Long herbal infusions refer to the process of soaking plant material for significant lengths of time in order to draw out as much of its medicinal properties as possible.
The vitamin content of herbs has been studied to determine if longer soaks draw out more vitamins than short soaks.
What scientists found was that it takes at least four hours of soaking to extract a significant amount of vitamins and minerals into the water, and even longer (up to 8 hours) for roots or tougher plant material.
If, for example, you make a cup of nettle tea (1-2 teaspoons steeped in hot water for ten minutes), you would get about 5-10 mg of calcium, but if you make a cup of nettle long infusion (1 oz. steeped in 1 quart hot water for a minimum of four hours), you will get over 200 mg of calcium per cup. And not just the calcium, but all the nutritional cofactors necessary to effectively assimilate calcium, because calcium by itself is not well utilized by the body.
Note: It is important to recognize that not all herbs should be infused for long periods of time, as this can make some herbs unpalatable.
Long herbal infusions make for wonderful summer brews. I don’t know about you, but I love a nice glass of iced tea in the summer months, and long infusions are ideal for this. I love making sun tea, moon tea, or just letting herbs soak in water on my countertop overnight. I’ll strain these out the following day, add a bit of lemon, honey, or even an ice cube or two, and sip all day long.