I don’t always press my tinctures on time but at least I am doing it in the same year they were mixed. I just realised as I was doing it that we have root, leaf, flower and seed tinctures here. There is a mix of alcohol strengths from 25% to 45% depending on the part of the plant being used, and ratios from 1:5 to 1:3.
The equipment I use is old and second hand [jumble sale 50p many years ago], but it works fine. As I press each tincture I write down all the details on special forms I made for the purpose. I catalogue whether the herbs were dried or fresh, what part of the plant I used, what strength alcohol etc., I also leave comments about quantity retrieved and what the quality is like.
Making my own tinctures satisfied the alchemist in me. It is also a lot more economical than buying them from a professional manufacturer. I also think that the quality is better.
I use both bought-in tinctures and homemade ones in my clinic, but I don’t think I make enough. So my new year’s resolution is to grow and harvest my own herbs in season and then make my own tinctures more and more…
