Last updated on February 27, 2026
Tinctures are a cornerstone of herbal medicine, providing a simple yet powerful way to extract and deliver the benefits of various herbs.
If you need to know more about what tinctures are, see this recent article.
At the heart of tincture-making lies two different methods of creation. These determine the concentration of herb to menstruum (the solvent used). One is easier to do (the Folk Method), and the other is more precise (the Weight-to-Volume Method).
In both cases, the making of a tincture is mostly the same.
- Herbs are prepared, fresh, or dried, and put in a container.
- A menstruum, such as alcohol or other solvents, is used to fill this container.
- This maceration (which is the name for the herbs in the menstruum) is left to sit for four or more weeks.
- This maceration is shaken regularly, ideally each day.
- The maceration is pressed to separate out the tincture from the marc. The marc is discarded while the tincture is ready for bottling and use.
For a more detailed breakdown of this process see How to Make Herbal Tinctures.
For the purposes of this article, the details on how much herb and how much menstruum as mentioned in steps one and two are covered in detail.
Folk Method of Herbal Tincture Making
The folk method is a traditional, intuitive approach to tincture-making. It involves loosely filling a jar with fresh or dried herbs and covering them completely with a solvent such as 80-100 proof vodka.
Some general guidelines are:
- To fill the liquid up to over two fingers width over the material.
- Or some say four fingers.
- Or some say pack as much herb as you can in the jar as long as you can fill it to cover all the herbal material.
As you can see, while this method is simple and accessible, it lacks precision. Potency can vary depending on the type and quantity of herbs used and the amount of the solvent.
Despite its variability, the folk method remains popular. The fact is most herbs that are used are quite safe and accuracy isn’t always needed. Besides, it is an excellent starting point for beginners.
Personally, I’ve used this method quite successfully for many years and much of what we do at Lost Empire Herbs was started this way.
Weight-to-Volume Method of Herbal Tincture Making
The weight-to-volume method offers greater accuracy and consistency, making it the preferred choice for professional or therapeutic applications. This approach involves weighing the herbs (fresh or dried) and measuring the menstruum.
Specifically the ratio is shown as “herb in grams to menstruum in milliliters” represented shorthand with numbers of “g:mL”. This will give a specific ratio. For example, 100 grams of dried herb would be combined with 400 or 500 milliliters of menstruum, to equal 1:4 or 1:5 respectively.
(Some people describe this as an ounce-to-fluid ounce. These measurements are approximately equal to g:mL but slightly different. To break this down, one ounce of herb weighs about 28.3495 grams, and one fluid ounce of menstruum measures about 29.5735 milliliters. Therefore the ratio would be equal to 1:1.04 when normalized to the 1 gram to 1 mL standard. That is pretty close.)
Typically whole numbers are used, but decimals can also be used. For instance, 1:4.5 would mean 4.5 mL of menstruum per 1 gram of herb.
This method ensures reproducible results and reliable dosing. (Though still there will be differences in strength due to the growing and or drying conditions of the herb.) This precise method is especially important when working with potent or less common herbs where exact dosing is critical.
Confusing Ratios?
Confusion arises elsewhere. I saw even a popular herbalist say the tincture ratio was pounds to gallons of menstruum for a 1:1 extraction. This yields an extremely different ratio than grams to milliliters. One pound and one gallon are equal to 454 grams to 3785 mL which yields a ratio, in the correct format of roughly 1:8.33. That’s a massive difference.
Part of the confusion may stem from how powdered extract ratios are represented. With a powdered extract, a 10:1 extract is said to be ten units of raw material for one unit of final material. With powders, you’ll see the larger number on the front of the ratio (like 10:1 or 20:1), while in tinctures the larger number will be in the back (1:4 or 1:5).
For the powdered ratio, the larger number means a stronger extract. By that, I mean that if 10:1 is good then surely 20:1 is stronger. Unfortunately, especially in the powdered extract space, there can be a lot of puffery. It’s not necessarily true because there are shady dealers in the supplement space. I’ve tasted and felt more potent extracts of 100:1 Tongkat Ali extracts than ones marketed as 200:1 or 250:1 even.
For the tincture ratio, the larger number means a weaker tincture. 1:10 is half as strong as 1:5, for instance. 1:2 is twice as strong as 1:4.
So some confusion will likely come from these different ways tinctures and powdered extracts are prepared.
Super Strong Tinctures?
Most herbs are going to make tinctures in the 1:2 to 1:8 range. This is a natural range that most folk tinctures would fall into.
For those that want even more potency packed in each drop, there are methods to make things stronger such as 1:1 with even dried herbs.
To do this would typically involve using several batches of herbs. By that I mean a tincture is made, pressed out, and then new herbs are added to it to allow the extraction to go again.
Again, there is puffery involved in this space too. Just because someone says a 1:1 tincture doesn’t necessarily mean they’re referring to it in this way.
I believe many people are making some mistake when they say they have 1:1 tincture extracts. In most cases, if done in g:mL the liquid wouldn’t even cover half of the herb for a true 1:1 extract!
Common Mistakes When Calculating Tincture Ratios
Confusing Weight and Volume: Many beginners mistakenly interchange weight and volume measurements, leading to incorrect ratios. It is essential to weigh herbs and measure liquids accurately to maintain the desired concentration.
Inaccurate Measurements for Fresh vs. Dried Herbs: Fresh herbs contain more water, which dilutes the menstruum. Adjustments in ratios (e.g., using a 1:2 ratio for fresh herbs instead of 1:5 for dried herbs) are necessary to account for this difference. Therefore, it is best to share if fresh or dried herbs are used along with the ratio. How the herb is dried will matter too. Air-dried will be different in potency to freeze-dried for instance.
Over- or Under-Filling Jars: Leaving too much air or over-packing jars can affect extraction. Ensure the herbs are fully submerged in the menstruum for optimal results.
Using Weight to Weight: If someone packed a quart jar full of herbs and then filled it with liquid they might call this a 1:1 tincture in the sense that it is volume to volume. But this is misleading compared to the grams to milliliters ratio listed above.
Tincture Ratios at Lost Empire Herbs
At Lost Empire Herbs we have often used the folk method. As mentioned it is the easy way to start out. As all the herbs we work with are safe for use, there is no risk in this method.
However, we are aiming to be more accurate in our sharing. While we’ve had some tincture ratios on the herb pages, not every one of the products does. Soon, every tincture will have tincture ratios posted on the page but we need to round these up from suppliers. This includes even the VIP private reserve items.
For now, here are the ratios of some of our tinctures, with more to follow.
- Pine Pollen Tincture – Dried Herb 1:4.64
- Stag Swag Tincture – Dried Herb 1:2.42
- Elk Antler Spagyric Tincture – Dried Herb 1:3.33
- He Shou Wu Spagyric Tincture – Dried Herb 1:2
- Cistanche Spagyric Tincture – Dried Herb 1:2
- Tongkat Ali Spagyric Tincture – Dried Herb 1:3
- Black Ant Spagyric Tincture – Dried Herb 1:2
- Mushroom Alchemy Spagyric Tincture – Dried Herb 1:3
- Mushroom Brain Spagyric Tincture – Dried Herb 1:3
- Goji & Schisandra Tincture – Dried Herb 1:1.89
As I said, a lot of ours started with folk methods, packing as much herb in as could feasibly work. (Strong tinctures are one reason people like our stuff.) Thus with the folk method to start most of the ratios are whole numbers.
To see all the tinctures available at Lost Empire Herbs go here.
For more information on tinctures and extracts see these articles and videos:
