What is it?
An extract made from both the leaves and the seeds (beans) of the arabica coffee plant, Coffea arabica. Coffee beans and leaves contain caffeine, the alkaloid trigonelline and polyphenols called chlorogenic acids; the leaves also contain mangiferin, a compound characteristic of coffee leaves. In cosmetics the extract is listed as a skin-conditioning and fragrance ingredient.
Key information
- Coffee leaves and beans contain caffeine, trigonelline and polyphenols called chlorogenic acids.
- The CIR Expert Panel concluded in 2019 that caffeine is safe in cosmetics as used, at up to 6 percent in leave-on products.
- The FDA lists natural extractives of coffee as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) in food.
- Green coffee bean dust is an established cause of work-related asthma in coffee roasting and packaging workers.
More information
Arabica coffee accounts for about 63 percent of the world’s coffee trade. Its green beans contain on average about 1.1 percent caffeine, according to the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR), and a 2025 review of coffee in skin care reports roughly 15 mg of caffeine per gram in young arabica leaves and 6 mg per gram in mature ones. The same review notes that leaf extracts tend to keep more chlorogenic acids and flavonoids than extracts of roasted beans, which lose some of these compounds in roasting. The FDA lists coffee among the plants whose natural extractives are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) in food.
The extract itself has not had a dedicated cosmetic safety review, but its best-studied constituent has. In a final report released in 2019, the CIR Expert Panel concluded that caffeine is safe in cosmetics in the present practices of use and concentration. Caffeine was reported in 1,033 products, at up to 6 percent in leave-on body and hand products, and caffeine tested at 6 percent caused no skin allergy in a human repeat insult patch test of 105 people.
Coffee allergy is well documented in one setting: coffee processing. According to a study led by researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, green and roasted coffee dust are established causes of work-related asthma in coffee roasting and packaging, and green coffee dust is thought to be the more potent allergen because roasting destroys some of its allergenic activity. On labels, coffee ingredients appear under Coffea Arabica names, such as Coffea Arabica Leaf/Seed Extract.
Sources: CIR: Safety Assessment of Methylxanthines as Used in Cosmetics (final report, 2019); Pharmaceuticals (2025): Coffea arabica: An Emerging Active Ingredient in Dermato-Cosmetic Applications; Frontiers in Public Health (2020): The Burden of Respiratory Abnormalities Among Workers at Coffee Roasting and Packaging Facilities; Legal Information Institute: 21 CFR 182.20, Essential oils, oleoresins and natural extractives generally recognized as safe
