Concentrated menstruum question

[tracid1987]

I would like to make a 10x caapi concentrated changa blend. So i will
A, use 9 units of caapi in IPA then evap the result in 1 unit of caapi
B, use 10 units of caapi in IPA then after decanting i use 1 unit from the existing caapi plant material.

But my question is: i have read somewhere that the menstruum will contain so much solid in itself that i can not ignore its weight. (the more the units of plant material soaked in IPA the more alkaloids are extracted thus increasing its weight).

So how do i measure the correct ratios? how do i know how much final plant material to put in the alkaloid rich IPA before final evap? (i weight the IPA before and after making the menstruum?)

Thank you

 

[Hyper Turtle]

I've never done this, but I think it should work (I said this in the welcome section already):

- You know your starting weight of caapi.
- You dissolve in some solvent until nearly 100% of alks are in solution.
- You decant and keep the solution, and evaporate solvent residue from the depleted caapi.
- You weigh the depleted caapi. You note the difference from starting weight.
- You subtract this difference from your target weight to get the amount of depleted caapi you need to put back into the solution for final evaporation.

However, I've since read that IPA isn't really good for caapi extraction. Water or vinegar should work better.

Then your harmalas will still be salts. For changa, you probably want them in freebase form.