How to Make a Tincture With Powdered Herbs
- 1). Dry your own garden herbs by hanging the plants in bunches in a cool, dark place for several weeks.
- 2). Alternatively, purchase dried herbs or organic herbal tea from your grocer, health food store or online.
- 3). Purchase 80- to 100-proof vodka or brandy. Herbalists refer to the liquid used in tincture-making as "menstrum."
- 4). Crush the herbs with a mortar and pestle or the bottom of a heavy can. They also can be ground in a clean coffee bean grinder. The final consistency doesn't have to be a literal fine powder, but the herbs should be crushed or ground fairly substantially.
- 5). Weigh the ground or powdered herbs. You will need 1 ounce for this method.
- 6). Place herbs in a 6-ounce glass jar.
- 7). Cover the dried herbs with 4 ounces of brandy or vodka.
- 8). Cap the jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake vigorously until the herbs become fully blended with the menstrum.
- 9). Make sure the herbs are fully saturated; some high-absorption plants might require additional menstrum.
- 10
Label the jar, noting the date made and the contents. - 11
Store the jar in a cool, dark place. Make sure, however, that the storage space is accessible for daily checking. - 12
Shake the jar every day for at least three weeks. - 13
Place cheesecloth into a fine metal strainer. - 14
Pour the tincture contents through the strainer into a clean jar. - 15
Squeeze the cheesecloth to collect as much of the tincture as possible. - 16
Store in a tightly lidded jar or cap with cork, and take as needed.
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