Tinctures offer an easy-to-use and fast-acting form of herbal medicine that allows us to extract both the water-soluble and alcohol-soluble constituents from plants for a strong, well-rounded medicine. Tinctures are also highly shelf-stable, lasting for years and years. Unlike teas, which require us to prepare leaves and flowers separately from roots, barks and berries because of their structure, with tinctures all parts of the plants can be combined and tinctured at the same time. Powdered herbs can also be tinctured in the same blend as cut and sifted herbs. Tinctures have been around for millennia and are a key component of traditional herbal medicine.

Tinctures can be easily made at home using one of two methods: the folk method or the calculation method. The folk method is easy because it doesn't require a scale; it's simple, straightforward and requires only your herbs, a wide-mouth canning jar with a tight-fitting lid, alcohol, cheesecloth and amber dropper bottles. Using the calculation method, you will also need a scale to weigh your herbs so that you can achieve a specific herb to alcohol ratio.

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