“Looking deeply into your tea, you see that you are drinking fragrant plants that are a gift from Mother Earth.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh I quietly sip my tea, my hand wrapped around my favorite mug, savoring the warmth on a chilly late Winter. My thoughts entertaining the coming Spring, I look out the bay window, towards a scrappy leafless thorny vine nestled between two Elder trees. I smile and look down to my tea and take a sip. My tea of red raspberry leaves was harvested from that same vine nestled between the Elder trees. Three years ago, Lisa gave a small cutting from her garden of red raspberry to me. I planted her next to my beloved...
When you think of Winter, what picture comes to mind? Snowy mountain tops surrounded by a forest of pine trees Sunny beaches of the Caribbean where there isn’t a snowflake for miles A log cabin in the woods with a background of woodland critters Dull dark grey and dismal snowy mush Mountains of snow piled up to your ears Calm quiet peace of mind House projects and family time Movies, lots and lots of video games and movies Good food and good people Pure despair because nothing is green anymore Excitement and intrigue because Spring is just around the corner No matter what your vision of Winter may be, we all have good and bad experiences with the season. For...
Seasonal Transitions (Click image for video link!!!) At Prairie Star Botanicals, we like to look at life in seasons. As the seasonal transitions come and go, we will also see various transitions occur in our personal lives. Children growing up, young adults finding their way, beginning the adventure of parenthood, finally fulfilling your life-long dream, becoming a grandparent, and finally, seeing our loved ones say goodbye. Winter, our season of looking inward and reflection, rebuilding our energy reserves that have been exhausted over the year. Flowing into Spring, our season of rebirth and reanimation, letting our motivation and energy flow freely so we may implement change to create new foundations. Growing tall as a tree, our branches reach upward with...
We hope that you enjoyed our recent blog about the production of tinctures and glycerites. The Basics The standard protocol for using liquid herbal extracts is to "shake it before you take it" as we like to say around here. Tinctures (and Glycerites) will naturally settle and separate, which this is different from falling out of solution. When a Tincture settles, there may be a sludge or some goo at the bottom of the bottle that will reincorporate upon shaking the bottle. When a product falls out of solution, solid particulate will fall to the bottom of the bottle and stay solid, even after shaking vigorously. Demulcent herbs, such as Marshmallow, may take extra or prolonged shaking to...
(Click image for video link!!) One of the biggest questions we are asked is "What is a Tincture?" followed by the second biggest question "How do you make one (a Tincture)?". Well, you asked the right people because making liquid herbal extracts is our specialty! Here, at Prairie Star Botanicals, we believe that "Fresh is Best!" - this means that we believe the highest quality Tincture or Glycerite comes from using locally sourced, fresh plant materials. This being said, one must consider that only certain herbs are available fresh while others are only available from dried sources. Certain herbs, such as Rehmannia or Asian Ginseng, are preferred to be used from dried because they must first be honey-fried or infused with...
