Making
an herbal tincture
- .pdf version
Traditional method
What
you will need:
Glass jar (mason jars work well) of an appropriate size, and a same-sized
measuring cup
80 or 100 proof vodka, preferably organic (‘Rain‘ is
one brand)
Fresh or dry herbal material
Muslin or cheesecloth; knife and cutting board
Step one: The Herbs
You will want the highest quality herbs you can get: the strength
of the tincture depends on it! If you can grow them organically,
be sure to harvest them at the peak of their vibrancy, before any
yellowing or damage can occur. Sing or talk to them while you harvest,
they love it! Follow your own rhythms and instincts, but in general:
· leaves are harvested under the Sun, before flowering, and
just before the Full Moon.
· flowers are harvested under the morning Sun, at their peak,
just before the Full Moon.
· barks and twigs are harvested under the Sun, right after
the New Moon.
· roots are harvested under the evening Sun, or at night,
when the tops of the plants have died back in the Fall or right
before the plants come up in the Spring. Harvest just before the
New Moon.
You can rinse leaves gently, but don’t ever wash flowers.
Roots and barks should be well washed and cleaned. Pat dry in a
towel before proceeding.
If you are purchasing herbs, only buy organically grown. The residues
on commercially grown crops (synthetic pesticides and fertilizers)
make them unfit for medicine. If you can, buy them fresh, but dry
herbs can make incredible tinctures! Make sure they are of a rich
color, deep green or deep brown or fiery orange as it may be –
this shows they have been properly dried and stored. They should
have a strong smell, even if it’s just the smell of ‘green’.
A small pinch under the tongue should produce a definite effect
of some kind. If you can, buy whole herbs and chop them yourself.
Herbs stored for six months to a year can still be good, if kept
dry and out of the sun, but after a year they should be kept for
teas only.
Step two: The Preparation and Tincturing
Once you have obtained your plant material, measure out enough to
fill most of your glass jar. Then, lay it out on a cutting board.
If it is finely chopped (almost powdered) already, you can just
add it to the jar. Otherwise, use a knife (I like crescent-shaped
blades) to chop it to a fine consistency. With some roots this may
be impossible; just do the best you can. Some seeds and leaves,
when dry, are easier in a mortar and pestle.
Once your herb is well chopped or ground, add it to your jar. Tell
it that, soon, it will be medicine and will help many people. Then,
add enough vodka to cover it completely (this may take a while –
be sure to wait for all the alcohol to trickle down), put the lid
on the jar, and shake it vigorously for a little while. Store in
a cool, dry place away from even indirect sunlight – but don’t
forget about it! Shake it well every other day.
Step three: Maceration and Straining
When in the jar, the tincture is said to be ‘macerating’,
or steeping. This should continue for at least one Lunar cycle (one
month, approximately), at which point it can be strained. Start
by placing a strainer (medium mesh) over the mouth of the opened
jar. Then, turn the whole thing over into the measuring cup. Wait
for most of it to trickle out, then flip the jar back over, take
out the wet herbs, and squeeze them through muslin or cheesecloth
to get the last bits out (make sure your hands are clean!). Rinse
out your jar, and pour the strained tincture back in. Store in a
cool, dry, dark place. This tincture can keep for 10 years!
Some additions to the Traditional Method
What you will
need:
Two glass jars and a measuring cup
A scale
Grain alcohol (95% pure alcohol)
Distilled water
A calculator
Muslin or cheesecloth; knife and cutting board
Fresh or dry herb material
The Timing:
Harvesting and processing of herbs have always followed seasonal
rhythms and cycles. The basic rule is a relationship, termed ‘correspondence’,
that the herb has with its environment and with the universe. The
correspondence is understood in terms of strong, universal symbols
that resonate within us, the world, and the plant we are working
with. The herbalist will strive to evoke layers of images and meaning
as he or she interacts with the herbs – you have already seen
this in the Traditional Method. Many like to use Elemental correspondences
to govern harvesting and processing cycles: when the Sun is in a
watery sign, like Cancer, we will harvest and process a watery herb,
like Purslane, or Echinacea. This works for Moon signs as well (if
not better). Ultimately, what is important isn’t memorizing
long lists of correspondences, but rather making your own and using
them! (for example, telling the story of how well Echinacea fought
off your flu last year while you make the tincture can have dramatic
results).
The Weight-to-Volume
Ratio:
To get a consistent tincture from batch to batch, it is of course
necessary to keep obtaining herbs of consistently high quality.
It can also help to use the weight-to-volume ratio, a simple technique
to ensure a repeatable process. Basically, it relates the weight
of the herb you are using to the volume of alcohol you will steep
it in. So, if you have 5 ounces of Echinacea root and 15 ounces
of alcohol, you are making a 1 to 3 (1:3) tincture, because for
every one part of herb (by weight) you are using 3 parts of alcohol
(by volume). Chop your herb as usual, but this time, weigh it before
putting it in the jar. Then, decide what you want your ratio to
be. Fresh herbs do well at 1:3, or 1:2. Dry herbs are usually 1:4,
but can be anything you want. Just remember, the higher the Volume
number, the weaker the tincture. Thus, a 1:5 is roughly twice as
strong as a 1:10.
Solubility:
Certain herbs, we have found, produce a stronger tincture when they
are steeped in an alcohol that is more concentrated than 80 or 100
proof vodka (which is 40 or 50% alcohol). We obtain this alcohol
by mixing pure grain alcohol (which is 95%, or 190 proof) with distilled
water until we obtain the right percentage. This isn’t to
say that all herbs do well with more alcohol in their tincture –
some are damaged by too much! The term for the percentage of alcohol
that the herb prefers to be tinctured in is solubility.
If you are mixing pure grain alcohol and distilled water to make
a tincture, first determine your weight-to volume ratio. Weigh your
herb, and multiply it by the volume number to determine what volume
of mixture you’ll need. The amount of alcohol required is
given by:
(VxS):95
where V is total volume and S is solubility. Measure out the alcohol,
then make up the difference in the total by adding distilled water.
Bottling your
Tincture and Keeping Records
After being
strained, you need to bottle your tinctures if you’re going
to give them to others. Amber bottles work best at keeping the light
out, cobalt works also. You should also obtain a small measuring
cup, or better yet, a graduated cylinder.
Pour a small amount (2 or 3 ounces) of tincture into your measuring
cup. Then slowly pour this into the glass bottle, stopping right
as the mouth of the bottle begins to curve into the neck. This allows
for ample ‘shaking room’, to keep the tincture lively.
Always label your tinctures clearly; you don’t want to forget
what’s in the bottle and have to guess around later. The label
should include:
· Name
of herb, both common and Latin (if possible, to avoid confusion)
· Fresh or Dry, and the part(s) used in the tincture
· Date of Tincturing (and Moon / Sun sign if desired)
· Percent of alcohol by volume (40% for 80 proof vodka, 50%
for 100 proof)
· Weight-to-Volume ratio, if applicable
· a Batch Number, if you plan on more than one batch per
year.
It is also a
good idea to copy down all the details of the label in a special
‘tincture Recipe book’. Not only does this echo the
fine tradition of the Herbal Grimoire, but it also is a good record
of what’s been happening in case the label on your tincture
was damaged or unclear. It’s also a great place to write down
notes and ideas for each herb, to improve the process next time!
