Ugh, it’s cold and flu season again. Which means I’m busy making all sorts of herbal home remedies to keep me and my family as healthy as possible. Whether you are already sick or are simply trying to keep your immunity strong, this Echinacea tincture is your best friend right now.
Whether you have been growing Echinacea in your garden or have seen that unmistakable purple coneflower on the bottle of every cold and flu remedy on the shelf, you may have been wondering how exactly to take Echinacea as an herb. I know I wondered that myself.
I have been to multiple herbal medicine talks that have Echinacea at the top of the list for helping folks cope with cold and flu season, whether it is to help with the symptoms when you are sick or to keep viruses from setting up camp in your body in the first place. Echinacea is said to be a powerful immune-system herb without known side effects and is considered safe for children. No wonder it’s so darn popular!
It can be hard to know exactly how to prepare and take Echinacea for health, but this Echinacea Root and Flower Tincture is simple to prepare and use.
Healing Herbal Infusions
I grow a ton of Echinacea varieties in my garden as it is one of my absolute favourite garden perennials. I recently wrote an All About Echinacea growing and care guide and showed off a ton of coneflower eye candy. This year I harvested and dried a bunch of flowers to stock up for the coming winter and get ready to learn some more on how to use it.
Then I got an advance copy of Healing Herbal Infusions: Simple and Effective Remedies for Colds, Muscle Pain, Upset Stomach, Stress, Skin Issues, and More from Colleen Codekas, and I was thrilled to see two recipes that make Echinacea super simple to prepare and take.
Healing Herbal Infusions is full of easy-to-follow instructions and beautiful photography for natural plant-based remedies. Making infusions can feel a bit daunting when you are first beginning, but this book shows you how easy it is to do at home. The recipes have a wide variety of techniques and herbal ingredients, so after you have tried them you will be off and running with your own creations in no time. Colleen has joined us today to share her Echinacea Root and Flower Tincture recipe!
Echinacea Root and Flower Tincture
by Colleen Codekas
Almost everyone these days has heard of Echinacea, as it has become a rather popular herbal remedy. Echinacea is excellent for boosting the immune system, and it has been proven to shorten the duration of colds and flus.
It’s also a gorgeous flower to grow in your garden that serves double duty: beauty in your yard and wellness in your home. This tincture is simple to make, and it uses both the root and the flower, making it even more beneficial!
Ingredients
Yield: about 1½ cups (360 ml)
- ½ cup (40 g) dried Echinacea root
- ½ cup (20 g) dried whole Echinacea flowers and/or leaves
- 1½ cups (360 ml) neutral spirits, such as vodka
Make It!
Combine the Echinacea root, flowers, and spirits in a pint-size (473 ml) jar. Cover the jar with a lid and shake to mix well. Put the jar in a cool and dark place to infuse for 4 to 6 weeks. When ready to use, strain out the herbs using a fine-mesh sieve. Store the tincture in small bottles with droppers for easy use.
Take 1 teaspoon (5 ml) 2 to 3 times per day at the first sign of a cold or flu for the most benefit. It can be taken straight or mixed into water or tea if you prefer.
For children and those wishing to avoid alcohol, use Elderberry & Echinacea Glycerite for Colds & Flus (find this on page 186 of Healing Herbal Infusions), or you can make this same tincture with vegetable glycerine instead of the neutral spirits.
Tip: it’s okay if you don’t have the Echinacea flowers or leaves to add to this recipe. The root is very medicinal on its own and is easy to locate in most places that carry dried herbs.
FAQ About Echinacea Tinctures
You can use all parts of the echinacea plant, including the flower heads, petals, leaves, and roots. In fact, the root is very medicinal on its own.
Keep them in a sealed bottle and in a cool, dark place out of direct sunlight. They should last for several years.
You can use either for a tincture, as the alcohol will pull out the active ingredients in the plant and help preserve them.
Reprinted with permission from Healing Herbal Infusions: Simple and Effective Remedies for Colds, Muscle Pain, Upset Stomach, Stress, Skin Issues, and More by Colleen Codekas, Page Street Publishing Co. 2018.
Healing Herbal Infusions contains 74 more homemade treatments, so this is just the beginning. It will be my go-to resource to support my entire family’s wellness the all-natural way.
About the Author
Colleen Codekas lives with her husband, Joel, and their son, Sawyer, in the beautiful Rogue Valley of Southern Oregon, where they have created a mini permaculture paradise. Due to her desire to live in the most natural way possible, she began studying herbs and herbal medicine nearly 20 years ago. Living and working in Yosemite National Park for 10 years, many of those spent in the high-elevation paradise of Tuolumne Meadows, solidified a yearning to be surrounded by nature on a daily basis. Learning to correctly identify wild plants, particularly those that were edible and medicinal, became a new hobby while living in the wilderness and has carried over into her more “traditional” life now. In recent years, Colleen has completed several herbalism courses through the Herbal Academy and continues to teach people what she knows through her blog Grow Forage Cook Ferment. When she isn’t busy writing for her blog or making things for her Etsy shop, Coco’s Herbals, she likes to go foraging for wild edible and medicinal plants and mushrooms. She also enjoys hiking, cooking delicious food, drinking wine, making mead, growing a ridiculous amount of herbs and flowers, and making all kinds of herbal goodness in jars.
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Echinacea Root and Flower Tincture
This echinacea tincture is perfect for cold and flu season, helping to boost your immunity.
- ½ cup dried echinacea root
- ½ cup dried whole echinacea flowers and/or leaves
- 1 ½ cups neutral spirits, such as vodka
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Combine your echinacea root, flowers, and leaves with the spirits in a pint-sized jar. Seal the jar and shake it to mix.
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Place the jar in a cool, dark place and let it infuse for 4-6 weeks.
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Once ready, strain the herbs out using a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth.
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Store tincture in a small bottle with a dropper for easy use. Take 1 tsp 2-3 times a day at the first sign of cold or flu.