Reishi for Tea and Tincture

https://www.annmariegianni.com/how-to-make-reishi-mushroom-tincture...

FOR TEA

1. Take 1-2 large Reishi slices and put them in about a quart of water on the stove. You can add other herbs too if you want; licorice root is great because it adds a sweet note to the bitterness.
2. Let the water boil for at least 15 minutes.
3. You can let it boil for a very long time, just make sure to add more water as it evaporates off. You can also do this in a crockpot on high for a few hours and it works wonderfully.
4. Strain it off and drink it when it’s cool!

TO TINCTURE
You need to extract Reishi in two different ways. It’s just so special that you need two different methods to pull out all of the bioavailable love. Traditionally, this is an alcohol extraction and a hot water extraction. I know this is a little advanced, but (at risk of being cheesy) if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right!

1. Fill a pint or a quart mason jar with broken or ground Reishi.
2. Pour 2-3 cups of the highest proof of alcohol over it that you have (whiskey or vodka is fine) and set it somewhere out of the way.
3. Let it sit for at least two weeks, shake it and give it love energy every day.
4. Strain out your tincture and set the alcohol aside – DON’T THROW IT OUT, THIS IS YOUR TINCTURE!
5. Put the Reishi mark (that’s what you have leftover from the alcohol extraction) into a pot of water and boil it. It’s like making a tea, but you want the water to evaporate off this time. I start with about a quart of water and boil it down to about a cup but it can be up to 2 cups.
6. Strain the water into the jar that you want your tincture to stay in and compost the Reishi (don’t forget to say thank you to your spent herb!).
7. When your Reishi water is cool, slowly pour the Reishi alcohol that you made into the water. Tip: Polysaccharides don’t like alcohol and they can come out of solution if you pour the water extraction into the alcohol extraction or if the overall alcohol content is higher than 40%

WHAT ARE THE SOLID FORMS IN MY TINCTURE?
If you see little solids form in your Reishi when you combine the alcohol and water that’s okay. Those little guys are the polysaccharides reacting with the alcohol. Just shake it before you use it and you’ll still get all the benefits that Reishi will give you!

You've made a tincture!
Voila! A beautiful Reishi tincture that will last forever! You can take a dropperful of this guy daily. It’s not an immediate fix to sickness because it’s not fast-acting. This is something that you take small amounts of every day and it helps you to not get sick in the first place (and it works!).

Sources:
Rogers, R. (2011). The fungal pharmacy: The complete guide to medicinal mushrooms and lichens of North America. Berkeley, Calif.: North Atlantic Books.