Episode
Ep. 233: The Hot Tincture Method with Mary Blue
- Podcast
- Plant Cunning Podcast
- Published
- Jun 3, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3313
- Processing state
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Summary
Learn more about the Plant Cunning Conference at: Plant Cunning Conference – In-Person in New York – July 24-26, 2026 On this episode, Isaac and AC welcome community herbalist, author, and teacher Mary Blue to talk about the "hot tincture method" and why applying a hot water extraction can dramatically improve tincture color, aroma, taste, and effectiveness while saving plant material, storage space, and time. Mary shares her path from environmental and protest activism into herbalism, her day-to-day running an herb shop and farm, and the mentors and experiences that shaped her teaching focus on herbal actions and solvency. They discuss safety lessons learned from heating alcohol, plant-specific considerations (including mushrooms, marshmallow, comfrey, and milk thistle), glycerins and oils, and how herbalism functions as a form of activism through accessibility, community support, and sustainable practice. 02:23 Meet Mary Blue 02:55 Activism To Herbalism 04:46 Running Farmacy Herbs 06:14 Mentors And Training 08:01 Teaching Solvency Basics 09:55 Common Solvency Confusions 11:26 Accessible Teaching Methods 13:53 The "Hot Tincture Method" Explained 16:19 Why It Works Better 23:09 How Mary Blue almost burned down her apothecary 28:01 Tincture Ratios 31:24 When Not to Tincture 31:50 Comfrey Safety Debate 33:12 Liniments and Compresses 34:43 Glycerins and Pre Extraction 36:01 Heating Oils for Extraction 36:29 Classes and Farm Intensives 37:46 Hosting Herbal Events 39:25 Herbalism as Activism 40:55 Burnout to Micro Activism 47:02 Fulfillment Through Service 47:58 The Future of Herbalism s52:55 Creativity and Community Play