Every plant holds its own unique qualities and natural remedies, making them special in their own way. Herbal extracts are the key to gaining many of these benefits. People have always strived to discover the most effective method of extracting the full potential of each plant. However, not every herb can be extracted with the same method. We’ve made Merlin400 to be a perfect cannabis extractor, but how will it perform with other herbs? We are doing a series of experiments to find it out. Read this article to discover, what else can be extracted with Merlin400.
Last winter, when we made the first round of extracting other-stuff-than-cannabis, we found that walnuts, hazelnuts, and cashews make delicious extracts. Dried bananas and paprika also gave useful extracts.
Since then, we have also tested lavender, hops, damiana, mullein, and calendula (pot marigold). And up to now, it looks promising!
Lavender extracted directly in Merlin400 the same way you would treat cannabis gave a yield of 2,8% of a powdery substance, rich in smell and taste.
When left to soak for 4 days, the yield was much higher: 7,5%. This yield was also powdery but seemed greasy and had more smell to it.
We are guessing (this is one of the next steps on the to-do list) that the lavender extract will blend well into soaps etc.
Calendula (pot marigold) is well known for its bright orange-yellow color and is one of the most used herbs for skin tonics and balms. This also gave a valuable amount of extract.
The yield when extracted directly in Merlin400 was not super impressive, but it still climbed over 1%.
When left to soak for 4 days the yield came up to 8.3% and gave a beautiful orange oil with a sweet, distinct calendula smell, ready to mix in a balm, mix with alcohol for a tincture, etc.
Damiana, used for a variety of purposes, was the next on the list:
People use damiana as a tobacco substitute, as an aphrodisiac, it is said to boost testosterone levels, some use it to remedy depression, etc.
We just wanted to know if it would make a useful extract – and it did.
We did not try the direct extraction yet, but after soaking in IPA for 4 days it gave a yield of 3,4%. The yield was a black oil with high viscosity and a sharp, distinct smell. The kind of smell that warns and promises you, that this is something highly concentrated… So, now one question remains: how should we test our damiana extract?
The mullein extraction process was fruitful as well. Starting with 30.5 grams soaked in a jar for 18 days, it resulted in a 9.6% yield of 2.929 grams, giving us a dark extract, with a subtle, pleasant aroma.
However, not everything is suitable for alcohol extraction. Some of the herbs we tested gave less successful extractions: Rosemary, majoran, star anise, licorice root, orange peels, mint, and ginger all gave so tiny amounts that the results were negligible from a practical point of view.
Here is the short list of what can and can’t be extracted with Merlin400 according to our experiments so far:
| ✔️ | ❌ |
| Walnut | Rosemary |
| Hazelnut | Majoran |
| Cashew | Star anise |
| Dried banana | Licorice Root |
| Paprika | Orange peels |
| Damiana | Mint |
| Lavender | Ginger |
| Hops | |
| Mullein | |
| Calendula(Pot marigold) |
Our exploration into herbal extraction with Merlin400 has just started. While some herbs like lavender and calendula have shown great promise, delivering valuable yields for diverse applications, others have proven less suitable for alcohol extraction. Overall, testing different methods, observing the process, and tracking the results is an exciting and intriguing experience. We are definitely eager to continue this journey, and we invite you to join us.