Guest guest Posted February 8, 2012 Report Share Posted February 8, 2012 Hello all, Just wondering what resources anyone on this list would recommend in making tinctures: books, websites, whatever you will. It would be great to hear which resources you found helpful, which not, etc. I've been making tinctures for quite some time but would love to learn more and hone my skills. Thanks in advance, Kerry -- Kerry Hackett, MNIMH, AHG, OHA Medical Herbalist www.kerryhackett.ca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Hi Alison, Good to hear from you! What with one thing or another over the past few years, I haven't made as many fresh plant tinctures as I would like, so have had to depend on dried material. However, as I am now living on a larger property, I hope to remedy that soon. Thus far, most of my tinctures have been standard 1:5's in whichever concentration is indicated by constituent base; I have also been influenced by manufacturer's recommendations. The only difference is that, depending on the plant and time involved, I may make either a macerated or percolated tincture. This is where your question below, Alison, comes in. Incidentally, I do recall you saying you had a formula for making tinctures from dried material which enabled a better yield for those of us who don't have access to a hydraulic press? If you still have that I'd really like to see it - I don't do many dry herb tinctures as I never get enough off to make it worthwhile. In percolation, not only do you account for the weight of the marc, but the volume as well. So, to make a 1:5/25%, you would take say, 100g of herb and grind it to a fine consistency (not powder) and measure the volume. The menstrum would then be the sum of 500ml plus the volume of the herb. That total amount would then be divided into water and alcohol, depending on the starting alcohol strength you have available. There is a whole protocol about moistening the marc overnight and then placing it in a percolation vessel before adding more of the menstrum to cover, but I won't go into it here. So, when speaking with you, Alison, it wasn't that I had a formula for better yields, it was more of a question... which perhaps someone on this list can answer. If, in percolation, one accounts for volume as well as weight, why not do the same in maceration? I have tried both the standard 1:5 as well as the 1:5+ volume and have found little difference in quality. So far, it appears that incorporating volume allows for better coverage of the marc as well as better yields on pressing. I'd be interested in hearing more from all those tincture makers out there, whether they work at home, clinic or manufacture commercially. Great discussion! Thanks to all who have responded so far! Kind regards, Kerry -- Kerry Hackett, MNIMH, AHG, OHA Medical Herbalist www.kerryhackett.ca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 I have done pretty much the same. I have made a press however using a (new) car jack which cost about $8 - it has really been worth it. I got a friendwho does metal work to make a frame for the jack and we used scrap metal - cost $3. It has worked well for 10 years, making about 20 gallons a month. J Fidler, MCPP, (RH) AHGHerbalist To: ukherbal-list Sent: Thursday, February 9, 2012 12:43 PM Subject: Re: Tincture making Hi Kerry Good to see this being discussed - gives me hope that our skills are not being lost in the rush to standardised production methods! I've gleaned information from other herbalists, more than from books - including those who manufacture the tinctures we buy. In the hope that I won't either bore you all to tears or risk teaching granny to suck eggs, here's what I do - I'm up for learning more too so hope this will lead to further discussion. I've used Green, and flirted with Priest and Priest, Hoffmann, Ody et al, although mostly I follow the main manufacturers for guidance about menstruum concentrations (I think Green puts everything in 100% alcohol?). I know that Tony puts most of his in 45% believing that's necessary for avoiding microbial contamination, but Joe Nasr and Chenery still do a lot in 25%. I think those plants whose constituents extract better in an aqueous solution need a lower alcohol content, but Joe gets round this by infusing or decocting the plant material first - a strategy which I've been following lately with some of my tinctures with good results. I also chop it up in a food processor if I can. I make a rough guess at the water content of fresh plants (I usually reckon at least 75%, 80 for very 'wet' leafy stuff, 70 for dryish seeds, roots etc). I try to do 1:2 or 1:3 for fresh plant tinctures, depending on how easy it is to cover the marque with menstruum; occasionally it's different. I know how I calculate the alcohol to put in the menstruum, but would have to sit and write it down carefully before attempting to tell anyone else! Unless someone else has it nicely explained, I may have a go at it at some later date. Dry herb I generally do about 1:5, again depends on the plant. However - I know that Kerry Caldock wrote some protocols some years ago for NIMH; I don't know if or knows of their whereabouts. (Kerry, are you out there - do you still have them?) I should have them somewhere in the many piles of paper scattered around my house - if I find them I'll try to put them in electronic format. Incidentally, I do recall you saying you had a formula for making tinctures from dried material which enabled a better yield for those of us who don't have access to a hydraulic press? If you still have that I'd really like to see it - I don't do many dry herb tinctures as I never get enough off to make it worthwhile. Looking forward to learning more about one of my favourite activities - excepting the scrubbing roots bit! Alison > > Hello all, > > Just wondering what resources anyone on this list would recommend in > making tinctures: books, websites, whatever you will. It would be great > to hear which resources you found helpful, which not, etc. I've been > making tinctures for quite some time but would love to learn more and > hone my skills. > > Thanks in advance, > Kerry > > -- > Kerry Hackett, MNIMH, AHG, OHA > Medical Herbalist > www.kerryhackett.ca > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Yes, forgot to mention, a small wine press fitted with a car jack works a treat! Kind regards, Kerry  I have done pretty much the same. I have made a press however using a (new) car jack which cost about $8 - it has really been worth it. I got a friendwho does metal work to make a frame for the jack and we used scrap metal - cost $3. It has worked well for 10 years, making about 20 gallons a month.  . -- Kerry Hackett, MNIMH, AHG, OHA Medical Herbalist www.kerryhackett.ca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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