Herbal Infusions and Decoctions:
How to Prepare Them So They Actually Work

Preparing herbal infusions and decoctions often looks deceptively simple. Pour water over herbs, wait, drink. And then people say, “It didn’t do anything for me.”
Usually, the problem isn’t the plant. It’s how it was prepared.

Herbs are not complicated, but they do respond to care and basic understanding.

The basic rule is straightforward:
1 part plant material to 10–20 parts water.

That means:

• 10 g of herbs to 100–200 ml of water is a solid working ratio.

Plant material is measured by weight, water by volume.
If you’re not working with potent or toxic plants, you don’t need laboratory precision.

A practical kitchen guide:

• 1 teaspoon of crushed herbs ≈ 5 g
• 1 dessert spoon ≈ 10 g
• 1 tablespoon (level) ≈ 15 g
• 1 tablespoon (heaped) ≈ 20 g

Perfect accuracy won’t make the remedy stronger. It will only make you more anxious.

Different parts of plants release their properties differently.
Infusions are made from softer parts:

• leaves
• flowers
• aerial parts (herbs)
• soft roots, fruits, or bark if finely chopped

Decoctions are used for dense, tough materials:

• roots
• rhizomes
• tubers
• bark
• hard fruits

The logic is simple: soft tissues give up their compounds easily. Dense ones need heat and time.

Infusions and decoctions are best prepared in enameled or porcelain cookware, using a water bath.

Before starting, rinse the container with boiling water:

• if the runoff is clean, you’re good to go
• if not, rinse again

If the plant material is very dirty, especially roots, rinse it first in cold water and then scald with boiling water. Natural doesn’t mean unwashed.

1. Pour boiled water cooled to room temperature over the plant material.
2. Heat on a boiling water bath for 15 minutes, stirring gently.
3. Cool:

• delicate plants at room temperature
• tougher materials wrapped in a towel for slower cooling and fuller extraction

1. Strain and press the plant material.
2. Add boiled water to restore the original volume.

If you started with 200 ml of water, you should end up with 200 ml of infusion, not “approximately.”

For everyday use, a thermos works well:

• tough materials: steep for 4–6 hours
• delicate plants (flowers, aromatic herbs) often don’t need heating at all

Sometimes pouring boiling water over the herbs and letting them cool naturally is enough.

Decoctions follow the same steps as infusions, with one key difference:

• heat on the water bath for 20–30 minutes

Dense plant parts need patience. Rushing them doesn’t help.

Prepared infusions and decoctions should be stored:

• no longer than 48 hours, in the refrigerator

Before use, warm the drink in a water bath to body temperature, about 37°C (98.6°F).
A standard single dose for an adult is 80–85 ml.
Not a full glass “just in case,” and definitely not a liter “for detox.”

Herbal infusions and decoctions aren’t mystical rituals. They’re a practice of attentiveness. When you understand what you’re preparing, respect proportions, and don’t rush the process, plants work exactly as nature intended.