I’m off for fall break, and today I decided to harvest passionflower leaves which I’m going to use for a tincture. The last tincture I made had a floral licorice flavor, so this time I am going to make my tincture with honey whiskey, which I feel will really compliment the flavor of the Passionflower leaves.
The leaves tend to be most potent during the months of July and August, when flowers are blooming and fruit is growing, but I find that this plantita gives great medicine all year long. We have definitely enjoyed the yummy fruit this summer, and today I found there’s still more fruit on the vine!
Passionflower tea or tincture is really calming and helps to relax me when I am experiencing a bit of stress and anxiety, and it definitely helps me when I am having restless nights. A few drops puts me right to sleep. I only take it in the evening because it tends to make me drowsy pretty quickly.
I found this great hanging dehydrator at the Vietnamese market near my house, and that is what I use to dry my various herbs and plantitas. Today, I rinsed off the passionflower leaves and then laid them out in the dehydrator. I left them outside so the water droplets could completely dry and then I transferred them inside. It should take about a week for the leaves to dry, and then I will update this post with a video of how I make my tincture. And if I get enough maracuya (passion fruit) I will show you how to make a refreshing agua fresca.
Alma de Colibrí 