Making a CBD tincture at home requires just two core ingredients: hemp flower and a solvent like high-proof alcohol or a carrier oil. The process involves activating the CBD through heat, combining it with your chosen solvent, and then straining. From start to finish, most methods take between one hour and several weeks depending on the approach you choose.
What You Need to Start
A basic CBD tincture calls for hemp flower (legally defined as cannabis containing 0.3% THC or less on a dry weight basis), a solvent, and a few kitchen tools. For the solvent, you have two main options: high-proof ethanol or a carrier oil like MCT (coconut-derived) oil. Each produces a different kind of tincture with its own advantages.
High-proof food grade ethanol, ideally 190 proof (95% alcohol), is the most efficient solvent for dissolving cannabinoids, terpenes, and other beneficial plant compounds. It pulls a broader range of active ingredients from the plant material and produces a potent, fast-absorbing tincture. Everclear is the most commonly available brand at this proof.
MCT oil or olive oil works well if you prefer an alcohol-free tincture. Oil-based tinctures have a milder taste and are gentler under the tongue, but the extraction is slower and slightly less complete. MCT oil is the most popular choice because it’s flavorless and the body absorbs it easily.
You’ll also need:
- A baking sheet and parchment paper
- A mason jar with a tight lid
- Cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer
- A dark glass dropper bottle for storage
- An oven thermometer (optional but helpful)
Decarboxylation: Activating the CBD
Raw hemp flower contains CBDA, the acidic precursor to CBD. Your body can’t use CBDA the same way it uses CBD, so you need to convert it through a process called decarboxylation, which simply means applying controlled heat. Skip this step and your tincture will be far less effective.
Preheat your oven to 250°F (121°C). Break the hemp flower into small, roughly pea-sized pieces and spread them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes. The flower should look slightly toasted and feel dry to the touch when it’s done. The effective temperature range for decarboxylation runs from about 200 to 300°F (95 to 145°C), but 250°F hits the sweet spot: hot enough to activate the CBD efficiently, cool enough to preserve the terpenes and flavors you want in the final product.
Staying below 300°F matters. Above that threshold, terpenes begin to degrade rapidly. Some of the most valued terpenes in hemp have relatively low boiling points. Beta-caryophyllene, which contributes to anti-inflammatory effects, boils off at around 246°F (119°C), and humulene disappears at roughly 223°F (106°C). Others like myrcene (330°F) and limonene (351°F) are more heat-stable. At 250°F you’ll lose some of the most volatile terpenes, but you’ll preserve the majority while still fully activating the CBD. Decarbing at lower temperatures for longer periods (say, 230°F for 40 minutes) can retain more terpenes, though at the cost of patience.
Alcohol Extraction Method
This is the fastest and most efficient approach. Place your decarboxylated hemp flower in a clean mason jar and pour enough 190-proof ethanol to fully submerge the plant material, plus about half an inch above. Seal the jar tightly.
You have two speed options from here:
Quick Wash (3 to 5 Minutes)
Shake the sealed jar vigorously for three to five minutes, then strain immediately through cheesecloth into a clean bowl. This produces a lighter-colored tincture with fewer plant waxes and less chlorophyll, which means a cleaner taste. The tradeoff is a slightly lower cannabinoid yield.
Long Soak (2 to 4 Weeks)
Store the sealed jar in a cool, dark place for two to four weeks. Shake it once daily. This extended contact time pulls the maximum amount of CBD and other cannabinoids from the plant material. The resulting tincture will be darker and more bitter due to the chlorophyll extraction, but it will be more potent per drop.
After either method, strain the liquid through cheesecloth, squeezing out as much as possible. If you want an even cleaner product, strain a second time through a coffee filter. Transfer the finished tincture to a dark glass dropper bottle. The alcohol acts as a natural preservative, so an ethanol tincture stored away from heat and light can last a year or more.
Oil Infusion Method
If you’d rather avoid alcohol entirely, an oil infusion works well. Place the decarboxylated flower in a mason jar and cover it with MCT oil or olive oil. A common starting ratio is one cup of oil per 7 to 10 grams of hemp flower, though you can adjust this based on how strong you want the final product.
Set the jar (lid loosely on) in a small pot with a few inches of water to create a double boiler. Heat the water to a gentle simmer, keeping the oil temperature between 150 and 200°F (65 to 93°C). Maintain this for two to three hours, stirring occasionally. The low heat helps the oil absorb the cannabinoids without cooking off terpenes. You can also do this in a slow cooker on the lowest setting for four to six hours, which requires less monitoring.
Once cooled, strain through cheesecloth into your storage bottle. Oil-based tinctures have a shorter shelf life than alcohol tinctures. Stored in a cool, dark place, they typically stay good for about six months. Refrigeration extends this further.
Choosing Your Strength
The potency of your homemade tincture depends on two factors: the CBD percentage of the hemp flower you start with and how much solvent you use. Most quality hemp flower contains between 10% and 20% CBD by weight. If you start with 7 grams of flower at 15% CBD, you have roughly 1,050 mg of CBD in the plant material. Not all of it will make it into your tincture (extraction efficiency varies), but a reasonable estimate is 60 to 80% recovery with alcohol and 40 to 60% with oil.
Using that same 7 grams in one cup (roughly 240 mL) of solvent, you’d end up with a tincture containing approximately 630 to 840 mg total CBD for alcohol, or 420 to 630 mg for oil. A standard dropper holds about 1 mL, so each dropper would deliver roughly 2.5 to 3.5 mg of CBD in the alcohol version. If that’s too weak, use more flower or less solvent.
Without lab testing, these are estimates. Start with a small amount (half a dropper under the tongue) and increase gradually until you find what works for you.
Reducing the Alcohol Taste
Ethanol tinctures are effective but can burn under the tongue. A few options can help. You can partially evaporate the alcohol after straining by leaving the liquid in a wide, shallow dish in a well-ventilated area for 12 to 24 hours. This concentrates the CBD while reducing the alcohol volume and harshness. Don’t heat the alcohol over an open flame, as ethanol vapor is flammable.
Another approach is mixing the finished tincture with a small amount of honey or flavored oil before each dose. Some people add a few drops of food-grade peppermint or orange oil to the storage bottle to mask the alcohol taste throughout.
Storage and Shelf Life
Light, heat, and oxygen all break down cannabinoids over time. Dark amber or cobalt glass dropper bottles block the UV light that degrades CBD most quickly. Store your tincture in a cabinet or drawer rather than on a windowsill. Keep the cap tight between uses.
Alcohol-based tinctures are the most shelf-stable, lasting 12 months or longer. Oil-based tinctures should be used within six months, or kept refrigerated to slow oxidation. If an oil tincture develops an off smell or changes color dramatically, it’s likely gone rancid and should be discarded.