MATERIALS:
- An enamel, glass, or stainless steel pot. Avoid iron, aluminum, and copper cookware.
- A glass bottle that can store at least seven cups of liquid. Or you can use two smaller ones. Make sure to mix the herbs, so that each bottle is the same strength
- A wooden spoon
- a wire-mesh strainer
- a funnel will also be helpful.
COOKING VIA STOVE:
- FIRST SIMMER: Put the entire bag of herbs into a soup pot. Cover with just enough warm water to cover the herbs by a couple of inches Let them soak for ten minutes. Turn on the heat and bring them to a gentle simmer. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for forty-five minutes. Strain the tea into the bottle, and return the herbs to the pot.
- SECOND SIMMER: Add just enough water barely to cover the herbs in the pot. Simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Strain the tea into the bottle, and return herbs to the pot.
- THIRD SIMMER: If you’ve already yielded at least 7 cups of herb tea, you can opt to skip this final step. If not, proceed by Adding two cups of water to the pot, and simmer for five minutes. Stir the herbs with a wooden spoon. Most of the medicine has already been extracted from your tea. This last step is to “wash” out any remaining medicinal value from the herbs. Strain the tea into the bottle, and discard the herbs. You should now have approximately seven cups of tea. Store in the refrigerator.
COOKING VIA PRESSURE COOKER / INSTAPOT:
- SOAK the herbs before cooking them: Place raw herbs into the pressure cooker and cover them with water so it’s about 3 inches above the level of herbs. Allow the herbs to soak for 30 minutes or even overnight. If you’ve soaked them for a long time, you’ll find that they’ve absorbed water. Just add more water and proceed to step 2
- COOK / STRAIN: Program the pressure cooker for 25 minutes. Once the cooking is complete, use the natural release setting—strain decoction into your jars.
DOSAGE: Take one-half cup (four fluid ounces) of tea in the morning, and another half- cup later in the day. It’s best to take the tea on an empty stomach. Drink them room temperature or warm. Some formulas taste better at room temperature, and others might be better warmed.
NOTES: You should yield approximately 7 cups of liquid, and the tea should last at least six or seven days. We don’t recommend drinking the sediment that settles on the bottom. It’s bad per se, but there’s no value in it. You can opt to take a break for a day before making the next batch.
Some people feel noticeable improvement after only a few days, especially when there’s an acute problem. Chronic conditions might take 2-3 weeks to notice improvements in your health.
Make sure to inform your practitioner about your response to the herbs. Herb Formulas are adaptable. We modify them based on your responses.