Fixing my ratios- I screwed up

[Martha StanleyStudent]

So I wildcrafted 1 oz of usnea. :big grin:

I followed Stephan Buhner’s tincture recipe to the letter.

Unfortunately, not to the number.

He suggests a hot water extraction then the alcohol extraction.

I missed that his quantities were for FIVE oz of usnea and so I put in water for five oz. I had 1 0z.

it’s still extracting and I just discovered the mistake. :woot:

What can i/should I do now?

Should I lift the cover off the pot where I’m heating the herb/water mixture and let it evaporate?

Do I just go on and add the everclear for the 5 oz quantity? Or the 1 0z measurement?

If I do that, do I just work with the tincture as though it’s about 20% strength?

Or do I just toss it? :crying:

Usnea is hard to come by and I’m so annoyed that I may have wasted this bounty.

[IdahoHerbalist]

Don’t toss it. You can either reduce the volume of water through evaporation or as you suggested, proceed at teh 1:5 ration and compensate.

Was the 5 ounces of water by volume or weight? If you do reduce, then use that as your basis for the reduction.

I am not sure why the duel extraction the way you describe as 40 and 80 proof alcohol has plenty of water in it already.

[Author]

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