It is very simple to make an infusion: 

• Boil 4 cups of water and pour them over 4 teaspoons of herbs.
• Allow the mixture to sit, covered, for 10-30 minutes (depending on the strength of tea you prefer.)
• You can then drink the herbs with the water, or if you prefer you can strain them out with cheesecloth or with a strainer.  

You can also make a variation with solar and lunar infusions as well.  It's always fun to make a solar and lunar infusion of the same herbs and compare them.  When placing jars of herbs outside, in my experience, it's helpful to label your jars otherwise your neighbors might be curious and get into them! 

There are a couple of ways to make solar infusions.  The first way is to prepare the herb as mentioned above (pouring boiling water on them) and then leave it outside in the sunlight in a tightly covered jar for several hours.

The second way to prepare an herbal solar infusion is to not cook the herbs at all and to place them outside in a hot sunny spot in a covered jar for a few hours. This may not be as medicinal because all of the components will not be extracted, but it can still be powerful and it is a great tool to use the sun. 

To make lunar infusions, place fresh whole herbs/flowers in an open bowl or jar and make sure the water covers them.  Place under the moonlight uncovered. Enjoy your lunar infusion first thing in the morning!  As part of my herbal apprenticeship, we made lunar herbal infusions with the full moon.  It was much tastier than I imagined it would be!  

To make an herbal decoction is also simple:

• Boil 4 cups of water.
• Add 4 teaspoons of herb to the boiling water.
• Cover pot.
• Simmer for 15-30 minutes (depending on the flavor you'd like to achieve. I usually simmer for 20 minutes.)
• You can let cool a little bit and then drink with herb parts, or strain them out. 

Herbs that I decoct include ginger root, astragalus root, eleuthero root, dandelion root, chicory root, cinnamon bark, sassafras bark, sarsaparilla root, birch bark, star anise, blackberry root and wild cherry bark.  Herbalist Michael Moore (not the filmmaker!) has a list of herbs he prefers to use with strong decoctions.  

If you don't want to strain your herbs out, and you are at work or in public, I recommend adding a few pretty flowers so your drink mixture looks enjoyable and palatable. It's a great conversation starter when you are drinking a mason jar filled with tea and beautiful flowers! 

If you'd like to strain your herbs out, you can buy cheesecloth in the grocery store or at a craft store, or in a big box store in the craft section.  I used to use cheesecloth everyday but I now have a stainless steel funnel with a removable strainer for making teas that I love!  

It's also helpful to have a french press for infusions. I prefer to use glass instead of plastic (to avoid chemicals leeching into my tea) and it's easy to use a french press if I'm at work.  But please make sure the glass can handle high temperatures of boiling water! 

If you want to make a smaller amount of tea, the water to herb ratio is usually cited as 1 cup of water per 1 teaspoon of dried herbs but you can adjust the ratio to fit your tastes.  There are no hard and fast rules with herbalism! 

Personally, I usually fill up a 4 cup (1 quart) mason jar to the tippity top and then boil that because I usually lose some water with the steam)

If you are lucky to have access to fresh herbs, use two tablespoons of fresh herb per cup of water.