A process for quickly preparing easily separable solutions of lithium tertiary-alkoxides. Comprising the steps of reacting lithium metal in bulk solid form, containing less than 0.1% by weight of sodium, with a tertiary alcohol in mole ratios of metal to alcohol ranging from 2 to 1 to 10 to 1 in a solvent selected from ethereal or hydrocarbon solvents under an inert atmosphere at elevated temperature for 1 to 10 hours, cooling the product and separating the product solution from the unreacted lithium metal in the reactor, and optionally adding solvent and sufficient lithium metal and alcohol to said unreacted metal in said reactor to maintain said mole ratio of lithium metal to alcohol, and continuing the reaction, thereby to form further lithium tert-alkoxide, and repeating said steps a number of times.