Adventures in Kitchen Witchery: Making Herbal Tinctures

In the last year or so I've started making myself herbal tinctures. I figured they're kinda like a stronger, faster way to get the benefits of herbal tea and a nice alternative/addition to the vitamins I take.

These are two of the complete tinctures I have made! The one on the left is the Spring Dreaming, the one on the right is just Skullcap (keep reading for details)

What is a herbal tincture?

I would say Bach's Rescue Remedy is an example of a commercial tincture!

 

A herbal tincture is a super concentrated formula of herbs that are combined with liquor (I use vodka) or vinegar, usually for medicinal purposes. You might have seen or used Bach Rescue Remedy at drugstores in Canada, I would call this a tincture. Remember to talk to your health care provider before giving this a go!

How do you make a tincture?

One of my tinctures currently brewing! As you can see I don't stand much on ceremony - this is an old jam jar, and I have a reminder set in my calendar for when this is ready to go. Right now it is literally a jar of vodka and some of the nettle leaf tea from the Herbaria tea bags pictured below!

Once you select your herbs, you put them in your liquid of choice, and let them brew for a month or so. I leave mine in a cupboard, then shake them daily. After this period of time, you strain out the herbs and take the tincture in droplets either under your tongue or in another liquid (like a glass of water).

A great resource for making tinctures (including recipes and general how-to's) includes Asali Earthwork and Worts & Cunning. Both of these awesome people have Patreon accounts, be sure to support them if you find their recipes or posts inspiring (Asali Earthwork here, Worts & Cunning here)!

Where do you get supplies?

In a pinch I use herbs from tea bags I've cut open!
Herbaria teas are a fave of mine, and pretty available in New West and Vancouver.

Finlandia in Vancouver has a great herbal dispensary. When we can't get out to Vancouver, I cheat by cutting open bags of Herbaria (available at Donald's and City Markets) teas and using as many of those as I need for the herbs.

For vodka, I just use cheap stuff like Smirnoff or Absolut. It's only meant to suspend the herbs and concentrate their properties, since you're not sipping herbal tinctures as a drink it really doesn't matter.

For the actual brewing I use jam jars or other finished/used condiment jars that have been run through the dishwasher, no need to be precious with this. I get my dropper bottles for about ~$3 at The Refill Shop in New West, though you can probably get them at any craft supply store.

Tinctures I find useful

The other tincture I'm brewing right now! This recipe is my own,
and I hope it will help my focus and mental clarity on days when I'm feeling scattered/hating WFH

I have tried the Spring Dreaming tincture by Worts & Cunning, its great! Timely, too as it's now Spring officially!

I'm in the process of making a Focus tincture. I didn't follow any recipe, I just looked up some herbs that are known for helping improve concentration and mental clarity. I mixed together a little rosemary, sage, peppermint, and hawthorn. TBD if it works or not, it won't be ready for about another month!

I'm also brewing a tonic with just nettle leaf, which I hope will help with my seasonal allergies. Instead of having the tea, I'm hoping a couple super-concentrated drops in a glass of water will help me on days when I'm sneezing outta control.

One tincture I've found indispensable is a straight Skullcap tincture. It really helps with anxiety and I've found it extremely helpful during this pandemic. I just pop a couple drops in my water or evening tea and it's quite soothing. I def recommend reading Worts & Cunning's profile of this super-helpful herb if you want to learn more.