The Ingredient Library
Green Coffee
Coffea arabica
Green coffee oil is cold-pressed from unroasted Arabica coffee beans, grown mostly in Brazil and other tropical highlands. Pressed before roasting, it smells grassy and green, not of brewed coffee.
Get to know green coffee oil
- Source
- Unroasted coffee bean
- Origin
- Brazil, tropical highlands
- Extraction
- Cold-pressed
- Texture
- Rich, slightly waxy
What it is
Green Coffee is a botanical carrier oil used in hair and skin care.
Why it belongs in your routine
Grassy, green-gold oil pressed from unroasted Arabica beans.
How to use
Warm a few drops between your palms and smooth over hair or skin. Patch test before use.
Where does green coffee oil come from?
Coffea arabica is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to the highlands of Ethiopia, usually pruned to 2 to 3 metres on farms. It has glossy dark leaves, white jasmine-scented flowers and red or yellow cherries, each holding two seeds, the coffee beans. Brazil is the largest Arabica grower, with other important areas in Colombia, Central America and East Africa.
Green coffee oil is green-gold to brown with a grassy, herbal smell. Green beans usually hold around 10 to 15 percent lipids, rich in linoleic and palmitic acids, and the oil naturally contains diterpenes such as cafestol and kahweol, plus plant sterols. It feels rich and slightly waxy, and is used in eye creams, balms, body butters and hair oils.
Sourcing & extraction
How green coffee oil is sourced and extracted
Why it is rare
Coffee beans hold far less oil than most seeds, so a large mass of hard green beans is needed for each litre. The beans are dense and difficult to press, and much of the world's coffee is sold for roasting, leaving a small share for oil.
How it is gathered
Arabica cherries are usually harvested once a year, by hand or by machine, during the dry season, which in Brazil runs roughly from May to September. The fruit is dried or pulped and washed, then hulled to leave green beans. Beans used for oil are often lower-grade or broken beans that sorters remove from export lots, and they are shipped in sacks to oil presses.
How it is made
Cold-pressed from green coffee beans
- Coffee cherries are picked, and the fruit and parchment layers are removed to leave green, unroasted beans.
- The green beans are sorted, cleaned and dried, and lower-grade beans are set aside for oil.
- The hard beans are ground or flaked so a press can grip them.
- An expeller presses the beans without added heat, and the oil is settled and filtered.
How to use green coffee oil
- Start with a few drops and warm them between your palms.
- Massage into clean skin, or work through the lengths of damp or dry hair.
- Use on its own, or add a few drops to your moisturizer or conditioner.
For external use only. Patch test on a small area before first use and stop if irritation occurs. If you are pregnant, nursing or have a medical condition, ask a healthcare professional before use.
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Products with Green Coffee
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Questions about Green Coffee
Where does Green Coffee come from?
Arabica cherries are usually harvested once a year, by hand or by machine, during the dry season, which in Brazil runs roughly from May to September. The fruit is dried or pulped and washed, then hulled to leave green beans. Beans used for oil are often lower-grade or broken beans that sorters remove from export lots, and they are shipped in sacks to oil presses.
How is Green Coffee extracted?
Cold-pressed from green coffee beans. Coffee cherries are picked, and the fruit and parchment layers are removed to leave green, unroasted beans. The green beans are sorted, cleaned and dried, and lower-grade beans are set aside for oil. The hard beans are ground or flaked so a press can grip them. An expeller presses the beans without added heat, and the oil is settled and filtered.
Why is Green Coffee considered rare?
Coffee beans hold far less oil than most seeds, so a large mass of hard green beans is needed for each litre. The beans are dense and difficult to press, and much of the world's coffee is sold for roasting, leaving a small share for oil.
