Five methods of taking a plant apart and putting it back together. Each one draws out a different chemistry — water-soluble polysaccharides, alcohol-soluble alkaloids, fat-soluble resins, mineral salts after calcination, hydrosols from steam. This page is the alchemy side of the work: solvents, ratios, time, vessels.
The synergistics side — how the finished extracts combine into a formula — lives at /mixology. Build a formula there, then come back here to know how each constituent is actually made.
Written after a successful batch. For members — tap a plant to see its notes above.
⚗ Optimal ethanol targets · every botanical in the materia medica
Each botanical has an ideal solvent window. "Dual" = double extraction required (water + alcohol separately). Values in italic are read from the herb’s own record rather than our bench table. The search above filters it.
Hot water pulls the beta-glucans (immune polysaccharides); alcohol captures the triterpenes (adaptogenic, anti-inflammatory). No single solvent gets both. Essential for Reishi, Chaga, Turkey Tail, Maitake — skip one step and you lose half the medicine.
Ratio
1:1 decoction to extract
Final alcohol
25–30%
Total time
4–8 weeks
Process
1
Grind or break mushroom into small pieces. Decoct in 20× water weight for 2–4 hours on low simmer. Do not boil hard — denatures some beta-glucans.
2
Cool completely. Strain the decoction through muslin. Press marc firmly — all liquid is medicine.
3
Separately, percolate a fresh portion of mushroom in 95% ethanol at 1:3 — moisten 12–24 h, pack the column, settle 24 h, then a slow drip (two to three days, not weeks). Press the marc.
4
Combine decoction and extract 1:1 by volume. Final product is ~25–30% alcohol. Label with mushroom species, date, method, and batch weight.
Advanced: concentrated version
↑
Reduce the decoction to 5× concentration before combining. Result is a 4:1 or 8:1 equivalent extract. Preserve in violet glass. Dilute 1:4 before use or dose in drops.
The simplest way in: plant, alcohol, a jar and time. Ethanol draws out both water- and alcohol-soluble constituents in one pass: alkaloids, glycosides, resins, tannins, volatile oils. Slower and weaker than percolation, but nothing to buy. Our own alcohol extracts are percolated (see the Percolator); this is where to start before building one.
Ratio
1:3 plant to solvent · our standard, fresh or dried
Dried, thirsty herb
Press it down and keep it covered; top up only as much as it drinks
Time
2–6 weeks
Alcohol %
40–60% (low-volatile) 70–95% (resins, alkaloids)
Dose
1–3 ml in water, 2–3×/day
Process
1
Chop or coarsely grind dried herb (or use fresh herb — reduce solvent slightly). Fill jar to ⅓–½ full.
2
Cover completely with appropriate alcohol percentage. Leave 2cm above herb level. Cap tightly. Label date and herb.
3
Macerate 2–6 weeks in a cool, dark place. Shake or invert daily to prevent settlement and maximize extraction surface.
4
Strain through muslin. Press marc firmly using a wine press or straining cloth. Bottle in violet glass. Label species, ratio, alcohol %, harvest date.
Long simmering to break open tough cellular structure — lignified roots, dense bark, hard mushroom fruiting bodies. Water extracts polysaccharides and water-soluble constituents that alcohol cannot reach in a cold maceration.
Ratio
1:20 plant to water
Reduce to
1/3 of original volume
Time
45–120 min active
Process
1
Cold soak herb in water 20–30 min. This swells the plant material and pre-extracts some constituents.
2
Bring to a very gentle simmer (not rolling boil). Cover with lid to retain volatile constituents.
3
Simmer 45–120 min, reducing volume by ⅓. Add water periodically to maintain level if needed.
4
Strain immediately while hot — polysaccharides gel on cooling, making straining difficult. Press marc firmly.
5
Drink fresh (1–2 days). Or reduce further to a thick syrup/paste and preserve with honey. Add 20% alcohol to extend shelf life to 6+ months.
Ideal for
Reishi (step 1 of double extract)Astragalus rootPau d'Arco barkBurdock rootTurmeric rootGinger rootHawthorn berryLicorice rootRed DatesYellow Dock
Paracelsus · 16th century · three principles
Spagyric
Separate, purify, recombine. The plant is split into its three philosophical principles — Sulfur (essence, ethanol extract), Mercury (spirit, distilled alcohol), Salt (body, calcined ash) — then reunited into a potentised whole. The resulting extract contains the full plant intelligence including mineral salts not present in standard extracts.
Ratio
1:3 plant to solvent · our standard
Time
6–12 weeks total
Complexity
Advanced
Process (planetary method)
1
Percolate the plant in 40–50% ethanol at 1:3 — moisten, pack, settle 24 h, slow drip (days, not weeks). This is the Sulfur extraction. Press the marc.
2
Strain and press. Set the liquid aside. This is your base extract.
3
Calcine the pressed marc (plant body). Burn in a ceramic dish until grey ash. Repeat burn until white. This is the Salt — mineral matrix of the plant.
4
Dissolve the white ash (Salt) back into the extract (Sulfur). Cap and let integrate 2 weeks, shaking daily.
5
Filter through fine paper. The Mercury (distilled spirit) can optionally be re-added. Bottle in violet glass. Dose in drops (3–7 drops under tongue).
Essential oils, resins, fat-soluble vitamins, and lipophilic compounds require a lipid carrier. Ethanol and water cannot pull these out effectively. Slow oil infusion at low heat captures volatile aromatics and fat-soluble medicine. Used for topical preparations, culinary extracts, and a carrier for fat-soluble adaptogens.
