Homestyle Tincture MakingAugust 13, 2014

Home Style Tincture Making

The goal is to make tinctures as strong as possible because most herbs are slower acting than pharmaceutical counterparts and in acute health conditions you need more aggressive results The effects of herbal medicine is cumulative and some sensitive users may need to build slowly from 5-10 drops a day building up to 1 or 2 droppers.

I take quart mason jars new or recycled and pack as much as possible fresh plant material 1/2 to 3/4 full depending on the plant parts. ( leaf and flower in greater proportion than root and stem).
A mixture of 3/4 alcohol to 1/4 filtered water is poured over plant material. My alcohol of choice is grain alcohol again because of the strength but brandy, vodka, rum etc will work. Make sure the plant material is completely covered and its good to shake up the jars to make sure the plant material is innundated with alcohol.
The tincture jars are stored for at least 2 weeks in a cool dark place – again I like to let them percolate longer for greater potency. The stronger the tincture the more capable the herbal medicine in helping our immune system deal with any current health crisis.
I use the alcohol tincture in making honey and glycerine elixirs because alcohol extraction is the strongest and adds intensity to the other forms of extraction.

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