• Roughly chop or just tear your lemon balm into pieces.
• Fill your quart jar with the herbs until it is full. Fill it well, but don't compress it.
• Fill your jar to the very top with the vodka.
• Tightly seal with the lid and give it a shake.
• Set it into a dark corner to macerate for the next 6-8 weeks.
• It's a good idea to shake it a few times during the first week or so, but if you forget it that's ok too.
• After 6-8 weeks, strain your tincture by placing a flowersack towel or butter muslin into a bowl, pour the tincture contents into it, grab the corners of the towel and bag up the solid contents. Then twist and squeeze this bag to extract as much of the liquid as possible.
• Toss the lemon balm leaves into the compost and pour the extract into a storage jar. An amber colored jar is ideal, but you can use a regular canning jar and keep the tincture well sealed in a dark spot, such as a cupboard. Or take an old sock and pull it over the jar to keep the light out.
• If you want to use this tincture right away, you can fill some into a dropper bottle. But don't store the tincture in it for long term. The alcohol can evaporate through the rubber top and this can ruin your tincture. So keep it in a well sealed jar instead and only use the dropper bottle for when you are actively taking the tincture. It's ok to keep in dropper bottles for several months though.

How To use Lemon Balm Tincture

• The quickest way to get a benefit from your tincture is by using it under your tongue. Just squirt a few drops or a dropperful under your tongue a few times a day and keep it there for a bit. Another way to take it is in hot or cold water, tea, or juice.
• Dosage for herbs in general is 10-30 drops 3 times a day. A dropperful contains 20 drops. You can start with a small amount to make sure you're not allergic or have adverse reactions. Increase if necessary, but often smaller doses work just as well.