Changa texture

[dooby]

I'm about to start making my own changa and I was wondering...

What would be the ideal texture of the changa; how finely would the herbs have to be chopped or ground? Should it be more or less "chunky" or is a powdery consistency better?
Would it be interesting to have both, for instance a chunky changa for pipes, and a powdery one for joints (rolled with mullein and a "line" of changa)?
Part of the reason why I'm asking is this: in a powdery changa one would be able to use some of the available extracts of herbs such as passiflora, calea, damiana, blue lotus etc. which seem to be of very powdery consistency most of the time... Their x5 of x10 strength would mean that only a tiny amount would have to be used, which leaves more "room" in the mix for herbs that are supposed to be healing for the lungs (mullein, red clover, raspberry, justicia...)
Also, would adding some drops of liquid herbal extract (or tincture) to the solvent be able to replace the use of the actual herbs in the changa mix? Could any reactions be expected between said extracts and the solvent (ethanol)? I found some 10:1 liquid caapi mix, having one milliliter of this liquid in the mix would substitute for 10 grams of leaves (thus avoiding the necessity of adding freebase harmalas separately)...or am I mistaken?

 

[DesykaLamgeenie]

In my experience I've seen a chunky 10x changa leaf mix and then a mix with mint, pau d'arco, and a little caapi leaf which was very fine/almost powdery. The latter definitely burned better of the two. The individual pieces of leaf in the chunky 10x changa were probably about 1/4", and once they were saturated with the extract they became kind of like thin little shards of shale rock...and black as hell. Looked awesome, but didn't burn as well.

But, I'm pretty sure I've seen pictures of other people's chunky 10x changa mixes on the net that looked much softer/easier to smoke, so, it doesn't seem to be an issue for everyone.

 

[dooby]

Thanks...powdery it will be...

Which makes me wonder: would a powder be easier to infuse than leaves? Or would it be better to cut the changa into a powder after it has been infused?

Also, wouldn't dosing a powder into small enough amounts require a "carrier" of some sorts (mullein?) in the pipe or joint? Smoking it pure in a joint would seem quite a waste of product, no? Unless it's not 1:1 changa but maybe .25:1 (spice:herb)...

Does anyone have any experience with x5 or x10 extracts, either powder or liquid, of passiflora, damiana, caapi, calea etc.?

After a fair bit of research I am thinking of using the following in my mix: caapi, blue lotus, calea, passiflora, damiana, spearmint, mullein, (tagetes lucida, lavender, raspberry, red clover, marshmallow)...
I intend to smoke each of them separately beforehand as to acquire some understanding regarding taste, smell and effect but the general idea would be to have a blend that's forgiving/beneficial for the lungs then adding herbs or extracts that will benefit the experience.
Perhaps a batch of basic changa mix (1.2:1) of spice and mullein/spearmint/caapi) and then adding 200 mg of calea, damiana, lotus etc. separately afterwards to obtain a variety of 1:1 changa blends?
Does anyone know if any of aforementioned herbs go together very well, or perhaps some that absolutely do not?

I am expecting my herbs next week and will update you on any progress I make...

 

[Parshvik Chintan]

honestly? doesn't matter
for smoking or infusing the end result is essentially identical.

i am sure the cherry would spread through a bowl of powdered changa faster than "chunky" changa, but it would also be more likely to be pulled through the hole (unless smoking with a screen)

so, whichever you prefer is correct.

if anything powder would be easier to infuse more evenly..

as far as herb mixtures go: its all good, try making a bunch of small expiremental batches until you find what you like best

 

[dooby]

Hello again fellow Nexians...

I have some news to share and (again) some questions...

When my new order arrives I will have 21 things I could add to my changa (no spice yet though)...

Some of them are not only sold by ethnobotanical vendors but also by run-of-the-mill herb vendors at much, much lower prices...example: passiflora incarnata 75% cheaper...feel free to draw your own conclusions...

I found some recipes (without mention of amounts or ratios) that use white sage and/or palo santo which both have a special meaning to me... They were delivered to me in a very powdery form and I feel like I should add only the tiniest amount of them to my blends, so would it be a good idea to try to dissolve a pinch of them into my solvent before adding the spice?

Also, some herbs (like lavender) that I wish to add in very small amounts cannot be ground finely enough to ensure an even distribution in the blend, so how about letting them steep in my solvent, then filtering the solvent before use?

I found only one recipe to make damiana extract on the internet (so far) and if I remember correctly, it mentions letting the herbs steep in water, filter and discard water, then steep the herbs in solvent... Any confirmation on this and an explanation as to why would be appreciated...

For those who are interested in changa blends, and hopefully more experienced than myself, here's a list of ingredients...
I would very much appreciate any feedback on the use of the following: white sage, palo santo, marshmallow, justicia pectoralis

Spearmint
Blue, Pink, White Lotus flower petals
Damiana
Justicia pectoralis
Lavender
Marshmallow (Althaea..)
Passionflower
Calea Z.
Salvia D.
White sage
Palo Santo
Raspberry leaf
Calendula flowers
Jasmin (Jasminum off.) flowers
Chamomilla recutita vulg.flowers
Red clover flowers
Rose petals
Mullein
Pau d'Arco (waiting for vendor reply: "do they deliver leaf or bark?")

I also have some "10:1 mixed vine extract" (supposedly equal amounts of Yellow, Red and Black caapi vines)...any thoughts anyone?

thanks and greetings...

 

[Metanoia]

I use white sage often. I very much like it as a changa herb. Plain old Salvia officinalis is great too. Its furred texture really works well when infusing it with DMT, harmalas, or whathaveyou.

 

[dooby]

Thanks for the swift reply...

How much of the white sage do you use? Mine is very, very powdery hence the idea of dissolving it in my solvent...



I also just checked the vendor website where I got the caapi extract from, and I'm getting a bit worried... Turns out they also offer a 10:1 "fortified" extract and here's the math I did based on the info that they give for that product...
10:1 caapi extract, plus 110 mg harmalas per 10 ml, total harmala content 150 mg per 10 ml,
which would mean that a non-fortified extract would contain only 40 mg of harmalas per 10 ml...But a ml. of this extract should contain 10 gr. of vine...a lot of claims on these pages state that 10:1 caapi is the basis for a lot of changa blends, so I was hoping that 1 ml. of the extract I bought would be a nice addition to my blends (via the solvent) but now I'm thinking that would only add 4 mg. of harmalas... I am confused and rather unhappy... Have I been ripped off, is my math wrong or am I missing the point? (or could there be a type-o in their info? I'll have to send them a mail...)

ciao

 

[dooby]

UPDATE

I got a reply from my vendor.

He admits that their fortified liquid extract was indeed quite weak prior to fortification, hence the added harmalas.

However, he is convinced that this should not be the case with the mixed vine liquid extract that I have: 20 ml of this would constitute 200 gr of fresh vine (= about 100 gr when dried?) and should be adequate...

For now, I'm going to take his word for it.

Only time, and of course a bioassay, will tell...

PLUR