Tincturing by Percolation

A short course on fast, reliable, high-quality herbal tincture-making

Taught by Dave Meesters • Go at your own pace • Quarterly live Q&A

Percolation Changes Everything

Percolation is a time-tested method of tincture-making that is often overlooked in mainstream herbal practice, even though it produces tinctures that are stronger, more stable, and more consistent than macerations—all in about 48 hours.

Once you start percolating, you won’t want to stop.

In this course, you’ll learn:

• How percolation actually works (and why it works so well)

• When percolation is the right tool—and when it isn’t

• How to set up a home percolation workflow that’s simple, repeatable, and low-stress

• How to reliably make tinctures that don’t take six weeks to finish, don’t need to be shaken, and don’t need to be strained! Is it hard to shake your tinctures every day? If so, consider percolation.

Percolation is a foundational medicine-making skill that radically improves, speed, quality, and versatility.

What you’ll get

The goal of this course is to familiarize you with the full process of making herbal tinctures using the percolation method—from first principles to hands-on practice.

You’ll learn:

• How percolation works, step by step

• Why it’s such a powerful (and underused) method

• How to percolate tinctures at home with confidence

• How to troubleshoot common problems and avoid subtle mistakes

• How to think about important technicalities such as menstruum strength, particle size, and flow rate

You’ll also receive:

• An extensive materials list, including where to source everything you need, from corks & valves to grinders and sifters

• Instructions for fabricating functional percolation cones from empty glass bottles

• Clear demonstrations of the entire percolation process

Bonus material: Special Preparations You Can’t Make Any Other Way

In addition to standard percolation, the course includes:

• Examples of rare and powerful percolated preparations you won’t find in most herbal books: Herbal syrups using percolation; Double-extracts that use percolation to produce extracts that preserve both alcohol- and water-soluble constituents.

• A full lesson on making extra-concentrated 1:1 tinctures (fluidextracts)—which require percolation to achieve

Membership in Terra Sylva’s online community

Included with the course is membership in The Grove, Terra Sylva’s online community for students, graduates, and teachers. The Grove is a space for discussing and connecting about all aspects of herbalism, supporting each other, learning from each other, and sharing resources. Become part of the community!