Here is a video of Logan showing you how to make pine pollen tincture.
What you’ll need to do this includes:
- Mason Jars
- Pine Pollen
- Alcohol (recommended high-quality vodka that is at least 70 proof)
- Spoon or similar instrument for stirring
Optional tools include:
- Dropper Bottle
- Funnel
- Paint Cone Strainer
The process to make pine pollen tincture is actually quite simple. Pour the pine pollen into a glass jar. Then add alcohol in sufficient quality to cover it all. After that you let it sit for about two weeks.
The pine pollen and alcohol will separate. This is good as you just want the pure alcohol, as the pine pollen won’t really have anything beneficial left in it. You can use a dropper to squeeze the liquid off the top. Or you can pour it off into another jar through a strainer to separate the liquid from the powder.
By creating your own tinctures, you can save a lot of money over buying them, although it will take some work. Since the pine pollen tincture has the benefits of delivering the hormonal components even better, many people prefer this form.
I would recommend you start with a dropper-full and you can increase it from there. I personally can feel something stronger when I take pine pollen in tincture form, rather than in a powder. I’ve gone up to 6 full droppers at on time.
Pine Pollen Acetract (Tincture Alternative)
We sell more Pine Pollen Tinctures than anything else here at Lost Empire Herbs. (We do sell more Pine Pollen Powder, but it’s spread across our 50-gram bags and the 250-gram megadose versions, so less individual units of each.)
But some people do not want to take tinctures, because they’re sensitive to alcohol, such as recovering alcoholics who are trying to stay 100% alcohol-free, or others who may have concerns due to a medical condition, etc.
In our post on How to Take Tinctures, I mentioned a method that mitigates the alcohol. By squirting the tincture into boiling hot water, much of the alcohol evaporates off because at it’s boiling point it’s less than that of the water.
Well, now we offer you another alternative…the Pine Pollen Acetract.
Acetract! Unless you’re an herbalist, I’m willing to bet you’ve never heard that word before.
To get into the terminology a tincture specifically refers to an alcoholic solvent of an herb.
But there are other solvents available too. With the ever-common water, you’d be making an infusion or a decoction. Glycerin makes for a glycerite. And vinegar makes for an acetract. The root acet- being the same as what you see in acetic acid, the main acid found in vinegar of all types.
Now, the reason that alcohol is used is because it is one of the very best solvents. Vinegar works too but to a lesser degree. I figured I’d run a little experiment…
Does an acetract or vinegar tincture of Pine Pollen work as well as a normal Pine Pollen Tincture?
Does it produce the same hormonal effects?
Well, I started this acetract a while back, promptly forgot about it, but then discovered it again and filmed the pressing of it to give it a shot. Warning, if you choose to try this. The taste of vinegar is intense. It’s hard to tell if the immediate effect was the same I feel from a Pine Pollen Tincture, or if it simply was from the intensity of tasting the straight vinegar.
I’m still early in my experiment with this, so I can’t say for sure. but I’ll offer it up to anyone else to try if they’d like to avoid alcohol altogether as an option. If you have tried this or use this method, please post your results in the comments section below.
I know someone is going to ask. What type of vinegar should be used to make pine pollen tincture? What kind did I use? I’m not sure. It wasn’t on the label and I don’t remember. (This is why you should put lots of details on your labels when you’re processing your own herbs.) It’s likely either apple cider vinegar or white vinegar. And either of those are good to use.
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John Collins says
is there a benefit from consuming pine pollen tincture with alcohol vs a tincture with alcohol removed?
Logan Christopher says
The alcohol is going to help it absorb easily into the bloodstream when held sublingually. But this is likely a minor difference. How are you removing the alcohol?