Herb to Menstruum Ratios

An herb to menstruum ratio are two numbers you will see on any professional-grade tincture.  They indicate what the strength of the extract is.  The numbers may also be preceded by the information of whether the herb was fresh or dried.  It might look something like this:

What do these numbers mean?  The first number is the weight of your herb.  The second number is the volume of your menstruum.  The menstruum is whatever solvent was used.  This could be alcohol, apple cider vinegar, glycerin, honey, water, etc.  The ratio is often smaller when using a fresh plant or if the herb is somewhat weak, i.e., you would want to use as much herb as possible in the extracting process.

In general, fresh plant tinctures are typically made at a strength of 1 part herb to 2 parts menstruum.  Dry plant tinctures are a little different.  They typically have larger ratios anywhere from 1:4 or 1:7 and often have added water.  Fresh plant tinctures have water too but only what was a part of the live plant.

These ratios are all also based on using proof alcohol.  Using this alcohol gives you more control on how strong you want your tincture to be., i.e., you can adjust exactly how dilute you want your alcohol to be.  In contrast, if you use brandy (proof), you will always have a minimum of water

As you get more advanced at medicine making, using an herb to menstruum ratio is important, particularly if you are interested in trading with other herbalists.  Practitioners, in particular, would want to know because the dose would change based on the strength of the tincture.

Doing the little bit of math beforehand will also set you up to reproduce the product.  If you are interested in creating a product line at all, folks typically want consistency.

My favorite medicine-making resources have a table or appendix of common herbs and their herb to menstruum ratios.  Here are some of my favorites:

James Green

Sharol Tilgner

Also, available for free, is the late Michael Moore’s manuals where he has cataloged his favorite herbs, their herb to menstruum ratios, whether he preferred to do them fresh or dry, and his preferred media (e.g., tincture, capsule, tea).  An awesome resource from the grandfather of western herbalism!

How to Make a Fresh Plant Tincture

We call this technique the “Stuff-It-Method” (you’ll soon find out why).  We use the “Stuff-It-Method” for whenever we want to process leafy, voluminous plant material.

For the “Stuff-It-Method,” you do not have to measure your alcohol.  You only have to decide on what your herb to menstruum ratio is and have a digital scale.

Gather your herbs in the morning, making sure they are fresh and vibrant and that you have left plenty for the other creatures.

Fresh flowering mint

Chop up your herbs.  This is to create as much surface area as possible for the alcohol to penetrate.  Now it’s time to stuff your herbs into your jar!

It’s a good idea to put a large measuring cup or bowl underneath your jar to catch plant matter and flowing liquid.

Pour your alcohol into the jar.  Use a knife to “burp” your tincture and get all the air bubbles out.

More than likely, you will have created more space in your jar to add more alcohol.

Keeping burping and pouring.  This is key to not risking mold later.

When you are done, make sure your alcohol is poured to the tippy tippy top before you cap it.

Make sure to label your tincture.  As you make more and more of your own medicine, you will need to keep track.

After 24 hours, burp your tincture again.  Often times, you will be able to add more alcohol.  The key is to make sure your plant matter is completely submerged in your menstruum.  If there is any doubt, yep, go through the burping process again on Day Two.

When your tincture is happily burped, place in a dark cupboard and mark your calendar 10 – 14 days from when you started.

Strain your herb and store in dark glass container.  Your herb is now preserved!