When I make a fresh herb tincture following Kerry Adams' instructions from our 2 year program (2018-2020,) I usually end up with something that looks like a thick milkshake. For safety reasons, I am uneasy with there not being any menstruum above the plant during the maceration process. Is this how it should be coming out based on her recipe? It just seems like the whole thing needs more menstruum. I've been making good fresh plant tincture for years using other methods, but see the wisdom in calculating for water weight and want to make this work. I've tried her instructions and gone over her math many times, so I think I am doing it right according to what she taught. It doesn't seem like the issue would be over- grinding the herb. Or over drying the fresh plant sample in my excaliber dryer when calculating the water weight. Is it ok for there to be plant that is not completely covered by menstruum when macerating? I'd love your thoughts. Lea

No, the herb has to be completely covered by the menstruum (it can just barely cover it, but it must be covered), not all fresh herbs can be tinctured at a 1:2 ratio, some need 1:2.25, 1:2.5 or 1:3. It is not an issue of over grinding, under grinding is often more of an issue. I do not know exactly what Kerry told you , so I cannot say if there was some error in her directions, I can say that if you do not account for the water in the herb, you will reduce your alcohol percentage sometimes to the point where you either have an unstable tincture or an ineffective one.