Making Capsules, Pills, and Lozenges by Chovexani

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Capsules

make sure your blend is well powdered before starting. to make them by hand, put your blend in a bowl, and scoop the powder into one half of the capsule (the narrower part), and then cap with the wider half. they end up 3/4 full this way, the only other way I have found to ensure it ends up fuller is to use a store bought capsule maker.

Pills

put your herbal powder in a bowl, and add enough honey to form a ball. If it ends up sticky, add some more powder (it'll be best not to put all the powder in the bowl to start with). best way to prevent that is add small amounts of honey at a time, mix it in well with a spoon, then add more if needed. You can now take out small amounts and roll and press into pill/tablet form in whatever size you like (smaller for kids, larger for those that can handle large pills).

Dosage: For kids, one pill or capsule twice a day, for adults one pill or capsule three to four times a day

Lozenges

grease two glass pie pans or one rectangular glass baking dish. place in the fridge to cool.
DO NOT POWDER HERB! mix the rough dried herbs together, and make a strong tea with the blend. steep for at least 20 min.

Add the sugar to the tea. add 4 1/2 cups sugar to every 1 1/2 cups tea and bring to the boil (never mind the sugar, if I'm kept up at night coughing every 30 seconds, I could care less about the amount of sugar I'm having). Don't stir it. Boil until it reaches hard ball stage (drop a small ball into a glass of cold water to see if it keeps its form). This usually takes 30-45 min, depending on how good your stove top is (mine is old and hates me, so it takes me 50 min on my stove).

Pour into the greased cooled dishes. Score with a knife into lozenge size before it hardens. When hard, remove from pan and break into pieces along the score line. store in glass jars (or wrap in baking paper and store in a tin). Keep them cold in the fridge.

Dosage: for kids one lozenge two to three times a day, for adults one lozenge 4 to 5 times a day, no more than 6 a day.