Monday, July 28, 2014

Tincture Making: Fool-Proof





Tincture making is seriously fool-proof medicine making. 
It is so easy to do...I mean, you can make it complicated...but I don't.
It's a great way to start making your own medicine at home if you never have before. Store bought tinctures are SO expensive, so if you do buy them you will be saving yourself a lot of money by making them instead. Making your own tincture is medicine in itself (every time you shake it think good thoughts!) because you are part of the process. 

And I'll add that tinctures are really handy to have...right before bed (instead of a cup of tea that will make you pee) and they are indispensable when traveling.

Now a lot of the time tinctures are used to preserve the fresh plant, but dried plants work well too (sometimes better for some herbs, in my opinion). So don't let that factor stop you--use what you have/can get!

And lastly, if you are avoiding alcohol you can make a glycerin-based tincture instead of an alcohol-based tincture. My personal preference is alcohol-based though.





The process:


   1. Put fresh or dried herb in a clean mason jar
   2. Add 100 proof vodka
3. Label jar with herb name & date
   4. Cap and store it out of the light in a cool dark place
   5. Shake daily, or as often as you can remember, for at least two weeks
   6. Uncap the jar
   7. Pour out the tincture into a bowl or something and squeeze out the wet herbs as best you can
   8. Filter the tincture through clean cheesecloth or something of that nature
9. Put back into clean mason jar and/or put into a small dropper/tincture bottle & label.

Congratulations! 
You just made medicine!



Passionflower in vodka.

Always label herb name, whether it is fresh or dried, date, and you can add alcohol type.

Passionflower tincture already turning colors after two days.

Quiet Mind Herbal Tea Blend

One of my favorite herbal blends for quieting the mind and relaxing.
If you have an over-active mind at night and just need a big "SHHHHH" in a gentle, natural, and calming way you have to try Passionflower. It's great for a host of other things too including headaches and cramps!