Infusions& Decoctions Tea Preparation

Standard infusions
Standard tea; leaves, flowers. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 heaping teaspoon of tea or 1 tablespoon herb to 8oz water. Put a lid over it and let it steep between 5-10 minutes.
Mixed tea; leaves, flowers, barks, roots, seeds. Pour 1 cup boiling water over 1 heaping teaspoon of tea or 1 tablespoon herb to 8oz water. Put a lid over it and let it steep for at least an hour or more. You can reheat if you like it hot. Try not to over boil!
Hearty Teas; roots and barks. Pour 1 cup boiling water over a heaping teaspoon of tea or 1 tablespoon herb to 8oz water. Put a lid over it and let it sit for 4 hours to overnight. You can reheat it if you like it hot. Or another way to infuse hearty root& barks is to do a slow simmer to a boil, remove from heat, then put a lid over it and let it sit for another 10 minutes or so. *See decoctions below
Mucilaginous herbs: Marshmallow, Slippery elm, etc.. Are best as a cold infusion as to not compromise their mucilaginous integrity. Use a muslin cloth tea bag and hang closely to surface by securing string with the lid. Let it sit overnight and strain.
Stronger Medicinal Decoctions: Used when you’re dealing with more acute conditions; i.e kidney stones, U.T.I, Cleanses, etc. Use 1oz herb to 1 quart size jar. Prepare like above.
Decoction:
1.) Place 1 teaspoon to 4oz water or 1 tablespoon herb mix to 8oz water in a pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain and drink.
2.) Or you can try this recipe from Susan Weed for a longer lasting decoction.
Start with your filtered infusion and measure the liquid.
Heat the liquid until it starts to steams (long before boil)
Steam until the heat starts to rise, then turn down heat to very low.
Steam until the liquid is reduced to half to ¼ of what it was in the beginning.
Pour the decoction into a clean or sterile bottle.
Label the contents, strength, and date
Cap well and cool, then store in refridgerator.
Dosage: A simple decoction is four times as potent as an infusion. One cup (8 ounces) of infusion is equal to 1/4 cup (2 ounces) of a simple decoction. Use up to one tablespoon for an infant.
Double decocting increases the strength of the infusion by a factor of sixteen (four times four). So the dose equivalent of one 8 ounce cup is only one tablespoon (1/2 ounce). The usual infant dose is half a teaspoon of double decoction.