A lot of times, when people hear about packaged infusions, they tend to think in terms of tea. 

But real, well-crafted herbal infusions are not teas. 

Sure, they can be used to brew a cup of rich lovely tea but they go well beyond that. In fact, brewing a cup of tea with them is just the beginning of the range of experiences herbal infusions offer. 

In creating Aku Infusions, we had this in mind and from the get-go ensured that our herb growing, dehydrating, processing, storage and packaging processes are gentle, thoughtful, safe, hygienic and optimized for maximum flavor and nutrient retention. 

Because with the cleansing properties of Lemongrass, the anti-inflammatory properties of Mint, anti-oxidant Lavender, calming and balancing Chamomile, and soothing and detoxifying Mugwort, it would be a shame if you couldn’t also incorporate Aku’s Lifted or Easy into your DIY homemade toner or oil. 

But this post is not about skin care. 

We will delve more into adapting our infusions to your homemade or already existing skin care products as we go along this journey together. Promise. 

For today, I’ll show you how to bulk brew our infusions to a liquid and also a simple syrup form for infusing into your cocktails, mocktails and beverages. 

And in the future we’ll also explore how to create oils and butters using our infusions for yummy culinary or baking treats. 

You’re welcome :)

So, on to liquid and simple syrup bulk brewing. 

I like to do this because it’s efficient. 

When you have to wait for your liquid or syrup to cool down before you make that cocktail, it kind of kills the vibe. 

So unless you’re patient in that way (unlike me), making them in advance and refrigerating them is the way to go. 

LIQUID

Depending on how much liquid you want to bulk brew, you can use any number of Aku infusion bags. 

Note that our bio-degradable corn fibre  bags are bigger in size and also in quantity (by about 1.5 grams gram and in some blends like Lifted and Restore, even 2-3 grams more)

than the average size tea bag.

For a typical jug/pitcher, I use 5 (however you can use less or more depending on how concentrated or diluted your taste is)

For smaller jugs/pitchers I use 3 and for big cups (like this tea strainer pictured which I used to brew Soothe Me) I use 2. 

I start by boiling water on the stove top or electric kettle.

Then I steep the bags in the hot water filled jugs

After steeping, I let them sit out to cool a bit before popping into the fridge.

I leave my bags inside my jugs, however you can take yours out after 5-10 minutes.

I just tend to leave them in there because for some weird reason I like to see the herbs every time I look at the jars.

Now you can pull out any of your bulk brewed infusions from the fridge and make your favorite cocktails and beverages whenever you feel like it. 

tip: you can also mix one or more blends together in one drink. For instance, in my experience Circulate and Restore go really well together

SIMPLE SYRUP

If you’re familiar with the term simple syrup, you know that it’s often a staple in cocktails and beverages. And its name is apt. 

It really is very simple to make. With just two ingredients (apart from your herbs) - sugar and water. Start with equal parts water and sugar. I prefer to use brown sugar but you can use white sugar as well, and even honey.

Simmer your water in a pot and then pour in the sugar

Whisk until the sugar is melted into the water and a syrup consistency starts to form.

Reduce the heat and add your herbs. I like to use 2 infusions bags per cup of water and sugar.

Let it all simmer together for about a minute.

Turn off the heat and let the syrup cool.

Transfer to a bottle or jar and refrigerate for future use.

I don’t strain mine because I like the herby bits to remain in the syrup, but you can strain them out with a mesh strainer to get the pure syrup without herbs.

 Bonus:

You can also make concentrated ice cubes.

Start by brewing an infusion bag in a small cup of water (about half of the amount of water you’d use to brew a regular cup of tea, so it’s doubly concentrated)

 Let cool 

Pour into an ice tray

If you’re using a single ice tray for multiple blends use a piping device or similar to avoid spillage and mixing between cubes.

Pop in the freezer for later use.

Enjoy!