Tinctures can be made by percolation or maceration.
A tincture is a solution of a substance in alcohol, typically herbs and plant parts. Tinctures are made by either soaking (macerating) herbs in an alcohol solvent for 2 to 6 weeks or by percolating the alcohol through the herbs to extract the herbal compounds from the plant. Making a percolated herbal tincture can only be done with dried herbs, but is much faster than macerating.
Instructions
1. Read through the tincture recipe carefully. Each plant typically requires a specific ratio of alcohol to water to herb, so ensure you are familiar with the ratios required for your chosen herb.
2. Measure out the correct amount of dried herb on the kitchen scales and place in a spice grinder and grind to a coarse powder. Empty the powder into a glass bowl and moisten with a little water. Leave overnight.
3. Cut the bottom of a 2 liter plastic bottle. Invert the bottle and place a coffee filter inside, right up against the cap. Loosen the cap so that it is almost off.
4. Pack the moistened herbs into the bottle on top of the coffee filter, then place another coffee filter on top of them to stop them from rushing up into the alcohol when it is poured over.
5. Measure out the alcohol required by the tincture recipe into a measuring cup. Hold the cap of the bottle in one hand, over a glass jar, then pour the alcohol into the bottle. The almost-open cap will allow the air to get out the bottom, but once the alcohol comes through, tighten the cap so that it drips at about 1 drop per second.
6. Settle the bottle over the glass jar and wait until the all the liquid has percolated through the herbs and into the glass jar. Leave overnight to drip through if necessary.
7. Transfer the tincture to glass dropper jars and label it with the date, the name of the herb, and the ratio of herb to alcohol.
Tags: coffee filter, herbs into, into bottle, into glass, Leave overnight