But First, The Tincture.
I was lucky enough to get my hands on a full pound of fresh valerian root from Bluestem Botanicals over the summer. My husband and I drove out to the farm and got a quick tour from Linda, one of the owners. The roots were wrapped in brown paper, so we left them in the car while we went and saw a movie. Fresh roots are nothing like the dried root in terms of smell, so I really didn’t think it would be a problem. When we got back in the car that evening, there was a definite odor, but not like a sweaty locker room. It was a bit on the sweeter side of valerian and actually not offensive.
When we arrived home, I put the bag in the refrigerator, as I wouldn’t be able to get to the roots right away. A few days later, I decided to tincture the root, but also make a cup of tea to see how valerian and I got along. Valerian is a relaxing nervine, so I wanted to make the tea at the end of my day. I set up a space for myself where I would not be disturbed and would have the time to journal my experience in my Herbal Tea Experience Journal without distraction.
When I opened the bag of roots, they were a clump of good sized roots tangled up together. I took out a large carving knife and began to cut them into smaller pieces. I set aside about a tablespoon (TBSP) worth of root to make tea, then put all the roots into a large glass jar.
When I saw how much space the roots took up, I knew the root:vodka ratio was not going to work with the roots as they were. I removed the roots from the jar and decided to blend them with the 100 proof vodka – literally blend them.
I did it in batches to not clog up my blender, putting handfuls of root into the blender with parts of the measured vodka, then pulse on low. Keeping this up, I managed to get all the root into the vodka with even better exposure to all the plant material. It turned out pretty good I think, but time will tell for sure.
On To The Tea.
As I mentioned, I chopped up about 1 TBSP worth of root to make a tea – a decoction to be precise. Usually, you would make a decoction by placing room temperature water in a small pot, adding the roots, then bringing the water just up to a boil before cutting the heat and letting it simmer for 20-30 minutes. Valerian is very aromatic, so bringing it to a boil first would release all the beneficial volatile oils into the air. What a loss!
I decided to do things a bit different to preserve the oils into my cup. I added 9 ounces of water, factoring about an ounce of loss through evaporation. Then, before adding anything, I brought the water to a boil. Once it was bubbling, I turned the heat down to a simmer and added the fresh valerian root, simmering it for the allotted 20-30 minutes. After adding the roots to the pot and giving it a good stir, I covered the pot with a lid for the simmering process, only uncovering twice to give it a quick stir.
I let the tea rest for a few minutes so it would cool down enough to not burn my mouth. When I took my first sip, it tasted a bit bitter and pretty scratchy on the back of my throat. It was definitly earthy in its flavor profile. The taste was okay… at first. Some people swear by valerian tea, but as I continued to drink the 8 ounces, it became more and more challenging for me from a flavor perspective.
I was really looking forward to the “relaxing nervine” aspects to take effect and at first, I did feel my body seem to sigh and let go a bit. But then, I felt pressure building around my sinuses and started to get a bit of a headache.
About 15 minutes into drinking the tea, my whole body started to heat up as if I were having a hot flash. The internal heat lasted about 15 minutes, then started to subside. I decided to go to bed and take advantage of the relaxation that was supposed to happen. I went upstairs about 9:30 PM to a nice cool and dark bedroom, shut off any electronic distractions, and focused on relaxing.
It’s 10:30 PM, about an hour after drinking the tea and my legs are soooo restless! I am WIDE awake 😳. I think I am one of those people for whom valerian is NOT recommended. UGH!
I was stuffy and stimulated all night long – got about 2 hours of sleep. It’s so interesting because when I give valerian tea or tincture to my mother, it really relaxes her and helps her fall asleep. This is why herbalists work to support the person and not the symptoms. We are all different.
