Making Herbal Tinctures

Herbal tinctures are readily available at health and natural food stores. However, the quality and strength of the tinctures varies widely among manufacturers. Many holistic practitioners and aficionados make their own herbal tinctures. You can too, in just a few easy steps.

Assemble the Tools and Ingredients

• Fresh herbs: Growing your own herbs from seed or plants is easy. Read the article on seed germination to grow your own herbs.
• Vodka or other grain alcohol: 80 to 100 proof works best. The alcohol works as a preservative. When making herbal tinctures, it’s important to use only grain alcohol such as vodka.
• Glass jar with tight fitting lid: An old jelly jar, baby food jars, or spaghetti sauce jars work fine. Make sure that the jar is sparkling clean. Use only glass jars. Metal or plastic may interfere with the properties of the herbs or leach chemicals into the tincture, creating a foul or ‘off’ taste.
• Kitchen strainer, cheese cloth, or baking parchment paper to strain the tincture.
• Bottle with dropper tip: While a bottle with an eyedropper-type tip is optional, most herbal tinctures are taken as drops added to water. Storing the tincture in a bottle with dropper makes it much easier to measure the dosage precisely. You can use any clean bottle with a tight-fitting cap or lid if you don’t want to purchase special bottles to store the tincture.
• Stickers and a pen to label your jars.

Create the Tincture

Making herbal tinctures requires only about an hour of preparation, but approximately three to six weeks for the herbs to infuse into the alcohol base.

Wash all kitchen equipment, utensils, glass jars, cutting boards and tools in hot, soapy water. Always wash your hands thoroughly before and after working with herbs to ensure that no bacteria from your hands contaminate the final tincture. While the alcohol will most likely kill the bacteria, why take chances? Prevention is the key to making long-lasting, pure tinctures.

Step by Step Guide to Making Herbal Tinctures

• Step One: Organize Your Tools
  • Clean and dry the equipment.
  • Lay out your tools (strainer, jars, markers, etc.) in the kitchen.
• Step Two: Prepare the Herbs
  • Clean fresh herbs thoroughly.
  • Discard bruised, stained, or discolored leaves and stems.
  • Use only the freshest herbs for the best results.
  • Cut or chop the herbs in a food processor, blender, or with a sharp knife.
• Step Three: Make the Tincture
  • Place the chopped herbs into your glass jar.
  • Use only one type of herb in each jar.
  • Cover the chopped herbs with the alcohol. Be sure to cover the herbs COMPLETELY with the alcohol. Any herbs exposed to air and not covered with alcohol can become moldy or rot, making the tincture unusable.
  • Label the jar with the name of the herb and the date prepared
• Step Four: Age the Tincture
  • Place the jars in a cool, dark area to age.
  • Wait three to six weeks.
• Step 5: Decant the Tincture
  • Strain the tincture through the kitchen strainer, cheesecloth or parchment.
  • Discard the leaves and stems.
  • Pour liquid into bottles.
  • Label and date the bottles.
  • Enjoy your tincture!

Uses

Mix herbal tinctures into water and drink in appropriate doses for a medicinal effect. The typical dose is 15 to 30 drops of tincture, mixed into a glass of water. Consult an herbalist, holistic practitioner or one of the many websites or books available on herbal medicine for appropriate doses of herbal tinctures. When it comes to herbal medicine, sometimes less is more.

Used externally, tinctures make excellent compresses or soaks. Prepare an herbal compress using your homemade herbal tincture. Make a revitalizing footbath using tinctures and fragrant herbs, such as peppermint. Love to Know’s article on Fragrant Herbs is a good starting place to learn more about these plants.

For more information on herbs suitable for tinctures and medicinal use of herbs:

• Medicinal Herb Tinctures
• Organic Herbal Remedies