yes it is the most bitter plant i've tasted in this lifeI just received some in the post today and have been reading this with interest. I gave a leaf a bit of a chew, and yes, that is unpleasantly bitter
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Calea zacatechichi - discovering the true potential
- Thread starter daedaloops
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I'm wondering - what kind of bitter is it? How does it compare to wormwood, centaury, gentian, dandelion, myrrh, quinine, Syrian rue, etc., in terms of qualitative tasting notes? Is it aromatic, astringent or acrid?
What was the most bitter plant you'd tasted before calea came along?
I appreciate your meticulousness taste wise of these plants. The most bitter plant prior was Rue. Though at first Rue wasn't so bad. It became much worse through prolonged ingestion. I had the exact experience with Ayahuasca. Initially, I thought it wasn't so bad, and even enjoyed it. Though as time went on it became more and more repulsive.
Since you mention Wormwood, I have a bag which I've yet to taste. Here it goes. WOW. Wormwood! That's bitter. Let me try Cale again. Now that you mention it, perhaps Calea isn't as bitter as something like Wormwood. Or at least they're similar.
Calea to me the first time I tasted it was indeed acrid in the same way wormwood is.
Thanks for that. It seems these two asteraceous plants somewhat unsurprisingly have sesquiterpene lactones in common, which will be responsible for much of the intense bitterness.
A cup of really strong wormwood tea can get quite bizarre, by the way (although there was this one time where I followed it up with some kind of synthetic cannabinoid blend - not fun!)
It's this intense bitterness that fascinates me as much as the effects on dreaming. I always dream vividly anyhow, and often with the full range of sensory modalities, so I do rather wonder what calea might do that, say, valerian doesn't.
Yet another plant for the cultivation list.
A cup of really strong wormwood tea can get quite bizarre, by the way (although there was this one time where I followed it up with some kind of synthetic cannabinoid blend - not fun!)
It's this intense bitterness that fascinates me as much as the effects on dreaming. I always dream vividly anyhow, and often with the full range of sensory modalities, so I do rather wonder what calea might do that, say, valerian doesn't.
Yet another plant for the cultivation list.
I doubt Calea could be more bitter than wormwood or some other notorious Artemisia species. I would say Calea is a bit more aromatic/enjoyable 
Asteraceae power! Effects wise, it was a bit like Artemisia on steroids for me... Also more prophetic. It just had a disorienting hangover the day after for me.
Valerian only gave me dream enhancement once so far, which was the first time I tried it.
Clary sage is a very effective sleep aid, dream enhancer, digestive, and psychologically boosting plant for me.
Asteraceae power! Effects wise, it was a bit like Artemisia on steroids for me... Also more prophetic. It just had a disorienting hangover the day after for me.Valerian only gave me dream enhancement once so far, which was the first time I tried it.
Clary sage is a very effective sleep aid, dream enhancer, digestive, and psychologically boosting plant for me.
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There are over 100 reports on Calea on Erowid ranging from nothing to everything. A friend of mine experimented with it post Rue with some excellent success.
I will report back if I have anything beyond the report already mentioned. I still don't think I would drink a tea of it. It is equally as bitter to my pallet as wormwood.
I will report back if I have anything beyond the report already mentioned. I still don't think I would drink a tea of it. It is equally as bitter to my pallet as wormwood.
To elaborate a bit more. I think I wildly overdosed Calea. It was like an endless, full on hypercolorful and hyperdetailed prophetic dreams extravaganza. Too much content, too much information. It was an exhausting sleep for me, as oxymoronic as that sounds. Theme-wise, the dreams ranged from my personal processes to political and military matters of that time.
In comparison...
Vervain gave me one coherent, solid teaching and psychologically processing dream for me. It was like a very powerful, wise, solid, grounded intelligence.
Vervain on top of rue gave me the most fantastically detailed and more real than real, mythological themed dreams. Despite the incredible richness, it was not overwhelming like Calea.
Mandrake leaf gave me one long prophetic dream (on the coming COVID lockdowns) that spanned all night long, always continuing on from where it left after each wake up, even if I got up to go to the toilet.
With Clary sage, I always get rich and enjoyable dreams but somehow the content hasn't struck me as being particularly significant. One was being an eagle and flying over a mountain and beautiful landscapes. Makes me feel so refreshed and positive the day after.
The artemisias are a bit mysterious for me, making me remember various details about my life that I had tended to forget. Makes my sleep lighter and thus is not good for resting for me.
I have also experimented a bit with Asparagus acutifolius root. I can attest to it being clearly psychoactive (even could be considered psychedelic with the closed eye colors), aphrodisiac, adaptogen, antidepressant, and gives flying dreams similar to what is described for Tian Men Dong (A. cochinchinensis).
In comparison...
Vervain gave me one coherent, solid teaching and psychologically processing dream for me. It was like a very powerful, wise, solid, grounded intelligence.
Vervain on top of rue gave me the most fantastically detailed and more real than real, mythological themed dreams. Despite the incredible richness, it was not overwhelming like Calea.
Mandrake leaf gave me one long prophetic dream (on the coming COVID lockdowns) that spanned all night long, always continuing on from where it left after each wake up, even if I got up to go to the toilet.
With Clary sage, I always get rich and enjoyable dreams but somehow the content hasn't struck me as being particularly significant. One was being an eagle and flying over a mountain and beautiful landscapes. Makes me feel so refreshed and positive the day after.
The artemisias are a bit mysterious for me, making me remember various details about my life that I had tended to forget. Makes my sleep lighter and thus is not good for resting for me.
I have also experimented a bit with Asparagus acutifolius root. I can attest to it being clearly psychoactive (even could be considered psychedelic with the closed eye colors), aphrodisiac, adaptogen, antidepressant, and gives flying dreams similar to what is described for Tian Men Dong (A. cochinchinensis).
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How much calea yielded such result and via what method of absorption?
Thanks for your posts as always.
Thanks for reading. That time I drank Calea was about a decade ago, and I doubt I even weighed the amount of leaves. All I remember was that it was the most intensely bitter tea I had drunk up to then. I had been drinking rue for many years by then, but I had not yet tried wormwood :ā -ā )