An alcohol extraction is just one of many ways to preserve the medicinal properties of herbs in a usable form. It is not always my favorite way to use herbal medicine. I often prefer teas, and sometimes another method is just best for the plant at hand. However, alcoholic extracts, or tinctures, have many advantages over other preparations.
Alcohol is an excellent preservative. As long as your alcohol to water ratio is high enough, your medicine will have a shelf life of many years. For preservation, the alcohol content of the extract should be over 30%. If using fresh plants to make a tincture, the water content of the plants will also need to be factored into this calculation.
Alcoholic extracts are easy to travel with and dose. Those little dropper bottles can be thrown in a bag and taken with you. No additional preparation is required, just take your drops when you need them, either directly or in a little water.
Also, making your own tinctures will save you a lot of money. Buying those little bottles can really add up over time. If you know you will be using an herbal tincture for an extended period of time, or if there are just some herbs you like to keep on hand in tincture form so that you have them when you need them, then making your own tinctures will be more cost-effective.
A Few Different Methods
The Folk Method
Most folks start out learning the folk method of tincture making. I teach this method in my foundations course. It is easy and empowering and gets people making medicine without feeling too intimidated.
The folk method simply involves filling a jar with freshly chopped herbs (or filling a jar halfway with dried herbs) and then pouring in alcohol (must be at least 80 proof) to fill the jar. This jar is then shaken once a day for 4 weeks. Then it is strained, bottled, and labeled. Easy peasy. You now have a tincture!
The folk method works fine for many plants and gives people a way into herbal medicine making that is practical, easy to fit into their lives, and empowering. You can make beautiful combination extracts with this method, and even sweeten it with some honey for a truly delicious medicine. It does have some drawbacks though….
To continue reading, visit http://www.nettlejuice.com/musings/making-herbal-tinctures-alcohol-extracts
In this month’s Herbalist’s Journal, I write about making a tincture by percolation of Angelica archangelica. I’m also going to be sharing how I make my Triple Turmeric Extract this week (a method I learned from my teacher, Thomas Easley).
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Anyone who subscribes between now and February 27th (at any level) will also get access to my upcoming class on herbal percolations. I’ll be walking you through the whole process so that you can feel confident to try this medicine-making method on your own. (Don’t know what a percolation is? Read the blog post above for a description.)