Plant Cunning Podcast
Ep. 233: The Hot Tincture Method with Mary Blue
Published: 3 June 2026 at 11:30 Europe/London
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Episode notes
Learn more about the Plant Cunning Conference at:Plant Cunning Conference – In-Person in New York – July 24-26, 2026On this episode, Isaac and AC welcome community herbalist, author, and teacher Mary Blue to talk about the "hot tincture method" and why applying a hot water extraction can dramatically improve tincture color, aroma, taste, and effectiveness while saving plant material, storage space, and time. Mary shares her path from environmental and protest activism into herbalism, her day-to-day running an herb shop and farm, and the mentors and experiences that shaped her teaching focus on herbal actions and solvency. They discuss safety lessons learned from heating alcohol, plant-specific considerations (including mushrooms, marshmallow, comfrey, and milk thistle), glycerins and oils, and how herbalism functions as a form of activism through accessibility, community support, and sustainable practice.
02:23 Meet Mary Blue
02:55 Activism To Herbalism
04:46 Running Farmacy Herbs
06:14 Mentors And Training
08:01 Teaching Solvency Basics
09:55 Common Solvency Confusions
11:26 Accessible Teaching Methods
13:53 The "Hot Tincture Method" Explained
16:19 Why It Works Better
23:09 How Mary Blue almost burned down her apothecary
28:01 Tincture Ratios
31:24 When Not to Tincture
31:50 Comfrey Safety Debate
33:12 Liniments and Compresses
34:43 Glycerins and Pre Extraction
36:01 Heating Oils for Extraction
36:29 Classes and Farm Intensives
37:46 Hosting Herbal Events
39:25 Herbalism as Activism
40:55 Burnout to Micro Activism
47:02 Fulfillment Through Service
47:58 The Future of Herbalism
s52:55 Creativity and Community Play