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By Root 933 0

as the solvent flows deftly down a firm, uniformly packed, percolator column. Now, compare that picture to a scene wherein a small group of colorfully clad people are sitting in a circle drumming, talking, and laughing amongst themselves while one of them takes a lengthy toke on a rather hastily assembled home-rolled unit. See the fire sputter and crackle unruly as it speeds down one side of the unevenly packed cylinder leaving the rest of the paper and its herbal contents, for the time being untouched. That’s the kind of movement you don’t want to see the menstruum make. Get the picture? Maybe you have to be there. But I’m confident a significant number of readers can relate to the experiences and appreciate my analogies.

The Maceration Period

1. Having made sure that a one- or more-inch layer of menstruum covers the top of the moist powder, so no air gets into the column, cover the cone with a plastic bag and secure it with a rubber band.

2. At this point, the herb is left to macerate for at least 12, but preferably 24 to 48 hours.

Percolation, the Dripping Period

1. After the period of maceration is completed, remove the plastic bag and loosen the bottle cap. Allow the menstruum, carrying with it the extractive (this is called the percolate), to drip slowly into the Mason jar(s). In fact, the volume of 900 ml will require two Mason jars. While dripping, before the accumulating tincture reaches the cap of the percolator, slowly lift the cone and set it in a second jar to continue dripping. The drip rate should be approximately 1 drop each 3 seconds (20 drops per minute). The rate of flow can be adjusted by tightening or further loosening the cap.

2. Continue to add fresh menstruum until it all drips through. This can take up to two hours and sometimes longer. The actual drip rate will depend on the constituents of the herb, the firmness of the packing, the tightness of the cap, and the nature of the menstruum used. The higher the menstruum’s alcohol content, the easier it passes through the herb.

3. When the percolation has finished, there will be approximately 900 ml of tincture in the Mason jar(s) and approximately 300 ml of menstruum remaining in the marc, to do with as you will. The first time you “do” the herb at hand, you may or may not end up with 900 ml of tincture because the “300 ml” of extra menstruum you added in Step 2, on this page, at the very beginning of this procedure may not have been an accurate estimation due to the nature of the herb and the nature (alcohol water proportion) of the menstruum. If the percolate proves to be more or less than 900 ml, so be it. It won’t be off by more than a few milliliters. Make a note and adjust the amounts the next time you do this herb. Each herb will be different.

SUMMARY

For a successful percolation, one that extracts all the constituents from the entire column of powdered herb, the dampened herb has to be packed uniformly firm (but not too firm) throughout the entire length and width of the glass column (this takes some practice and judgment) and the menstruum must be poured onto the packed powder ever so gingerly, so it will flow slowly, evenly, and regularly throughout each successive horizontal layer to the next. The menstruum must not scoot down one side of the column in a narrow trail leaving the remainder of the powder untouched, for this will result in an incomplete extraction. If this does happen (and it does!), or if you packed the column too firmly and nothing happens (in extreme circumstances, it can take up to an hour for the dripping to start, so don’t throw it out too soon), just dump everything (all the herb and all the menstruum) into a jar and simply macerate it instead (a point for maceration). You’ll end up with a fine tincture having a 1:5 (plus the extra menstruum, in this case, +300 ml) tincture strength. Or if while pouring the latter portions of menstruum into the cone, you see that the flow isn’t going well, withhold 300 ml of the menstruum; now when you dump everything into the maceration mode, you will have a 1:5 strength