Caapi preparation w/ crockpot

[carpo4]

this is my first time brewing the vine and,
since i'm in no hurry,
i've decided to go the crockpot route.

so, i started out with 31.5g of cielo caapi from maya ethnobotanicals



reduced this to powder with a nutmeg grater,


hammered the larger pieces before putting them in a coffee mill,


which left me with 28.6g of powdered vine.
i then poured 500ml of distilled h₂o mixed with 25ml of clear malt vinegar into a crockpot
and set the temperature switch to 'low'.
i picked this one up from my local charity shop for £8 ($15).


the waters' temperature reached a max. 78°c in about an hour.
i added the powdered caapi evenly and replaced the lid on the crockpot.


not being sure how quickly the brew would evaporate
i checked on it several times and,
24hrs. later, decided to do the first filtering,
using a double layer of cheesecloth.
this brew had reduced by exactly a half, giving me 250ml.


i returned the vine matter to the crockpot,
stirred in a further 500ml h₂o w/ 25ml clear malt vinegar
and replaced the lid.
i will leave the brew for a further 24hrs. before filtering for the second time.
this should leave me with approx. 500ml of brew in total.

now, i have a few questions:

1) are my liquid proportions correct for the crockpot method?
2) should i have pre-heated the h₂o/vinegar for the second brewing, before adding the vine matter
or does it not make much difference?
3) how much sediment is desirable in a brew, as the cheesecloth has removed practically all of it
and i'm not sure if this is a good thing or not?
4) should i do a third brew and,
5) which method should i use to reduce down the final mix?

any input greatly appreciated.

Use 70 or 80 grams next time. Always made a double dose. You may have such a good time with one dose you will want to extend the experiance!

Great pictures and great procedure...

[carpo4]

thanx roo!
so, with 70 or 80g, should i increase the amount of water i use for each brew from 500ml and,
if so, by how much?

It does not realy matter. A liter or 2 per extraction is ok. Just save the extractions and reduce them down to drinkable amounts. 100 to 200 ml per dose seems to work fine as a final dose.

Caapi by itself is a great medicine. It is not all that visionary, but it does give a sense of well being and calmness. This effect id very profound and can last for a week after the dose wears off.

Caapi itself and the extraction is perficly legal.
It has less side effects than Prozac, and in my opinion is more usefull, but one must observe ones diet when drinking it.

If you wish you can add some chacruna to the mix right at the beginning of the extraction. For a double dose 60 or 70 grams is traditional, and very powerfull. The great part about this is that you have all the calmness of the Caapi plus the visions of DMT. LOL! It beats shrooms in my book.. The only bad part is that once you add chacruna its ilegal. He He, never stoped me, just have to be stealthy about it in the real world.

I sould say that if you add chacruna to Caapi you have the have the mother of all shroom trips. More than just visions and insite, its a medicine for the body and mind as well. You always feel better after the experiance than you did before it. It sticks with you long after the trip also.

The crock pot is the way to go. Its the Hippy3 huasca tek. LOL! He wrote about it a few years ago.

[carpo4]

yes, taking just the vine is my intention
as i want to feel it's effects in isolation
and develop a relationship with it.
i have chacruna
but i am in no rush to add this.
i want to get my brewing tek down first
and my diet
before i venture further.

roo, is there a link to hip's tek?
i've searched the archives but i could only find a few details
which i based this preparation on.

He mentions it from time to time. There is a thread or 2 there with his mention of it. It is by far the best way to go for any extraction.

not to hijack the thread, but i've been thinking about preparing some ayahusca this way and when i was looking for caapi, i came across several different varieties (colors)... I was just wondering if one was much more potent than another, or if they were all pretty much the same?

[carpo4]

roo,
i just found an <font color="0000ff">archived thread</font> of yours which pretty much answers all my questions.
hope you don't mind me quoting from it.


<font color="aa00aa">question:</font> should i have pre-heated the h2o/vinegar for the second brewing, before adding the vine matter
or does it not make much difference?
<font color="ff6000">answer:</font> The DH2O should be mixed with the vinegar before putting it into the water. Once you have it mixed, just pour it over the ground up leaves and vine.

