Why Liquid Herbal Extracts?

What is a liquid herbal extract?

Put simply, liquid herbal extracts are a type of herbal supplement. With a liquid herbal extracts, different types of liquid are used to extract beneficial compounds from herbs. In our liquid herbal extracts, we primarily use alcohol, distilled water, and/or vegetable glycerin.

Before they’re added to the menstruum (that's the soaking liquid), herbs are typically ground or finely chopped to extract more of those beneficial compounds. After the extraction process is complete, the spent herb(s) get filtered out. Then the liquid gets bottled on its own or with other extracts. What’s left is a liquid herbal extract!

The alcohol used in our products is the same ethanol produced by fermentation that you find in beer and wine. Alcohol is an excellent solvent for many phytochemicals, especially those that have limited solubility in water. It is also an excellent preservative, so the liquid herbal extracts can last several years. Read more about the science behind making liquid herbal extracts.

How do we make liquid herbal extracts?

There’s beauty – and efficacy – in the simplicity of liquids. We tend and harvest each herb at its peak, when nature tells us the plant is ready. From there, we mill the herbs into smaller pieces. This allows us to extract more of the beneficial compounds from the herbs. Smaller pieces make it easier for the liquid to soak in and do its work! The herbs get combined with a menstruum, then we soak and stir the mixture. Depending on the herb, this can take two or three weeks. It’s a simple but precise process.

We primarily use Certified Organic cane alcohol and/or palm-free vegetable glycerin, along with distilled water, depending on the herb and final formula. The herb mixture is ready when it reaches a perfectly balanced state, where the liquid inside the herb is the same concentration as the liquid outside the herb. From there, we strain, press and filter.

For formulas that contain multiple herbs, we blend each individually extracted ingredient using expertly chosen, proprietary ratios. Along the way, from farm to shelf, we test the plants and our products. Our intense quality assurance process focuses on herbal identity, purity, strength and composition, limits on contaminants, traceability and good manufacturing practices.

The leftover plant matter (called "marc") isn't just thrown away, it's composted on our farm. It's truly a full-circle moment, as the marc helps to grow next year's crops.