Is my Caapi legit? Also questions about caapi tea vs extracts.

[NoMeNoYou]

Kindly forgive my ignorance in this topic, I searched around but couldn't find too much in regards to my specific inquiries.

Q1: Is my Caapi legit? Just received 1kg of Red Caapi, it looks pretty similar to the pictures on errowid but I wanted to ask those who use it before consuming some unknown item. Gotta satisfy those first time jitters.

Q2: When using THP method how much can I boil the crap out of the water to reduce it without hurting the alkaloids? Sounds like I'll have to use close to 20L of water and then reduce it to under a liter.

Q3: Is there a reason aside from Changa to extract the alkaloids completely versus just reducing it to a drinkable amount?

Q4: I've heard 200mg-400mg of harmalas is a good dose. My physical form is pretty large by human standards so unsure what to expect here.

Q5: What is the real difference in drinking Caapi tea versus just extracting down to clean Haramloids and dosing with those?

Q6: Can Ayauasca be prepared (untraditionally) by just combining the extracted alks with pure DMT in vitamin c water and drinking that? Can I expect a 4-5 hour journey?

Thanks so much for being tolerant to my noobness, I promise to give back once I get a couple extractions under my belt and can start really playing with DIY stuff.

Much Love,
The Light

 

[Forestwalker]

I think it looks legit, the more circular , top cut makes me think of a different vine who's name slips my memory atm but otherwise yes they look like caapi .

 

[eddyjmthewll]

I have no answers for you unfortunately, but Question 6 sounds very interesting. i might try that soon and let you know

 

[pitubo]

Q1: Is my Caapi legit? Just received 1kg of Red Caapi, it looks pretty similar to the pictures on errowid but I wanted to ask those who use it before consuming some unknown item. Gotta satisfy those first time jitters.

As they say: the proof is in the pudding. You'll have to try it before you know how good it is.

A simple preliminary test is to boil some of the plant material in water and to put the resulting tea under a uv blacklight lamp. It should fluoresce with a blue green color. It will not tell you how much harmalas are in the plant, but it is a sure indication that there are some at least. It is a very sensitive test.

A more involved test would be to order a tlc testing kit and use that to analyze an extract.

Q2: When using THP method how much can I boil the crap out of the water to reduce it without hurting the alkaloids? Sounds like I'll have to use close to 20L of water and then reduce it to under a liter.

Harmala alkaloids are very stable, especially in salt form (the form they are in when produced by the plant).

Q3: Is there a reason aside from Changa to extract the alkaloids completely versus just reducing it to a drinkable amount?

By making an extract, you know exactly how much active principles you are ingesting. It will also reduce some of the bodily discomforts that are caused by plant chemicals such as tannins. Reducing the tea concentrates these, extracting the tea eliminates them. Note that some nausea may be inherent to the harmala alkaloids, so even an extract can cause some discomfort if you are particularly sensitive to it, or ingest a large dose.

Q4: I've heard 200mg-400mg of harmalas is a good dose. My physical form is pretty large by human standards so unsure what to expect here.

I think that your personal metabolic particularities like liver enzymes may be more relevant than mere body weigth, although weight can be an indicator in general as well.

There are many factors effecting the result of the ingestion of harmalas with dmt. The sequence and timing of ingestion can be tricky to get right. Some people need a small delay between the harmalas and the dmt, others don't. Too long of a delay will waste all of the dmt. Some people benefit from breaking the preparatory fast with a piece of buttered toast, too kickstart the digestive system into uptaking of the alkaloids in an extract. When ingesting a tea that is still heavily loaded with plant matter, this may be less of an issue.

Q5: What is the real difference in drinking Caapi tea versus just extracting down to clean Haramloids and dosing with those?

As far as I am concerned, extracts are a more exact and more controlled form of administration. It is my favorite method. Others may object that this is not spiritual or insults the plants. Since I find these claims hard to qualify or quantify, I consider that mostly a religious belief system. Spiritual people probably have their own reservations about my rationalist/reductionalist/materialist belief system. To each their own.

Q6: Can Ayauasca be prepared (untraditionally) by just combining the extracted alks with pure DMT in vitamin c water and drinking that? Can I expect a 4-5 hour journey?

It should. But I would recommend splitting the combined potion in three or four parts and ingesting another part every twenty or thirty minutes. That way you'll be more sure to get the mao deactivation and dmt uptake right.

Don't worry if it takes a few tries to find out what works best for you.

 

[NoMeNoYou]

pitubo,

I can't thank you enough for the detailed reply. I am extremely grateful for the information.

In the end even boiling all 870g of remaining caapi provided zero alkaloids. Evidently this was either fake caapi, or just a poor yielding batch. I will try rue seeds next as they seem to be more consistent when it comes to alkaloid content.

Thank you everyone who contributed to this thread.

Truly
Nobody

 

[Asher7]

Eh, don't feel bad, I've never had caapi work and I've gone through enough to genuinely think there is something going on well past just potential "user error". Whether that's incorrect plants being accidentally/purposefully sold or the taking of less mature vines or whatever I don't know. Maybe it is user error somehow.

Look into extracting rue, there's a good write up on it called the Tao of Rue Extraction in the Wiki. Very simple procedure using stuff you most likely already have in your kitchen. It's kind of fun too in a Mr. Chemistry Set sort of way :d