Pre-moistening and wrap one part herb (dry weight) in cloth and suspend it in 8 parts of water (by volume) at room temperature, overnight. Squeeze out the herb into the tea in the morning, and add enough water to bring it back to 8 parts.
Boil 8 parts of water, remove from heat, and steep one part (by weight) of the herb in the water for 20-30 minutes. Strain, and pour sufficient water through the herb in the strainer to return the volume of tea to 8 parts.
Combine 8 parts of water with one part of herb (by weight), bring slowly to a boil, continue for ten minutes, cool until warm, and strain. Pour additional water through the herb to return the volume to 8.
is the same, but using half as much herb in the same volume of water. COMMENTS. Except for the weak decoction, the above teas end up with an ounce having the constituents of a gram of herb. If the dosage recommends 4 ounces of Strong Decoction, and you only want a single batch, use 4 grams of herb, or divide an ounce of herb into eight equal parts and use one part for the tea. (Yes, they aren't quite equal...4 grams and an eighth of an ounce...but these are HERBS...lighten up already).
Make an isotonic water by adding a slightly rounded teaspoon of salt to a quart of clean water (1/2 teaspoon per pint, 1/4 teaspoon per cup), and make the tea with this solution as per the recommended strength. Make a fresh batch every 5-6 hours.
One part by weight of the fresh, chopped herb is steeped for 7-10 days in two parts by volume of grain alcohol (190 proof or 95% ethanol), and pressed or squeezed out. There is no reason to blend or shake this maceration; the tincture is formed passively as a result of dehydration. Ethanol draws out all plant constituents that contain water, leaving only cellulose and dead tissue behind.
Maceration. If the Materia Medica calls for a [1:5, 60% alcohol] tincture, it means this: your solvent is 60% alcohol and 40% water (the water is presumed), and one part of herb by weight has been invested in five parts of solvent by volume. Let's run you through one. You have four ounces of dried herb, which you then grind and sift down to a fairly consistent coarse powder. For every gram (1) it must be mixed with 5 ml of solvent (5). The solvent is 60% alcohol. Mix both together in a closed jar, and shake the mixture up for a couple of minutes twice a day. After 2 weeks of this pour the mixture through a pressing cloth and squeeze as much out of the sediment as your wrists will allow. Then if you have access to a press you can get more tincture out of the mash by pressing it out. If you started with 20 ounces of solvent (called menstruum) and 4 ounces of herb, it should yield about 13-14 ounces of tincture (by wrist) and up to 17 ounces (by press); the rest is held in the sediment (called marc).