What is a tincture?
A tincture is a liquid extract of a plant’s medicinal chemical constituents. Tinctures are made by infusing plant matter such as roots, leaves, stems, flowers, seeds, and barks into a liquid solvent such as alcohol — which will extract, preserve, and contain the plant’s active chemical compounds that act on the body in a specific way. Plants contain certain qualities and chemicals that can be extracted into a tincture for medicinal benefit. Certain compounds extract best into cold or hot water, honey, vinegar, oil or a combination, but alcohol has the most wide-ranging ability to absorb plant chemicals as an efficient solvent. It allows for a deep and potent extraction of the chemicals that work on a cellular level to affect and organize body systems and functions. Alcohol is also a great vehicle for the flavor, color, and essence of the plant, and allows for rapid absorption into the bloodstream and cells. Taking an alcohol based tincture is a simple and effective way to receive the beneficial aspects of specific plant matter. All plants have specific infusion ratios of herb to alcohol, and sometimes call for a bit of water or extra time. In processing, it’s important to consider the desired potency, and to keep records of ratios and timing. Throughout the infusion process, one must consistently tend to the mixture, shaking and stirring around the herbs in the alcohol, to ensure all cells are penetrated for a maximum extraction of everything from the plant matter. It’s vital to ensure the herb is minced to tiny pieces to allow for the liquid to thoroughly penetrate the plant wall so it is broken and all desired constituents are extracted and cherished to the max. Six weeks is often ample time for extraction, but dried roots and seeds can take up to two or three months. I extract my tinctures around two months and give them lots of love and intentional shaking, song, meditation, and dancing in the process. I keep them out of the sun and heat, and check on them daily with reverence and joy. I extract herbs separate from one another to ensure proper extraction ratios for each plant, and blend to formulate tinctures for specific purposes once the extraction process is complete. On the day where I finally open up the glass jars to strain the material, I feel deeply calm, sharp, and present, completely in flow. It feels completely natural, innate, and freeing, to work with the plants in this way and to know that a potent natural medicine has been made with so much loving intent. I’ve been doing this work for around three years, but I feel as if my body has known how to do this since the beginning of time. There’s a remembrance, perhaps ancestral, that makes the process grounding and completely organic feeling. Settling and bottling these tinctures is like encapsulating the living beauty and potency of earth, and is an honor beyond words. The drop of a tincture is like a time capsule of the potency of these plants that attune synergistically with our being. They are living memories of the land, dynamic and complex. The tincture is a perfect vehicle for plant medicine and can be used in several ways. Tinctures can be taken in a glass of water, sipped all day in a water bottle, used in yummy beverage tonic delights, light cooking, or taken directly on the tongue, especially nice if the herb is palatable. I love to take mine in sparkling water, sometimes with an herbal infused vinegar. Most days, I put tincture drops in my water bottle throughout the day, or drop on the tongue if I need more immediate support. If you’d like to try one of my tinctures, please let me know, I am so happy to share them with you.