Shroom is also known as Magic Mushrooms which have gained much popularity recently. Shrooms are not the stereotypical mushroom that we use to prepare delicious food. The flavor profiles of shrooms are radically different and it’s known to be consumed raw since ancient times. However, it does not taste good; rather eating raw shrooms can give a very unpleasant experience like extreme nausea.
What Exactly is Shroom?
Shroom or magic mushroom is a type of wild mushroom that is enriched with chemicals named psilocybin. Psilocybin is a natural psychoactive and hallucinogenic ingredient. And Psilocybin is known as one of the most well-known and effective psychedelics. Consuming shrooms results in magical trips and this is why shrooms are getting much popular.
The raw taste of shrooms can be quite a bummer for a lot of people. However, there is another effective way of consuming shroom, and that is by making tea which tastes a lot better with the same trip if consumed dry.
So let’s get to know more about shroom tea and how to prepare it.
Shroom Tea Compared to Eating it Raw
There are many unique benefits of having shroom tea over raw shrooms. The idea of shroom tea is to extract the main ingredient, which is psilocybin which makes the consumption of it easy compared to eating raw mushrooms
It was mentioned before that raw or dried mushroom tastes quite bad and it might cause nausea. And for people, who get nauseated easily, it’s very difficult for them to consume raw shroom which might result in vomiting.
Raw shroom is very chewy and not easy on the stomach. On the other hand, the process of making shroom tea is boiling powdered shrooms in hot water for 10-15 minutes and infuse the water with Psilocybin which makes them easy for the stomach and gets the job done. It also results in a more intense trip compared to dry shrooms but the duration is shortened.
Consuming drugs by eating or drinking has much to do with surface area. The general principle is more the surface area, the more intense trip but faster absorption.
So if you chew shrooms, there will be less surface area and it will take more time for the stomach to absorb it which perfectly explains the less intense and higher duration trip period. On the other hand, if you grind the shroom down to fine powder, the surface area will be maximized which will result in an intense trip and your stomach will be able to absorb it faster resulting in a shorter trip.
So, compared to chewing, a shorter dose of shroom is recommended for shroom tea.
Photo by: aleksey-oryshchenko
Will the Shroom Stay Intact in Strength?
This is a very important question which concerns a lot of people. The answer is yes but by now way it’s disappointing. The shrooms will lose a bit of their usual strength if it’s placed in warm water and there’s no going around it if you want shroom tea.
However, if you follow the correct shroom tea brewing procedures, you will manage to minimize the loss and you won’t notice it as well. The loss of strength, in general, is negligible and if you keep the awful taste of raw mushroom and nausea in mind, losing a bit of strength is a fair trade-off.
How Different is the Shroom Tea Experience?
As explained before, the taste of shroom tea can be very different in a good way compared to eating it raw. The trip will be intense and shorter in duration. Apart from that, drinking shroom tea can be very interesting which you can extend by exploring your creativity.
The experience of shroom tea can vary from person to person. Some described it as a calming sensation while also describing it as giving arousal effects. Many people like to consume shroom tea by adding different flavors and aromatics such as other herbal teas and fruits which can elevate the experience and establish a bridge between psilocybin and other herbs.
Compared to regular raw shrooms which taste just bad, shroom tea is nothing like it. On the other hand, you can experience different flavors along with having a great trip by extracting the psilocybin from shrooms.
This is the most unique benefit of Shroom tea and you can have it however you want. Though the goal of shroom tea is to make it easy for the stomach, there are plenty of other ways to make it good for your tastebuds as well.
You can try your shroom tea with honey and ginger. Honey and ginger, are very strong flavorwise and have many health benefits. It will help cut down the earthy and musty smell and taste of the shroom infusion.
People can be many creative and experienced shroom tea consumers have invented many interesting and delicious blends. Hibiscus tea, lemon peel, lemon juice, or any citrus juice can result in a very decent and refreshing taste with the hint of acidic punch. Infusing shroom extract with “Berry Red Zinger” tea bags can turn out amazing as well.
First Time Having Shroom Tea?
If you had shrooms before, shroom tea will be a whole new experience that you need to keep in mind. And if you never had shrooms before, it would be a wild journey for sure. The goal is to stay in the safe zone and stay within your limits by not pushing the limits.
And trust me, the first time having shroom tea is not the best time to test your limits. Tripping is not a competition, it should be more about enjoyment. Make sure to consume the tea slowly and drink very little at a time.
Take 20-30 minutes to consume a cup. You need to be careful if the trip comes faster than expected. After a few days, having few cups of shroom goodness, you will eventually get to know how to enjoy it.
How to Make Shroom Tea?
Preparing shroom tea is not hard at all, it’s fairly easy. All you need is some ingredients and necessary equipment.
Ingredients
For ingredients, you need some high-quality shrooms, preferably 5 grams. Other than that, you need-
- 2 cups or 350-400ml of water
- 2 decaffeinated teabags of your choice (Preferred tea which goes well with ginger and honey)
- 1 tablespoon of honey and few slices of ginger
- Some lemon juice is highly recommended
Equipment
You need some equipment that you will most likely find lying around your home. You need a kettle, a big bowl, a coffee grinder or something that you can use to grind shroom, a coffee or fine mesh filter, and a big mug.
Instructions
Put the mushroom into the coffee grinder and turn them into tiny pieces. Make sure not to turn them into fine powder. Boil one cup of water and after boiling, turn off the heat and wait for 20 seconds to cool down a bit. Place the ground shrooms into a cup and pour the boiled water into the cup.
Put the teabags of your choice and let them infuse for around 10 minutes. After the infusion has been done, strain the mushroom with the coffee filter and put the infused liquid into a bigger cup or bowl. Don’t throw away the filtered shrooms and put it in the same cup.
Boil one cup of water again and this time, add honey and the sliced-up ginger. You can add lemon juice up to your taste. Once it’s boiled, leave it for 20 seconds as above to cool down. Add the water to the cup where there’s the filtered mushroom from the previous infusion.
Add the remaining second tea bag and let it infuse for around 10 minutes. Strain the mushroom in the same way with a coffee filter and pour the infused liquid into the glass where you poured your previous infused liquid. Make sure to squeeze the mushrooms properly to get everything out of them.
You are now left with flavored and drinkable extract of pure shroom in the form of tea which is ready to be enjoyed. Throw out the strained shrooms. Though you might try to give it a taste there won’t be much left of it and of course, the taste won’t be good.
Precautions
According to different scientific research, shrooms can be used to successfully cure anxiety and depression. Shrooms also have highly addictive potential. According to scientific researches, shrooms were held safe for recreational use for adults as well. However, as it is highly addictive, overdosing has adverse effects.
It has been mentioned before that the effect of shroom tea kicks in faster with intense trips. So it’s recommended to pick a suitable environment and surroundings that would be friendly for you. Moreover, people having bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, cardiac diseases are strongly discouraged not to consume shrooms because it will only worsen the condition.
Final Words
Everything about shroom tea along with the preparation process and the effect is very interesting. If you have tried regular shroom before, shroom tea will give you a whole new experience and is worth giving a shot.
You can also read: Orange Spice Tea Benefits