<font color="aa00aa">question:</font> how much sediment is desirable in a brew, as the cheesecloth has removed practically all of it
and i'm not sure if this is a good thing or not?
<font color="ff6000">answer:</font> Straining is good for 2 reasons. The first is the fine plant material will irritate your stomach if you drink it. The second is that the extraction will be easier to burn during the reduction phase. Don't worry about losing too much of the good stuff as its in the DH2O and not the plant material.

<font color="aa00aa">question:</font> should i do a third brew?
<font color="ff6000">answer:</font> 2 extractions.

<font color="aa00aa">question:</font> which method should i use to reduce down the final mix?
<font color="ff6000">answer:</font> For the reduction phase a large porcelain turkey roaster is ideal. Preferably one that is new, if not new than VERY clean. One can do this on the cook top but I prefer the oven. Just preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the pan containing the extractions into the oven and bring the heat down to about 200 degrees. The liquid should very lightly boil, but a roaring boil may destroy the brew. We want to get rid of the excess DH2O and the acid. Vinegar will boil off before the water. Once the liquid comes down to about 200 or 300 ml it should be tasted. If it tasts acidic, add more DH2O and reduce it again. Usually after the second reduction the vinegar is gone. 100 to 200 ml per dose is good the first time you do this as its very easy to burn. 75 to 100 ml is actually better. The brew should not be thick, but almost the consistency of water.

nice pix

[llama]

David: From my knowledge, the black caapi is extremely strong, and most experienced travelers warn against it for beginners. This is followed in strength by red and then yellow (common). I'm not totally sure where white fits in. More info:
http://www.biopark.org/peru/huascaspecies.html

Hmmm..

I have seen the black but never used it. I have alot of red Caapi right now.

I like the red so far. It gives the brew a nice color. The purge seems stronger with the red. The physical healing effects are more pronounced.

Llama, have you had any experiance with the black Caapi?

My brews contain Caapi (right now red), Chacruna and/or Chalaponga. I also sometimes add 2 or 3 leaves from the brugmansia tree. It depends on what I am trying to acomplish with the brew.

I like the effects of Caapi. The best brews go 40 to 60 g per dose in my opinion.

"question: should i do a third brew?
answer: 2 extractions."

I think 2 works but 3 seems like a better number. The key seems to be time. One just has to let the stuff brew. That is the greatest advantage to the crock pot. You just load it up and forget about it. LOL! Not too long though, but you do not have to babysit it.

LOL! Yea I found a wholesale deal on the red!

Roo, have you ever tried the method of extracting mimosa and then letting the final extraction evaporate comepletely off at low temperatures, then scraped up and put in capsules?

Maybe for those who happen to have mimosa and rue on hand by coincedence it would be easier than drinking a mimosa brew? A simple water rue extraction wouldn't be nearly as bad as a big glass of mimoshusca.

I have not done this with Mimosa. I should give it a second chance. The extraction is VERY hard to get down.

I have done this with Rue. The "salt" tek is definatly the way to go. I always warn everyone not to eat the seeds or pieces of them. For me at least it realy disagrees with me. I realy like Rue extracted this way. One gets nice crystals. I have smoked them at the peak of a shroom trip and I VERY much think everyone should try this at least once. Rue seems to have the same calming effect Caapi does. With the shrooms its a whole new world to explore, they compliment each other quite nicly.

Interesting.

Is there any liquid you could extract mimosa with that would evaporate easily?

I'll search for the rue salt tek. I want to take some rue alone to see how I react to it.

<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>quote:</font>

I always warn everyone not to eat the seeds or pieces of them. For me at least it realy disagrees with me.<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>
hmm,
i never have had a problem with rue,
i just grind it.

[carpo4]

phew!
i was just in the process of cleaning-up from filtering the 2nd brew,
when i caught your advice about a 3rd one, roo,
so i've put the caapi in for another round.
i've also halved the amount of vinegar per 500ml,
as per your archived posts procedure,
and checked the acidity with a ph tester.
it comes in at just under 5 which, if i remember correctly,
is about right.

