Tinctures

This category contains tinctures: alcohol-based plant extracts, supplied in a glass bottle with a pipette cap. A tincture is liquid and measurable per drop, and thus forms an alternative to an oil or a capsule. Which tinctures you see depends on the web shop you are looking at.

How a tincture is made

The starting material is dried, broken up small and then steeped in alcohol. In the days to weeks that follow, the substances that dissolve in alcohol draw out of the plant material into the liquid. The whole is then filtered, so the solid parts remain behind and only the extract is left. Alcohol is used because it dissolves both substances that dissolve in water and substances that do not. Water alone extracts a narrower part of the plant. Some tinctures state an extraction ratio on the label, for example 1:5. That means one part of dried material is processed with five parts of liquid.

Mushroom tinctures

Part of the range consists of mushroom tinctures. The species you'll come across:

• Chaga, Inonotus obliquus, a black cracked lump on living birches.
• Lion's mane, Hericium erinaceus, with long hanging spines instead of gills.
• Reishi, Ganoderma lucidum, with a shiny reddish-brown top.
• Turkey tail, Trametes versicolor, thin fan-shaped caps with coloured rings.
• Red-belted conk, Fomitopsis pinicola, with a striking reddish-brown edge.
• Tinder fungus, Fomes fomentarius, hoof-shaped and grey, growing on birch and beech.

Plant-based tinctures

There are also tinctures based on other plant material, offered in various strengths. The strength indicates how much extract is incorporated relative to the total contents. The product page states which strengths are available.

The bottle and storage

The bottles are made of dark glass, because light breaks down plant components. The cap holds a glass pipette with a rubber bulb. Don't touch the glass tip with your fingers and don't put the pipette down loose, then it stays clean longest. Store the bottle upright, cool, dark and well closed. Alcohol evaporates from a bottle that is often open, causing the tincture to slowly thicken.

We have a laboratory analysis made of every batch. There is a batch number on the packaging. Give us that number and we'll send the corresponding report.