Each different color of letter in the cauldron is in a different font, and the fonts correspond to the puzzle title written on the side of the cauldron. Given from roughly top to bottom, the letters in each font are as follows:
- W (red): ATPYCUUSL
- H (orange): MAKKIL
- I (gold): AMTPSCLO (It is uncertain at first glance if the M is actually a W, but this should not make it significantly harder.)
- C (blue): NGAOER
- H (green): YUDITRSA
- B (magenta): ATHSDGIHE
- R (purple): IRERELSDBRE
- E (brown): NFLAOSBE
- W (periwinkle): EGOOFFOR
The flavor text suggests that each of these scrambles is missing a letter. It turns out that they are all missing their first letter. The unscrambled ingredients are:
- EUCALYPTUS
- YAK MILK
- ECTOPLASM
- OREGANO
- FAIRY DUST
- NIGHTSHADE
- ELDERBERRIES
- WOLFSBANE
- TOE OF FROG
The missing first letters spell out the answer EYE OF NEWT.
A couple of these ingredients (YAK MILK, TOE OF FROG) are actually more obscure – and for most solvers, harder to get – than the puzzle answer. Fortunately, it is very likely to find EYE OF NEWT even while missing a few letters, and it is probably possible with fewer than half of the ingredients solved.