Tea or tincture

[ElizabethStudent]

I am making a tea to help boost my son’s (13y male) b12. My son doesn’t prefer the tea and I am wondering if a tincture would be better?

Here’s the formula:
1 oz nettle leaf
1.5 oz hawthorn berry
1/2 oz. alfalfa leaf
1/2 oz. eleuthero root
1/2 oz. licorice root

The formula makes a huge difference for him as a tea. It is recommended to brew 4-5 TBSP/qt of water, drinking 2-3 cups a day (adult dose).

Since he is a child and half the size of a man, I usually make him a cup of 1TB: 1 cup water in the morning and he drinks that throughout the day. He says he prefers it stronger and less often, and follows his gulps with more water as the tea is drying.

In the past I haven’t used powdered herbs but as I am now about to make a new batch with Doc’s herbs (powdered) I am wondering a couple of things:

1. Would it be equal or better as a tincture?
2. If so, what ratio should I use for the tincture (vodka and powder)?
3. If it is better as a tea, is there something I might add to make it a little more palatable?
4. Since my son doesn’t like it as a hot tea, I make it the night before, cover and let it sit overnight. Is that too long for it to sit?

Thanks!

[Geneva BivensStudent]

Hi Elizabeth,

The important thing is to get the herbs into him, using whatever method works best in the situation.

For a tincture a ratio of 1:5 by weight,  herb:menstruum.

Have you considered making capsules or pills with the herbal powder? Is this an alternative that your son might be ok with taking instead of drinking the tea, or using a tincture since he doesn’t like the taste?

I’ve found that if I don’t like the way that a tea tastes, I don’t like the way that the tincture tastes either, so I’ll make capsules or pills and take those. That way I can avoid the taste altogether.

The other option that you might consider is adding the powder to yogurt, a smoothie, or something else where the taste can be masked by other flavors.

The Herbal Medicine Making module goes into detail about different delivery methods for herbal medicine, as well as tinctures which you might find helpful. You can find that module here:

Herbal Medicine Making

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Elizabeth

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