My Favorite DIY Coffee Bar Candle

For a long time, my favorite DIY coffee bar candle has been a vintage jar full of coffee beans with a tapered candle.

I already had tapered candles but I was reluctant to burn them. After doing some research online about chemicals in candles, I opted to order beeswax candles.

In My Favorite DIY Coffee Bar Candle this is The corner of my apartment kitchen where I make coffee

Creating My Favorite DIY Coffee Bar Candle:

I opened a bag of fall-scented coffee beans and poured them into a mid-sized vintage jar. The coffee beans I ordered smells like pumpkin spice, cinnamon and nutmeg, which I consider fall-scented.

Then I added the golden-colored candle, which reminds me of fallen leaves.

I think it’s nice to have a jar full of coffee beans appropriate for the season on my coffee bar. And the scent of coffee beans when I walk in the kitchen is delectable!

Chemicals In Candles:

It’s not just scented candles that can make us sick. Plug-ins, gels, and aerosols also irritate our airways. And it’s not just irritating to us, but to our precious pets.

Most candles are made of paraffin wax (a petroleum waste product that is chemically bleached). This creates highly toxic benzene and toluene (both are known carcinogens) when burned.

Though the risk of a human becoming sick may be low, why take the chance when there are safer alternatives?

In My DIY Coffee Bar Candle, here is my red and white polka dotted bowl next to a tray of red and white transferware.

Natural Beeswax Candles:

I ordered a six-pack of natural beeswax candles from Amazon. These candles are made of 100% natural beeswax.

You will find that you don’t need a scented candle when you use coffee beans.

Unlike paraffin candles, 100% pure beeswax candles do not contain any additives or synthetic chemicals. Plus they don’t leave behind black soot from smoke when they are burned.

These candles are both smokeless and dripless.

SAFETY TIP: To be safe, don’t leave a candle burning in a room if you’re not there to watch over it.

Losing Gracie Mae:

After losing little Gracie months ago, I became more cognizant of air quality.

I don’t know what killed that sweet baby. All I can point to is the possible chemicals that were used by a cleaning service. But I’ll never know for sure.

Gracie wasn’t even a year old when she died, which made her precious life very short-lived.

Cleaning My Apartment:

Household cleaning products, including soaps, often include harmful chemicals.

I have the woman who cleans my apartment use a combination of vinegar and water in a spray bottle to clean my home.

I’ve come to recognize that a clean home can mean an unscented home.

There’s so much pollution in our world. I for one want to make sure the air that Ivy and I breathe on a daily basis is as clean as possible.

A vintage jar with your favorite coffee beans along with a tapered candle is all you need for this small project.

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I'm Brenda, creator of Cozy Little House. I live with my cat, Ivy, who keeps me laughing. I graduated from journalism school with a degree in professional writing and won awards for feature writing. I practice gratitude and enjoy my solitude. The glass is always half-full.

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30 Comments

  2. I’ve always heard how beeswax candles are the best. Unfortunately, I still have some scented candles to use up, but going forward, I’ll stick with these safer beeswax candles. I also have a diffuser, for essential oils. As I don’t have any animals, I don’t have to worry about that, but I still make sure that my friends with pets know about the dangers of using essential oils around them. I love the idea of a slow cooking pot on the stove filled with natural fall scents, like cinnamon sticks, etc. Sounds heavenly! My laundry detergent and fabric softeners are scented, but I stopped using fabric dryer sheets years ago.

  3. I have become so sensitive to fumes and chemicals..great info. I will def check out your suggestions next time I purchase candles. I do have some scented candles and burn them some occasionally..they do not seem to bother my sinuses..so when these are gone..will opt out for the scented ones. I do purchase the natural dishwasher and spray cleaners with the no checmicals..can’t remember what its called..lol But I am sometimes in a battle with hub re his cologne..thats fun. What really gets me..is to go into a restaurant and they spray to clean the tables around me. I have literally had to get up and exit…and some of the cleaning products used in the stores are horrific. I once went into HR when working to protest what was being used in the breakroom..as I sat near the area and it was def harsh chemicals. It ceased shortly thereafter..I know HR hated to see me coming..lol So with this all (probably unnecessary said)..I am right there with you. I like flavored coffee but have it only once or twice a year since hub is not a fan. Cheers to the Fall Season and candles. Thanks for the informative post.

    1. correction 4th sentence…make that will opt out for the “unscented” ones.. lol

  4. If I want my house to smell extra nice (especially in the winter) I’ll make a steeping pot. Fill a pan with water, add any citrus peels you have on hand, whole cinnamon sticks, star anise etc and it not only adds a nice aroma but also helps with dryness caused by having the heat on. Just make sure to keep it on low and check the amount of water frequently so that it doesn’t dry out.

