Why do harmala salts taste bitter but the freebase doesn't?

[Jan e Kharabat]

I tried sublingual harmala freebase yesterday and was quite surprised at how tasteless it was. All these years I've been taking the HCl salt, and it was always bitter as hell. In terms of absorption both seem to be similar, freebase vanished under my tongue within just 10 min and it didn't make my mouth numb either, only very very slightly. The HCl salt on the other hand numbs everything and tastes very bitter. Surprisingly, it is also more irritating to the mucus lining, the freebase felt very pleasant in comparison. This seems strange considering the fact that freebase is more caustic and reactive and DMT freebase for example, seriously messes up the mucus lining.
Wondering if anyone knows more about this.

 

[Sakkadelic]

I've also found sublingual harmala freebase pleasant and nearly tastless (the more pure the less taste), sourness would indicate base contamination/traces and slight bitterness is from some of the freebase converting to salt in the mouth. I've even found it to be nice snorted but only one time I had a strong burn so I am not totally certain (and I wouldn't recommend it due to potential base contamination unless one is using ammonia).

About absorption I feel like it's not very effective, especially at higher doses, I suspect the salt is more suitable but haven't tried it. How much did you try?

 

[Jan e Kharabat]

I recrystallized the freebase using IPA, this way that base contamination gets filtered out even if there is any. I took 100mg harmine, it got absorbed pretty quickly, I think it partly had to do with the fact that there was no excessive saliva production, mostly everything stayed under the tongue. With HCl, the saliva production goes up really fast and it's hard to keep it from getting under the tongue. Within a few minutes the mouth is all watery and the harmalas are all over the place. Perhaps this also effects the absorption.