Kristine Lavender Love's Blog: And Now For Some Herbalism: Peppermint Tincture

I’m making Peppermint Tincture today. Why? Oh, because I want to see what I can do with it. I’ve been thinking about it for awhile now, and since there is so much beautiful lush peppermint this year, now’s the time. Carpe Herbe, I always say (can be loosely translated as Seize the ~~Joint~~ Plant)

So Peppermint. Great herb for tea, on it’s own or in any number of blends. Wonderful for the digestion and the nervous system. Delicious hot or cold. You have to work to kill it, not that I have any problems growing plants. I love the mints, love to just let them go. They stop where the water ends, so no problem to contain them.

I wanted to make a peppermint tincture for a couple of reasons, one being just to see how it does in the process on its own. I’m going to put it in Everclear, as this will be mainly for internal use. Just now as I prepare to get started I’m pondering and researching fresh vs. dried as I have both.

Each has its uses and my preference varies from purpose to purpose and extraction medium to extraction medium.

I am somewhat leaning towards using dried herb because I want a very VERY potent extraction. Depending on what comes of this, I may re-tincture this one a second time to get a double strength -- a process I’ve only done once, inadvertently and not for that purpose.

So what would I do with double strength peppermint tincture? Use it as a digestive aid in some way, meaning Take It. I might try it topically as well by adding it to a creme. Use it as a flavoring additive, especially with chocolate. It could be great in alcoholic drinks, not that I’m particularly interested in such things. Certainly it will find its place in cold and flu remedies. I'm thinking it might also be great in a coconut oil-baking soda-sea salt tooth creme.

Give me time, I will come up with a plethora of uses. If I’m wanting to have it on hand, then better make it to have it on hand for next winter when I will need it and there’s no peppermint growing.

Okay -- Here is some research that I will pay attention to. Dang I love the Internet. Fresh it is.

From http://www.seedsforchangewellness.com/Articles/ArticleHomemadeMedicineHerbalTinctures.html

Fresh Versus Dried Herbs

Fresh herbs and dried herbs generally require slightly different handling. Because fresh herbs contain more water than their dried counterparts, they tend to require higher amounts of alcohol in the extraction process. For example, peppermint, spearmint and lemon balm are best extracted fresh with pure ethanol, whereas these same herbs, when dried, require only 75 percent alcohol. Chamomile likes 75 percent alcohol for a fresh tincture and 50 percent when tincturing the dried flower. It is also important to break down as much of the cell structure as possible as a means of increasing the surface area of extraction. This can be accomplished by chopping the plant material or by putting the herb into a blender.