I don't need to go on and on about how to make tea, it's a pretty simple process. Here are a few points to make note of though, just as a reminder.
There are two main methods when preparing medicinal tea: Infusion and Decoction
INFUSION: When you are using the "softer" parts of the plant such as the flowers or soft leaves you would make an infusion. Infusions are also more known to tap into the volatile oils in herbs, this is prevalent in teas like mint and eucalyptus. This is just a fancy way of saying your steeping tea. Bring the water to a rolling boil, pour it over the herbs, cover it and let it sit for about 15 minutes. DECOCTION: When you're using thicker leaves, roots, barks, stems and such a decoction is appropriate. A decoction will draw out the deeper essences of the plant. In this case, you simmer the herbs for about an hour, about half the water will evaporate off. You will end up with a strong, concentrated medicinal tea. COMBINING: If you are using all parts of a plant, the soft as well as the thicker bits, make a decoction first with the thicker bits. Next, make your infusion but rather than pouring water over the soft leaves and flowers for the steeping process, pour the decoction over it and let it steep. PROPORTIONS: Generally speaking teas of any kind are stronger when being used for medicine than if your just having tea and biscuits with a pal. Also, if using tea as a course of treatment you will likely be taking it more than once a day, you can make it in batches and leave unused portions in the refrigerator for about 3 days. The general proportion for herbal medicinal tea is 1 oz. of dried herbs to 1 pint of water, some of that water, of course will be absorbed by the herbs. If you are using fresh hers it is recommended to double the amount of herb since a lot of the weight of a fresh herb is water.
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Hanna Maxwell
All knowledge starts with self knowledge. Archives
July 2021
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