10 Beginner Tips for Infusing Your Honey

What’s sweeter than honey? Simple: honey infused with herbs!
Infused honey creates an unforgettable taste and experience. Unfortunately, many fans of both herbs and sugar struggle to get the taste "just right."
Interested in making your own Magical honey? Keep reading to learn our top tips!

1. Decarboxylating your Botanicals

We're going to start with the first and most important step, Decarboxylation.
Unfortunately, it's a step that many fans of edibles don't fully understand. Before anything else, you need to decarboxylate (also known as "decarb") your herbs. If you fail to do this step, you may end up with honey whose effects are very weak. You may even end up with honey where the infused herb is completely inactive!
To get started, you must first preheat your oven to 250° Fahrenheit. Next, add your botanicals to the DecarBox and let it heat in the oven for 30 minutes. Alternatively you can grab a non-stick tray, cover it in parchment, and place your buds on it.
Remember, this heating process is incredibly important for activating your herbs. Without this step, your final product will be very disappointing.

2. How to Combine

The first step was all about getting your herb ready. Now though, you’ll need to combine your herb and your honey together.
We recommend using the Magical Butter Machine and infusing with the touch of a button! Simply add your decarbed herb and honey to the machine, set your temperature and time and watch it go to work.
Worried about heating your honey? Don’t be! You can add infused coconut oil directly to it to preserve those beneficial pollens.

3. Let the Magic Happen

The machine will infuse your botanicals into the honey over the next hour.
You can use the rest of the time in the kitchen to get other materials ready. For example, you can cook dinner alongside your simmering honey. Or if you want to place the honey into some drinks for a refreshing evening, you can start taking out the cups and spirits.

4. No Strain, No Gain

After your cycle is complete the next step is to strain your honey. To do this right, you're going to need a funnel and cheesecloth, or one of our Purify Filter bags. You will also need a jar to store the infusion.
Start by putting the Filter Bag or funnel and cheesecloth into the jar. Let the honey cool slightly, then pour it through the filters and let it naturally strain itself through.
Once you've strained everything, it's time to pat yourself on the back. You've just created one of the coolest honey infusions ever made! The rest of our tips focus on how to get the most out of your tasty new skill.

5. How and Where to Store

It's easy enough to dive into your honey after you strain it. Eventually, though, you need to store the stuff for later enjoyment.
Storing honey is the easy part. For simplicity's sake, we recommend using the original container the honey came in. Otherwise, you can use pretty much any glass jar or plastic case that is safe for storing food.
To maximize its taste and potency, you need to store the honey in a cool and dark place. However, we don't recommend storing in the refrigerator because that may make your honey go bad that much quicker. Provided you can find a cool and dark place to store your herbal honey, it should last one or two months. Past that point, it will be time to make some more!

6. Get the Dosing Right

The basic instructions for combining herb and honey are pretty simple. However, the bigger question involves just how much herb you should dose the honey with. You may want to experiment with strains that contain different levels of potency. This ranges from products with 1% or less to products of 15% or more. Exactly how much of which strain you should put in your honey differs based on factors like your intended effects and your experience with herb.
The best way to experiment then is to taste small amounts of your honey and see what happens. For example, putting a quarter or half of a teaspoon of honey on a snack and seeing how you feel.
Pretty soon, you'll have a good idea about whether you need to increase or decrease the amount of T-C in the honey. And in the meantime, you can kick back and enjoy your tasty little science experiment.
We also have a handy tool to help you figure out your dosage!

7. Understand the Benefits

If you're reading this, you've given some thought to creating your own infused honey. If you're still on the fence, though, you may be wondering what the exact benefits of this product really are.
The short answer is that herbal honey has all of the benefits of the plant itself. And you get to enjoy all of those benefits without the unhealthy experience of inhaling smoke into your lungs.
Needless to say, it's much safer and more natural than many traditional forms of medication. It's no wonder that people prefer it over products like opioids, which can lead to harm and addiction.

8. The Right Combination

Earlier, we touched on the importance of getting the T-C percentage correct in your honey. The other thing you'll want to be mindful of is the exact mixture of T-C and C-D in the mix.
What is the difference between them? T-C is psychoactive, producing the traditional "high" of the herb. C-D is non-psychoactive but offers other positive effects.
Each one has its own particular strengths. For example, T-C is better at relaxing muscles and boosting your mood, but C-D is better at calming inflammation and easing your anxiety. Different products contain different ratios of T-C and C-D. To get the most out of your infused honey, you'll want to find the ratio that is "just right" for you!

9. The Joys of Making it at Home

While making infused honey is very simple, it does take up a chunk of your time. You may be asking yourself: why not just buy infused honey instead of making it at home?
The first reason is the price. Depending on where you shop, herb infused honey off the shelf can be relatively expensive. You can save a lot of money by simply making it yourself.
The second reason is variety. If you buy "off the shelf," you are limited to the brands, strains, and ratios that the store sells. When you make your own, you can control everything and get the amounts perfect for your own needs.
Finally, making it yourself gives you a chance to create a better flavor. Why limit yourself to the flavors the store sells when you can create any flavor from the comfort of your own home?

10. Other Uses for Infused Honey

We saved one of the best questions for last. If you're still not committed to making your own herbal honey, it's probably because you're not sure what you'd use the honey for. Take it from us: there are plenty of great possibilities!
Some people like to use this special honey as a sugar substitute in certain recipes. Not only does this create interesting new flavors for your favorite dishes, but it gives those dishes the signature effect of everybody's favorite herb. You can also put this honey into a hot beverage as a sweetener. This lets you put your own unique twist on traditional home remedies such as the "Hot Toddy." And some people even swear by sweetening their morning cup of coffee with honey.
It is also a great way to add a sweet kick to otherwise bland snacks. For example, honey over toast or honey on some biscuits is a great way of turning basic snacks into awesome edibles.
Finally, we love to use infused honey to glaze foods that we throw on the grill. The taste will blow you away, and the buzz is just one more thing to enjoy after a day sweating around the grill!

What's Next?

Now you know how to create herbal honey. But do you know how to make the entire process easier than ever?
With our MagicalButter machine, creating a honey infusion or other edibles is incredibly easy. To learn how to become an infusion master, check out MagicalButter today!