hand. Can I use 20g of coconut oil…. and 12g of (…?). I was thinking jojoba or sunflower oil, but those are both liquid and I usually try to substitute solid for solid, liquid for liquid. I may try it and see for myself, but I am just curious if you have any insight into what oil might go well with the coconut and cocoa butter. Thanks for fabulous recipes and photos! It’s always a treat to read one of your posts!
Well, you’re already substituting solid for liquid by using coconut oil (soft solid) instead of a liquid oil, so I wouldn’t recommend introducing even more liquid oil on top of that; jojoba or sunflower would both work. Your final product may be a tad firmer than the original, but given the low melting point of coconut oil it shouldn’t be a problem 🙂 Happy making!
Hi Marie, does the coffee completely over ride the natural flavour of olive oil completely then? I also have 2 different Coffees in mind for this recipe
I find it does, but I also don’t use really lovely, full-flavoured olive oil for this sort of thing. I use cheap olive oil for this sort of thing 🙂
Hi Marie,
I wrote just now about your Chocolate lip balm recipe and was looking here for some answers to bring the mocha into the flavor. I have sourced some coffee EO from new Directions and now trying to figure out how much I would use in this recipe or how much to add to your newer chocolate recipe?
I’d bet 5 drops would be more than enough, but let your nose be your guide (within reason—don’t drown the lip balm haha).