Calcination

"To release the remedy from the dross is the task of Vulcan [fire]"
~Paracelsus~
As soon as the rest of the tincture trickles through the filter into the jar I dump the remaining plant residue and the stems that weren't pulverized into the pot and light up the stove fire in our kitchen. (Don't make the same mistake as I have made and calcinate your plant residue outside over an open fire.) Soon our kitchen is swimming in a heavy smoke and I decide to hell with the neighbors and take my work outside. Building fire and making sure that it continues to burn is very engaging. I am using oak branches that have been falling on our yard and soon I have a good fire burning. The smoke continues to spew from the pot and dissipates in the air.

In about an hour, the plant residue burns to black cinders and the smoke subsides. This I transfer into a mortar and grind into a fine black powder. My mortar is rather small and I will need to acquire a larger mortar if I am to work with greater quantities in the future. Once again I return the powdered cinder back into the pot and continue burning until the black ash turns gray white. It's dark outside by then and time to silence vulcan.