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Can You Make Your Own CBD Tincture?
Tinctures are one of the most effective and efficient methods for dosing CBD or cannabis on a regular basis. This is because the ingredients included in CBD tinctures are limited and the ratio of concentrated CBD is high in comparison to other CBD products. If you have any dietary restrictions, then CBD tinctures will be easier for you to take than your average CBD edible. And if you are a medical patient looking for the purest and most effective form of CBD, then tinctures can be the perfect solution. Many regular CBD users have transitioned to using tinctures over any other type of CBD product because it is easy to dose consistently and discreet to take.
If you use a CBD tincture on a regular basis then you will already know the advantages of taking them. But you may not know that CBD tinctures are a lot easier to make than you might think. If CBD tinctures are part of your daily routine, then you may want to investigate making your own custom CBD tincture to fit your specific needs. All it takes is some simple ingredients and a whole lot of patience.
What is a CBD Tincture?
Let’s start with the basics though. A cannabis tincture is simply an alcohol-based hemp extract. That basically means that a CBD tincture is hemp-infused alcohol. Tinctures in various forms have existed for ages and were used as medicine back in the day. A tincture can be made with almost any type of plant, but the plants with medicinal qualities are normally used as the base of natural tinctures. When created with hemp, tinctures are a great alternative to smoking or vaping dry herb, which can still provide you with the healing benefits of CBD.
What is in a CBD Tincture?
To make a simple CBD tincture, you only need two ingredients. One of those ingredients is dry herb, of course, but the other ingredient has two options. You can either mix hemp with a base of alcohol or glycerin, to extract the CBD and create a tincture. Which base you choose to use as an extracting agent however is up to your personal preference.
An alcohol-based CBD tincture should be made with high-proof, food-grade alcohol. Isopropyl alcohol should only be used for cleaning your pipe or bong and should never be consumed or used to make a CBD tincture. Instead, you should opt for a high-proof alcohol like Everclear that is safe to consume, despite being arguably harsh to drink on its own. The higher the alcohol content the better though, since it will dissolve the CBD-rich resin found in hemp dry herb.
If you prefer to make a CBD tincture without any alcohol however, the alternative ingredient you can use is glycerin. Glycerin is simply a plant-based oil and will extract CBD from the hemp in a similar fashion to making CBD-infused butter eaten with different kinds of foods like snacks. However, many have found that glycerin is not nearly as effective as food-grade alcohol when it comes to bonding with CBD compounds. That means that if you use glycerin as a base for your CBD tincture it might turn out less potent than if you were to use alcohol instead. But you can always just increase the ratio of dry herb you put in your homemade tincture in order to compensate for this.
How Do You Make A CBD Tincture At Home?
Once you’ve decided on your tincture’s base of either food-grade alcohol or glycerin, you will need just a few other supplies. The full list includes:
- CBD-Heavy Dry Herb
- Food-Grade Alcohol or Glycerin
- Glass Jar
- Coffee Filter or Cheesecloth
- Herb Grinder
That’s it -- five items is all it takes to make a homemade CBD tincture. The whole process to create a CBD tincture is simple, not messy, and requires no special skills. In fact, it’s even easier to make a CBD tincture than CBD-infused butter, especially if you don’t have a full kitchen.
The First Step
The first step in making a CBD tincture is to decarb your dry herb, in order to activate the CBD compounds. Although decarboxylating your herb sounds complicated, it’s quite simple. De-carbing involves applying heat to dry herb in a controlled fashion. To do this, preheat an oven to 240 degrees Fahrenheit and grind up some CBD-heavy dry herb with an herb grinder. You can also use a coffee grinder if you’re working with a lot of hemp but be sure to clean all the traces of coffee out first. Take your ground up herb and spread it evenly across a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Then place the sheet of herb in the oven for about 40 minutes to an hour. You want to see the herb go from green to golden brown, and then remove the tray and allow it to cool for about 20 minutes.
Take your de-carbed herb and add it to the base of either alcohol or glycerin in the glass jar. To eyeball this, you can fill the jar two-thirds of the way with dry herb and the rest of the way with alcohol or glycerin. You want to be sure to use a jar with an airtight sealing lid, such as a mason jar. Seal the jar with the lid and give it a good shake to thoroughly mix the contents. Then place the jar in a cool, dark location such as a basement and wait.
Patience for the Extract
It will take three to four weeks for your homemade tincture to extract the CBD from the dry herb. You should check on it daily though to give it a shake and keep the contents well mixed. After enough time has passed, you can take your tincture and strain it through either a paper coffee filter or cheesecloth suspended over another jar. This straining process will separate the CBD-infused tincture from the remaining hemp plant matter. You can then transfer your strained tincture to a glass bottle with a measuring dropper, so that you can measure out a consistent dose of tincture. Be sure to label your tincture bottle with the date it was made, and the ingredients included, and continue to store it in a cool, dark place.
The process of making your own CBD tincture is simple and just takes a bit of time. But the wait can be rewarding, especially if you create multiple batches of tinctures at once. If stored properly, a CBD tincture with a high-proof alcohol base can last for a few years. Be sure to make note of the ratios and ingredients you prefer when making CBD tinctures so that you can consistently make the perfect CBD tincture to fit your needs and preferences!
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