Black Pepper Pu'erh
Pu’erh tea is an ancient and traditional black tea usually made in the mountainous regions of China. As a tea, herb lover, and grower I am drawn to experiencing teas from around the world and their many benefits. Pu’erh tea, is fermented, so not only are you getting this extremely complex flavor and scent from a tea, but the gut and our biome benefits from the natural process that comes from fermenting plants. I used these tea cakes in an infusion with goat milk. Black teas are known to tone and tighten, so it will help with any looseness that we might feel in our skin and muscles. The peppery oil paired with the Pu’erh is the perfect complement to make this soap smell woodsy, earthy and musky. Contrary to what one might think with black pepper making the skin feel spicy and irritate, it actually has the opposite effect, and is a wonderful antioxidant and helps move blood and relieve inflammation.
I decided to make this soap even more deep and complex in scent by making it with tallow and vanilla bean.
Ingredients: beef tallow, *coconut oil, *olive oil,
Pu’erh tea cakes, *local raw goat milk, *black pepper oil, vanilla bean extract, *cottonwood infusion (*black cottonwood buds, *avocado oil), *sandalwood oil, lye.
*= organic ingredients