A medicinal drink or decoction made by boiling herbs, plants, or other substances in water.
From Greek apozema, from apozein 'to boil away,' from apo- 'away' and zein 'to boil,' indicating reduction by boiling.
Apozems are the ancestors of modern herbal teas and pharmaceutical decoctions—medieval physicians obsessed over boiling times and ingredient combinations, creating proto-scientific recipes that blended folk wisdom with early chemistry!
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