Hehehe nice, hope it works out well.


Sorry to ask another question here, but is DMT soluable in ethyl alcohol, such as everclear? It seems that Phalanax was doing mimosa with vodka or gin.....how about everclear to extract, even with light heat as one would do the mushroom extraction. Then you could strain it and let it evaporate and load into capsules?

I tried ayahusca this weekend mimosa and rue brew it was very hard to get down very very bitter. I started to fell weightless then it all came back up i could not hold it down. i think next time i will try to extract the mimosa.

Yes, DMT is alcohol soluble...

[carpo4]

i gave 18hrs. for the 3rd brew.
since removal of all sediment is desirable
ive chosen a refined method for the filtering stage.
first, the brew is poured thru' 4 layers of cheesecloth
sitting on top of a dustmask.


any remaining liquid is squeezed from the cheesecloth thru' the dustmask,
as the dustmask doesn't allow for this degree of squeezability
whilst the cheesecloth doesn't filter as well as the dustmask


the final filtration is thru' a buchner funnel w/ hand-held vacuum pump.


here are all three brews together
ready to be reduced.

hey where'd you get your vacume pump ?
looks just like mine...
so, that's just ~30 g of caapi ?
i'd do another batch....
then chacruna.

Those pumps are great! I use mine all the time for herbal extractions etc.

[carpo4]

yeah, got mine from avogadro's laboratory supplies via ebay,
but i see <font color="0000ff">myco supply</font> also do them.

[carpo4]

i'm using a glass roaster for the reducing stage.



the oven was pre-heated to it's max. setting of approx. 260°c,
then turned down to 200°c once the roaster was inside.
it took 2hrs. to reduce the liquid to approx 200ml,
at which stage i tasted it and found it to be very acidic.
400ml of dh₂o was added
it only took another 40mins. to reduce the brew to what i was hoping was 70-100ml.



in fact, it turned out to be 50ml.



the roaster developed burn stains along the liquid line in the early stages of reducing.



is this normal or due to a flaw in my method?
will it affect the brew?
is 50ml ok or should i dilute it?
and whilst we're at it, is there life on mars?

the brew will be stored in a glass bottle in the fridge.

I_am_me and others interested in the mimosa extraction, please check this out:
http://mycotopia.net/discus/messages/15362/190597. html?1108334791
I want to discuss this further without derailing a thread bound for the archives.

Hmmm....I usually do just the opposite : As I reduce , I transfer to consecutively smaller (narrower) kettles to avoid burning (or sudden total evaporation !). I'd say spread it out at first , to aid evaporaton , but then as it reduces....go for a narrower (hence deeper liquid) container .

[phalanx]

You could split the brew into 2 or 3 pots so it will reduce quicker. Or use a frying pan.

[carpo4]

thanx for the input
i suspected this would be a tricky area to get right.
i'm wondering myself if using the crockpot w/out the lid is another viable option.

<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>quote:</font>

As I reduce , I transfer to consecutively smaller (narrower) kettles to avoid burning (or sudden total evaporation !). I'd say spread it out at first , to aid evaporaton , but then as it reduces....go for a narrower (hence deeper liquid) container <!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

makes good sense.

[carpo4]

i tried a test run of 1000ml dh₂o w/ 25ml vinegar
in the crockpot, set on 'high', no lid,
and it took approx. 14hrs. to reduce this down to 100ml.
tasted it and it was none too acidic.
i'll be using this method on my next batch of caapi
as i like the slowness and simplicity of it.

[Son of O'or]

Have you drank it yet?

