Tincture

 

Not only is this a fun word to say, it’s a fun science experiment as well. A tincture has several definitions, but for today’s purposes, it is an extract made with alcohol,… so one could think of it as your favorite booze kicked up with herbal effects. Here’s a link if you need further definition…Tincture – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia   I will also add a video link in the paragraph below that shows you in only 8ish minutes how to make tinctures from any herbs. Why use/make tinctures? 

Tinctures are very concentrated, very potent. So for those who enjoy the effects that various herbs give you and/or rely on herbs for medicinal reasons, tinctures boost all of those herbal benefits ten-fold. I came across this video… http://youtu.be/4dloPF1QDuw …which is very informative and like I said, only around 8 minutes long. Do you know how to make a tincture? No? I didn’t think so, but in less than 10 minutes you CAN know by watching this vid. It is actually quite easy, and I consider this a discovery for today as well as a word for you all to use in a sentence today… tincture. 

What led up to the tincture today?… yet another discovery, although this other discovery has been around for a while. Still, many people do not know about it and that discovery is dabs. Do you know what dabs are? Here’s a link: Urban Dictionary: dabs … the 1st definition.… dabs are a wax made from an alcohol or butane extract of ganja. Take a look…… … I know, yummy right?…Here’s some more…     …. as you can see, there a 2 consistencies depending on temperature. When it is colder, the gooeyness becomes more solidified, like a wax, hence the name. Check it out…      

Now this stuff can have a potency comparable to hash oil,… anywhere from 70/75% and up THC. And as you can see, kinda looks like hash. Surprisingly, this process is actually quite easy. From what I have read so far, the ratio is roughly 5 grams to every 1 gram dab wax. Like I said, very easy to concoct should you want to try it out. There are numerous tutorials on the internet, and since I haven’t actually tried it yet myself, that’s going to be more reliable at this time. I’ve watched several vids and have come to this…

The basic method goes something like this: first, what you will need, you will need some 91% or higher isopropyl alcohol, yes the kind in your medicine cabinet, also you will need some coffee filters, pyrex dishes, razor blades, a mason jar, some form of heating plate, and of course, your herbs. Here’s a link... http://youtu.be/DrB9PfidqJQ  … continuing… next make sure that the area where you do this is ventilated. Alcohol fumes are not good for you. What you do is take the herbs, trimmings, stems, make sure they are ground, then combine your herbs in a mason jar with enough iso to cover the herbs. Swirl or shake, then dump through coffee strainer over pyrex dish. Some places say that it is better to freeze both the herbs and the alcohol before you do this, but it doesn’t appear to be necessary. So after the first “wash,” you are going to do this again, and then once more, 3 times wash total. Then once you have the washes in your pyrex dish, you want to heat that on a heating plate to around 120/125 degrees. You will see the wax appear as the alcohol evaporates. Not finished yet…

The final process is called purging. This is very important bc we don’t want to inhale burning alcohol fumes. There is another method of doing this where you substitute butane for alcohol,… again, purging is needed to remove those chemicals before inhalation. There are a few methods for this, and since I am yet to venture there myself, you will have to rely on other sources than myself. I’m just giving you some insight into something you didn’t know about yet. So for today’s discoveries thus far, we have tinctures, and we have dabs. As a side note, ganja is NOT the only herb on this planet. You can make waxes, oils, and tinctures out of many, many, different herbs, plants, and flowers. Use your imagination, check out some herb stores near by and see for yourselves what you can make. Most herbs are legal, so you are breaking no laws by experimenting with your own various concoctions. Valerian root, as mentioned in one of the vids links above, is totally legal and often sold ground up in capsules for sleep aid. By the time you get it this way though, it has lost most of it’s potency. But if you get valerian root in bulk from an herb store, you can use it to make your own CONCENTRATED oil, wax, and/or tincture to get the true benefits. As an insomniac I can assure you that capsulated ground up valerian root is useless and will do nothing for the seasoned insomniac. So as a future experiment, I am going to buy some bulk valerian root and use it for my first attempt to create a tincture. You will all be the first to know the results when said experiment has been completed. Check out some of these things for yourselves and do not focus on any sort of legalities amongst particular herbs, this is only information. Information is only negative in perception, it is neither good nor bad, and at this point you all should know very well that I am just a translator of that information. These processes are hardly limited to particular herbs, so have some fun with your favorite ones, maybe a tincture of basil, or oregano oil, just remember you must have the natural form of your herbs for the processes to be able to extract their essence. Pre ground up and processed herbs are useless. You always want fresh herbs, organic herbs. On that note, this post has come to its end. Enjoy your Sun-day. Wide eyes open, love to all.