  5. I love the beeswax candles too – and such a cute idea putting the taper in the coffee beans! I no longer use the scented candles like Yankee candles as my sinuses get irritated and often I get a headache. Can’t stand strong perfumes of any kind. For laundry, I use the Tru Earth sheets.
    I read that those tall,lovely candles around the Queen’s casket were beeswax.

  6. I haven’t used any toxic cleaning products or candles in my house in years. I know how harmful they are to both people and pets. I also use unscented laundry detergent, even though I know it’s all chemicals. But I’m not ambitious enough to make my own laundry detergent. I don’t ever use dryer sheets – those are super toxic, even the unscented ones.

    I love the scent of flavored coffee beans but not for drinking. I like just plain coffee!

  7. Hi Brenda:
    Great idea- I am going to try this. Also , I use a reader ( The Old Reader) for my blogs -do the bloggers “see” this as opening an email? Thanks!

  8. Great idea about using the beeswax candles.. and love the use of the Fall flavored coffee beans for the scent! What do they use to give those that flavor I wonder? Are they also safe (the scent)??? Maybe they uses spices. I like keeping a simmering pot of water on my stove sometimes, with cinnamon sticks, cloves and spices, but of course, can’t do that all the time. I like the idea of using the coffee beans to hold up the candle! I’m going to look into that for my dining table for Fall scents! Thanks! Marilyn

    1. I looked and it says Specialty Class 1 Arabica coffee beans, the top 2% of the coffee beans grown in the world + spices. I’m not planning to use them for coffee to drink.

  9. There are so many toxins in everything any more-or so it seems. I think soy candles are okay, too, as well as the beeswax.
    I hope you have a great week, Brenda. Diana

  10. My daughter gets a terrible sinus headache breathing any kind of perfumed candles, so I haven’t been able to use them for years! We even have to use unscented laundry detergent. Turns at it’s been healthier for all of us all along. Your post was very informative, and I’m going to try the taper in coffee beans.

      1. We found out the hard way that scented detergent was not good for me. Mom washed most things with a new detergent tablet she got in the mail when I was about 8 or 9. We were at mass when I started itching and it got so bad that Dad was really irritated – had we not been in church, I’m sure I would have been spanked. By the time we got home, I was almost covered with a rash – I can remember the itching too. I ended up in the ER as I started having problems breathing. They took care of it and told mom & dad that I wasn’t the only patient with a bad reaction to the table detergent. I had to sleep on a tablecloth in dad’s shirt until she rewashed all our clothes. I’ve been extra careful since then.

  11. I buy everything unscented. It confounds me that people aren’t concerned with breathing all that stuff into their lungs. Good info about the beeswax candles and the lack of soot residue. Your coffee corner looks wonderful.

    1. I too buy unscented products. I have asthma and very dry skin. I would never even consider one of those things you plug in or spray for scent. When I was young and ignorant of these things, I used them. Not any more.

  12. I just burn the yankee candles all yr. I wait for the candles to go on sale then I’ll buy some. I have the tapered candles too but I never burn them, there for decorating purposes only.
    I’m getting more into using oils now and there better for your health!

    1. I love the scented candles. But unfortunately what they use to make them smell so good isn’t so good for us.

    2. If anyone has pets be sure to research essential oils. Many are toxic to dogs and cats

  13. Thanks for the tip! I’m a candle freak but never considered the toxins.

    1. There are chemicals in so many things that are manufactured and that we buy thinking they are looking out for us. They aren’t. It’s all about the money.

  14. Brenda, thank you for the information on the beeswax candles. And as always your coffee bar is adorable.

  15. It blows my mind, that all these chemicals are in our stores. How can manufacturers in good conscience produce these items, it is everywhere. And they wrap out car wires in a soy product so it attracts rodents which causes us thousands of dollars to fix. You hit the nail on the head, Brenda. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Thanks for offering up some safe alternatives. Vinegar, baking soda, essential oils like our grandma used worked well. And then you have to be careful of the scented fake oils, etc. Funny story (not really!) I switched to a plant based laundry detergent that our daughter uses when her and the boys lived with us for 4 months between deployments. After about 3 months my husband had mosquito bites that itched. He got more and more and they were different shapes and configurations. I was going crazy, was it bed bugs, fleas, etc. Thank goodness the Dr. asked if we used a new soap etc. I hindsight, my husband is allergic to a lot of weeds, plants and mold. The plant based detergent was the culprit. Take care.

    1. I don’t think they care about it enough to have a good conscience. They are out to make as much money as possible.

  16. Brenda~
    I read through this post three times and still am confused by this sentence:
    I opened a bag of fall-scented coffee beans and poured them into a mid-sized vintage jar.”
    What are “Fall scented coffee beans”?
    I find Fall/Harvest?Autumn FLAVORED coffee beans.. is this to which you are referring?
    Thanks~
    Loui

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