Thinking about using dried material for the first time

[AluminumFoilRobots]

Hey there DMT-nexus! It's bee a while!

It's also been a while since I've had any cactus and maaan, I've got a hankerin' fer some cactus. But it seems like prices for cuttings has gone up substantially since I last used this beloved ally, and they were always higher, and as much as I loved using fresh material - I'm sure I can get just as much out of good-quality dried material.
I'm clear on prep I think... I'll basically do a tea exactly like blended, frozen&thawed fresh cactus, right? I'm not yet interested in extraction beyond tea yet -, perhaps throw a shot of tequila in the mix to help the process, another shot to wash the tea down... Any reason that wouldn't work?

I suppose my only question is dosage... Working with fresh material of a certain thickness makes dosing easy, just measure and chop, but Ihave no idea what that works out to in terms of grams. Could any of my fellow cactus-lovers recommend a dosing range, for powder that has very good reviews so probably has a good alkaloid content.

Yeah whats dose like with dried material? :d

 

[Pup Tentacle]

I have a jug of tea I'm fixing to make into resin balls that's from 160g of dried torch chips. Having used chips from this same batch on a number of occasions for tea, as well as in extractions, I feel pretty confident this tea is good for 2 - 600-750mg doses. It seems to be just a little under 1% for the stuff I have. Hope that helps a little - happy cactusizing :thumb_up:

 

[AluminumFoilRobots]

ok cool, thanks! Do you have the range of experience to know if ~1% alkaloid is an average content?
I know that generally cacti alkaloid content varies considerably based on genotype, age, nutrient availability and various other factors, and all that is intra-species with even more considerable differences species-to-species - I'm just asking in your experience with specifically the dried powder from well-reputed ethnobotanical vendories of T. peruvianus.

Oh, damn, I forgot to even mention in the OP that I am wanting to work specifically with the Peruvian Torch powder. I have previous experience with (wet) San Pedro and Bolivian Torch, but not that much. Four experiences in all, one initial blast with only 6 inches of strong bridgesii, and the next three were with less-than-average strength pachanoi in doses from nine inches (threshold) to around four feet (Near "Breakthrough" experience... at least it was as close as I have gotten, and I'm not sure what a Mescaline "breakthrough" would be like... pure euclidian geometry world?) so like I said it was somewhat weak pachanoi.

Yeah, Peruvian Torch cactus and dosing! Thanks again pup tentacle.

p.s. I know it is done in the curandero ceremonies, but does anyone have experience with using a bit of tequila with the cactus? Not to get drunk, perhaps a shot after or actually I would probably have to do it beforehand, and then perhaps one during the peak and then likely one or two (or more) during the long and sometimes uncomfortable cactus comedown. I have found a moderate amount of drinking to go well with most psychedelic phenethylamines that I have tried.

Anyway thanks!

 

[alert]

A good starting dose of dried Peruvian torch chips for me is an ounce (28g).

I always used ethanol extractions but if you brew a tea I'm assuming the dosages are roughly the same.

 

[AluminumFoilRobots]

Well, I was planning on throwing a shot or two of good tequila in with the tea, so it'll be a bit of a mixed extraction.
Alert - by "starting dose" do you mean threshold dose? as I stated in my previous post I am somewhat experienced with cactus and have had a near-breakthrough dose of pachanoi, so I'm not looking for a threshold experience, as I have already felt these waters and they feel fine , that is unless the spirit of Peruvian Torch is "heavier" as it were and I should treat it separately? I'm saving up on getting at least a quarter-pound of powder so I will have some room to experiment.
as an aside, the powder I am planning on getting is well-reviewed and the vendor is well-reputed, but if possible are chips a better way to go? I mean, clearly they would keep longer but in y'alls experience, does chips vs. powder make much of a difference? I may or may not make up all of the powder at once, perhaps turning 3/5 into tea/resin and extracting the rest.

Man, I'm excited! I really love these plants and have been getting to know them through growing my three guys - which are making a good comeback in pups from their goat attack a while back. Anyway, thanks!

 

[BecometheOther]

I would say forget the tequila for sure, its not necessary at all, if your material is good, tequila will only crapify the taste and put the bad spirit of alchohol in your system.

Alkaloid content is always variable, so youll need to experiment to find the right dose, could be anwhere between 30 and a hundred grams.

Cheers and best of luck!

 

[Pup Tentacle]

ok cool, thanks! Do you have the range of experience to know if ~1% alkaloid is an average content?

I've only used torch chips and so far it's only been 2 different batches... so I have NO idea... sorry

 

[alert]

Alert - by "starting dose" do you mean threshold dose?

Nope, I should of been more clear. 28g of dried torch (the torch I had) was similar to around ~130ug of LSD. The most I have ever done was 60 grams and I was awake for 2 days straight (strong and long trip)

A threshold dose of the torch I used was probably in the 10 gram range.

 

[AluminumFoilRobots]

Well I've used the Peruvian torch on a single occasion, while 2 friends have each tried it, so a certain degree we know how potent it is - 28g was a solid, mild dose with lots of mescaliney stimulation and very slight visuals (however the night sky did look like the masterpiece it is, like an IMAX theater ) and about 40 grams were ingested at around 4 hours in (slight boost, mostly extension of couse). My friend took ~60 and had a moderate experience with mild visuals, so I don't have a full gauge. Everyone's chemistry is different.

Anyway, I've noticed the Peruvians is much more goopy than either pachanoi or bridgesii, even when I put over a gallon of water to 150 grams it instantly goops up, making it a near impossibility to filter out any particles to, say, do another pull. It basically either just sits on the filter or, when squeezed, mostly goes through. The last few times I cooked and drank, it was more "soup" than tea. Not to say I didn't enjoy drinking it

Is this just how Peruvians is? Or working with powder vs fresh whole sections? Should I try filtering while very watery, perhaps adding water a few times before filtering? Cooking *fresh* cactus, would filter fine, but I included the woody hearts. This powder is all green mucilagenous outer flesh.

I'll let y'all know how my pla,pn works out.

 

[BecometheOther]

You could try filtering it, but in my experience, filtering cactus removes a significant amount of potency

 

[AluminumFoilRobots]

Really? zero filtering? That's fine, I actually am coming to regard these cacti as foods that happen to contain a psychedelic.

I'll make it thin pea soup consistency, with a splash of lemon juice.

 

[AluminumFoilRobots]

Cactus tea is a glorified toss n wash!

All I'll say for now is that I had an Abuela in my mind telling me that its medicine and to drink up! I relish, and savor the flavor