Monday, December 22, 2008

How to make an herbal tincture

"What is a Tincture?
A tincture is a solution of herbs in alcohol. Apple cider vinegar may be used in some special preparations. The alcohol dissolves all of the chemical principals of the plant and acts as a preservative for future use."
http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Is-A-Tincture?&id=243706

I have been making these for over a year and let me tell you, it has replaced all commercial medicines in my house. My family rarely gets sick but when things do come up I pull out my ready made tincture and dole it out and in less than 12 hrs all complaints are usually gone.

You can get tinctures at health food stores but you usually will end up paying $15 for about 2 or 4 oz. Its much cheaper to make your own. Its very simple to make actually. Heres what to do.

I used Burdock Root, Echinachea Root, Chapparral Leaf, Dandelion Root, and Yellow Dock Root in this tincture.
Root herbs are the best to use b/c it contains the most potency. I always use 100 proof vodka. You should see the looks and comments I get when I buy this at the liquor store.


I put my mixtures in Mason jars. Put half water, and half alcohol in the jar. I used 1 1/2 cups alcohol and 1 1/2 cups of water.

Then I put 1/2 cup of each herb in the alcohol/water mixture. Make sure you watch it b/c the dried herbs will swell when it gets wet so make sure you dont run out of room in your jar before you finish adding all your herbs.

Then after everything is added, cap the jar and give it a good shake. Label your jar with the contents and date it. It takes between 4 and 6 weeks before all the properties of each herb is dissolved into the alcohol and water. Every now and then shake it to agitate the herbs in the solution. Store it in a cool, dark place and it'll keep forever!


Last year my baby who was 1 at the time was lethargic and laying around all day long. She laid on the couch and did not move. So I said hmmm... I'll mix her up some of my tincture and see what happens. As God is my witness, after 15 min my child jumped up off the chair and started running around playing and laughing. I have NEVER seen anything like it.

Oh I forgot to mention, if you want to take your tincture without the alcohol in it, all you have to do is pour a small amount of water in a pot and bring it to a boil. Once the water is boiling, pour in your tincture and let it boil for a min or two. The steam will carry the alcohol out of your tincture but will leave all the good stuff behind. I hate alcohol so I always take mine that way and if you mix it with orange juice you wont even be able to taste anything in your drink!

2 comments:

  1. Will this stuff get me drunk? LOL...I need to google this to learn all the benefits

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  2. my mom still does this after 50+ yrs -- she gets special herbs from her mom and has it in a brandy bottle near her bed.

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