The answer that experienced extractors give to this question is almost always "it depends," and that is not evasion. It is the correct answer. Choosing the best solvent for making extractions is not a question with a single response. It is a function of what compounds you are targeting, what plant or fungal material you are working with, and what the finished product needs to do. 200 proof food grade alcohol is 100% ethanol. No water. No other components. That anhydrous quali
The answer that experienced extractors give to this question is almost always "it depends," and that is not evasion. It is the correct answer. Choosing the best solvent for making extractions is not a question with a single response. It is a function of what compounds you are targeting, what plant or fungal material you are working with, and what the finished product needs to do. 200 proof food grade alcohol is 100% ethanol. No water. No other components. That anhydrous quali
The mistake is almost universal among people making mushroom tinctures for the first time. They reach for standard vodka, which sits at 40% alcohol and 60% water, and they treat the choice as a minor detail. It is not a minor detail. For medicinal mushrooms specifically, the alcohol concentration is probably the most consequential variable in the entire process. Mushrooms have a structural characteristic that most plants do not. Their cell walls are built from chitin, the sam
