DIY your own nourishing herbal infusions

Many people want to incorporate herbal infusions into their life but feel intimidated by the processes of weighing out herbs and making infusions themselves. I'm here to tell you that this is a very easy process. In fact it's very much like making tea or coffee, which many people do everyday.

What's the difference between herbal tea and an herbal infusion?

An herbal tea is a small amount of herb and only steeps for a few minutes. An herbal infusion uses more herbal plant matter and steps for a longer period of time 4-10 hours.

How do I make an herbal infusion?

What you'll need:

1 quart sized mason jar

A strainer or tea infuser

1 ounce or (about)1 cup of loose herbs

Boiling water

Directions:

1.) Take a scale and weigh out an ounce of herbs. If you don't have a scale, you can use a measuring cup. It's about a cup depending on the weight of the herbs. The important thing here is that you don't have to have a sophisticated kitchen tool to make these infusions.

2.) Add loose leaf herbs to a tea infuser, tea ball, fine mesh strainer, cheesecloth or coffee press. Put herbs into the mason jar. Pour boiling water over the herbs in the mason jar.

3.) Let it steep. Let steep for 4-10 hours (at least 4 hours but this can steep for more). The herbs are infusing with the water during this time. Let them.

*Note: the water is going to be very hot. Just leave the infusion in a place it won't be disturbed. Be careful with the jar it will be very hot and could break.

4.) Don't forget to compost your herbs after they're done infusing.

5.) Enjoy. There are a few ways of doing this. You can drink the whole infusion when it's done steeping, which is like getting a boost of vitamins. Alternatively, you can store it in the refrigerator and enjoy it over a few days.