Ratio
1:8 plant to oil
Temperature
55–65°C (low)
Time
4–8 hours active, or cold 4–6 weeks
Process (warm method)
1
Dry plant material thoroughly before use. Any moisture causes mould in oil. Use completely dried herb — or dehydrate at 40°C for 12h first.
2
Pack herb into a heat-safe vessel. Cover with olive oil, MCT, or sunflower oil (choose by intended use). Leave 2cm oil above herb.
3
Hold at 55–65°C in a water bath or slow cooker on lowest setting. 4–8 hours. Do not exceed 70°C — volatiles evaporate and oil oxidises.
4
Strain through fine muslin while warm. Press marc. Store in violet glass in a cool, dark place. Add vitamin E (1% by volume) as natural preservative.
Cold percolation · high efficiency · continuous flow
Percolator
Continuous-flow cold extraction through a packed herb column. Solvent drips slowly through the plant material, extracting as it passes, and fresh solvent constantly contacts the herb — creating a concentration gradient that pulls constituents out far more efficiently than static maceration. No shaking required. Produces a stronger, cleaner extract in less time.
Ratio
1:3 plant to solvent · our standard
Time
12–48 hours continuous
Alcohol %
40–70% (matched to constituents)
Advantage vs extract
3–5× stronger extraction; no pressing; cleaner separation
Equipment
◎
Glass percolation cone or cylinder with stopcock at bottom. Cotton or filter paper at the base to retain plant material. Reservoir funnel or dropper bottle at top for solvent. Receiving vessel below.
Process
1
Dampen the herb for 12–24 hours with a small amount of the extraction solvent — long enough for the plant material to fully swell and the cell walls to soften. Skip this step and you get air pockets, channelling, and a weaker extract. The dampened material should be uniformly moist but not dripping.
2
Pack the dampened herb into the percolator column firmly but not too tight. Too loose = channelling. Too tight = no flow. Use a tamper.
3
Close the stopcock. Add solvent to the top — enough to fully cover herb plus 2–3cm above. Let soak (macerate) further for at least 24 hours after dampening — this pre-extraction maximises yield.
4
Open the stopcock to a slow drip (1–2 drops per second). Simultaneously add fresh solvent from the top at the same rate to maintain constant level. Collect the extract below.
5
Continue until 3× the herb weight in solvent has passed through (our 1:3 standard). The extract darkens initially then lightens as exhaustion approaches. Stop when nearly colourless.
6
Optionally: reduce under low heat (below 40°C) or vacuum to concentrate. Bottle in violet glass. Label with ratio, solvent %, herb, date, and batch weight.
Advanced: bi-solvent percolation
↑
Run water-based solvent first to extract polysaccharides, then alcohol-based to extract alkaloids and resins. Combine extracts at the end. Equivalent to double extraction but with percolation efficiency — particularly powerful for reishi, astragalus, and dense roots.
Ideal for dense-constituent herbs
All dense roots (Ashwagandha, Ginseng, Burdock)Bark (Pau d'Arco, Bayberry)Medicinal fungiHigh-value herbs (Saffron, Blue Lotus)Any herb where maximum yield matters
Choosing your method.
Medicinal Fungi
Always Double Extraction. Hot water extracts beta-glucans; alcohol extracts triterpenes. You need both. Lion's Mane needs its mycelium too — the erinacines, the brain compounds, are made in the mycelium, not the fruit body; they go into the alcohol side.
Hard roots & bark
Decoction for primary water-soluble constituents. Extract for alkaloids, glycosides, and fat-soluble compounds. Often best to do both and combine.
Flowers & leaves
Percolation at 40–60% alcohol. A cold, slow drip keeps the delicate aromatic and volatile constituents. Or cold-water infusion (tea) for purely water-soluble actives.
Resins & lipophilic herbs
Oleoresin / oil infusion. Or dissolve resin in high-proof alcohol (95%) then dilute with water to 40%. Shilajit, propolis, and most resins work this way.
Consciousness herbs
Cold extract (50–70% ethanol for most alkaloids). Spagyric if you want the full mineral matrix. Respect dosage — most consciousness herbs are drop-dose, not ml-dose.
Aromatic culinary
Oleoresin or strong extract (70%+ alcohol) for preserved aromatics. Glycerite (vegetable glycerin) as an alcohol-free alternative for food use.
Complete plant intelligence
Spagyric. Labour-intensive but the most complete extraction — includes plant salts not captured by standard solvents. 6–12 weeks. Used in the Fungai Art spagyric elixir line.
Maximum yield · efficiency
Percolator. When you need the strongest possible extract from expensive or dense material, or want to process larger batches efficiently. 3–5× more efficient than static maceration. Also excellent for standardising extracts across batches.
▲ High-caution plants — professional guidance required
Kratom, Kava Kava, Amanita muscaria, Calamus, Lobelia, Ephedra, Wormwood, Rhubarb Root, Senna, Mugwort, Black Walnut, Calea Zacatechichi. Never extract or combine high-caution plants without direct clinical or traditional knowledge. These require specific dosing windows, preparation methods, and contraindication screening. Not for casual home use.
✦ Alchemy terminology · the alchemist’s lexicon
Six words every extraction protocol leans on, in plain language.
94 more terms — cohobation, lixiviation, decarboxylation, nigredo… — are in the members’ lexicon. Sign in or join — membership is free →