If you’ve been exploring herbs for a while, you may be wondering tea or tincture, and why. There are several things to consider when making that decision. For instance, have you ever wondered why there is no marijuana tea?

Most of the constituents in marijuana are thick and resinous partially due to their polarity (which heavily influences their solubility and stickiness). Thick, sticky constituents are best extracted in oil (hence – special brownies) or alcohol. To give a less ambiguously legal example – gumweed (Grindelia squarrosa). It’s lovely for coughs but won’t do much if you consume it as a tea for the same reason as marijuana. The constituents are too thick and resinous to extract well in water.

On the other hand, some herbs like marshmallow (Althaea officinalis) don’t do well in alcohol or oil. Their constituents extract better in water. It makes a lovely tea or is great for a wound wash or poultice but would not do well in a salve. Some herbs like California poppy (Eschscholtzia Californica) do well in either water or oil or alcohol.

Another option for herbal therapy is using the herb ground to a powder for ingestion. Obviously, you only want to use herbs that are for ingestion – so no Arnica (Arnica montana or other species) or cottonwood (Populus deltoides), but ground herbs are an economical alternative. When using ground herbs, you can use about 20% of what would be needed for tea as you are consuming the herb, not just the water it was soaking in. Herbal powders can be encapsulated or sprinkled on applesauce or oatmeal to consume. That decision highly depends on the taste of the formula. Some that might contain slippery elm or fennel could be quite tasty – others… um, not so much!

Tinctures are a great option if you are not a tea drinker, or if they are inconvenient for you to use. A tincture can easily be slipped in a pocket or purse. I would not advise using tinctures if you are in recovery. Herbs are great and can be a help in recovery (especially milk thistle (Silybum marianum) – but be careful not to make more issues for yourself.

The amount of tea, tincture, or powder used per day depends on the herb or formula. Reach out if I can help you with any herbal therapeutics – I’d be happy to!