[carpo4]

yes, last night!
i was careful with my diet for the whole day.
not sure how important this is leading-up to maoi ingestion,
but i'll continue it through today.
anyway, had my usual oranges for breakfast,
and a baby-leaf spinach salad w/ a blended celery,tomatoes & spring onion dressing for lunch.
dinner was a couple of green plantain w/ steamed curly-leaf kale, red onions and shitaake,
all low in tyramine (hopefully!).
dosed at 20:35, 3 1/2 hrs. after dinner
and 30 mins. later began to feel the onset.
unable to maintain concentration with viewing monitor,
energies taking me inwards.
waves of slight nausea, increased through standing/moving about.
switched everything off and lay down in dark.
experiencing of loosened and accelerated thought processes
combined with very mild behind-the-eye visuals.
i could see how the addition of a dmt source would modify this stage.
positive feelings were attributed to everything which passed through my mind,
nothing perturbed it.
this lasted about 30 - 45 mins.
by which time i'd decided to hit the sack
and found no difficulty in falling asleep.
woke early, 5am'ish, and watched the sun come up.
keen to get on with the day.
going to start preparation of a brew proper,
70g caapi/70g chacruna combined.

[Hippie3]

good deal,
you got effects.
means you're on the right path eh ?
the addition of the dmt will blow your socks off.

[carpo4]

i hope so, hip, on both counts!
well, i started my first aya brew this morning.
70g of vine was grated using the small bore (parmesan) element of a grater,
which didn't quite reduce it to a powder,
but was far less effort than the nutmeg element.
next, 70g of whole, dry-leaf, ecuadorian viridis was broken by hand,
then broken further in a food processor
in order to minimise the load for the final stage of the coffee mill.
both caapi and viridis were then mixed into the crockpot
and covered with 2000ml dh2o/30ml apple cider vinegar,
which i'm going to let this sit for 10hrs before switching on the heat.
i'll then proceed with the brew as per the method for the caapi,
adding 2000ml dh2o/30ml vinegar at each new brewing stage.
the brew should be ready for reducing by wednesday night.

[sinthetic]

nicely formatted reply, i will follow suit.

[carpo4]

thanx!
wasn't quite what i'd expected.
when i tried this out in 'trash',
it didn't load the thumbnails.

[Hippie3]

looks good to me

i really really wanna just get some
good extracts from some caapi
and chacruna or jeruma and do it
that way, i hate drinking nasty
tasting drinks and i hate puking.

[I_am_me]

No pain, no gain.

Hehehe a little puking can't be any more overwhelming than having your mentality shattered and rebuilt over the course of a few hours.

[Son of O'or]

carpo4

Sorry I been away from this thread.... I am very happy to see your are making progress with the vine!

I wish I had more time post but it been crazy..

[carpo4]

hey, thanks for popping in!
no need for apologies.
actually, this is an opportune moment for me to give a little update.
well, i finished the 3rd and final brewing last night, at midnight
(makes mental note to start all future brews in the morning!)
and have started reducing the approx. 4000ml worth of brew i'm left with.
this is going to take a while,
especially since i'm away now until sunday,
but i'm in no rush.
i've decided against filtering the final mix with the vacuum pump
since the face mask/cheesecloth combo does a more than adequate job,
allowing through only minimal sediment.
oh, and just a side note:
i was pleasantly suprised by the smell of the vine whilst it was brewing.
earthy yet fragrant,
particularly during the 1st stage.

[Hippie3]

i hate drinking nasty
tasting drinks and i hate puking.

doubt anyone much cares for either.
look at it
as a ritual of passage,
a door thru which one goes
to become fully human.

hehe yack.

[I_am_me]

I have heard that its possible not good to filter after your final reduction. Is this true?

[Son of O'or]

i hate drinking nasty
tasting drinks and i hate puking.

After the first time around the purge is not that bad. One just learns to let go and thats it. I hate puking when I am sick also, but with the vine, I do not feel I have had the full experiance unless I do have the purge. I think this fear of "puking" is a cultural thing.

Ayahuasca is not nasty tasting once one learns to brew. Its about as bitter as a strong cup of tea.

I wouldn't recommend filtering after your reduction phase . It's already been filtered 3 times ( at least that's what I do.....3 extractions for 3 hours each (all filtered with permanent coffee filter) , then the final reduction to a total minimum of 100 ml ) .

[carpo4]

thanx, redmonk.
no filtering done.

so, it's taken 65 hrs. to reduce the 4000-odd ml of brew to this,
150ml of yage.
i'll pop it in the fridge
and imbibe when the time is right.

[Son of O'or]

Well, Did you drink this yet? LOL!

Nice to see you are making progress!