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Drinking magic mushroom tea as opposed to eating dried mushrooms whole, has fast become a go-to method of consumption and comes highly recommended. For many, psilocybin mushroom tea is far more pleasant to consume compared to chewing dried mushrooms and is known to be much easier on the stomach. Others simply cherish the process of preparing the psychedelic brew and sees it as a precious ritual that helps them focus their busy mind and get them into the desired mushroom mood. 

Why Magic Mushroom Tea? Making Mushroom Tea vs Eating

Time to address the question on everyone’s minds – Is there really a difference between eating shrooms and consuming shrooms in the form of magic mushroom tea?

Let’s dive right into it - There are definitely a few important distinctions between the two. If you’ve ever eaten psilocybin mushrooms, you know that the taste is not all that pleasant. In fact, for some people, it’s hard to even swallow psilocybin mushrooms because their gag reflex kicks in almost instinctively.

But, thankfully, there is an alternative to chewing up and chocking down those terrible tasting shrooms and that is turning the dried mushrooms into a nice psilocybin tea. In addition to a more pleasant taste, shroom tea is much easier on the stomach than chewing and swallowing raw magic mushrooms. Shroom tea also significantly reduces the effects of nausea and the possibility of vomiting for a large majority of people.

Why is magic mushroom tea easier on the stomach & why does consuming mushroom tea reduce the added effects of nausea generally associated with eating shrooms?  
The process of converting shrooms into tea involves cooking the raw mushrooms and transforming them into a homemade psilocybin extract. One of the biggest contributors to the nausea we experience when ingesting shrooms is the hard to digest, raw mushroom materials we’re consuming - such as chitin which makes up the fungi’s cell walls.

When converting the dried mushrooms into a magic mushroom tea, you essentially let the mushrooms sit in hot water for 10 – 15 minutes. This allows the chitin and other raw and hard to digest components of the mushroom to break down, while the psilocybin is extracted into the water, ultimately producing a tea that’s both psychedelic and easier on the stomach.

Another key difference between eating shrooms and consuming shrooms in the form of magic mushroom tea, is that similar to lemon tekking, consuming mushroom tea can intensify the trip as well as make the trip come on faster, while having a slightly shorter duration overall. However, unlike mushroom tea, lemon tekking goes the extra mile by potentiating the magic mushroom experience with the addition of citric acid - Whereas a shroom tea won’t exaggerate or intensify the trip as much in comparison.
 

Why does lemon tekking and magic mushroom tea result in a more intense experience compared to eating shrooms? When it comes to lemon tekking and making mushroom tea, if you’re grinding down your mushrooms into a powder first, it absorbs faster and feels stronger because of the increased surface area. According to board certified psychiatric pharmacist Benjamin Malcom, a.k.a. the Spirit Pharmacist, “Basically the way your gastrointestinal system and intestines that absorb drugs are set up is to maximize surface area. So, if you have ground it down into a fine powder or put it into some type of aqueous solution like hot water, then it’s probably more evenly dispersed and able to be absorbed more rapidly.”

Therefore, when you chew and swallow dried mushrooms, the surface area is far smaller than that of powdered mushrooms – This means your stomach will take much longer to absorb and digest all the psychoactive contents, ultimately resulting in a less intense experience.  

Mushroom Tea Benefits

As mentioned earlier, another major downside to chewing and swallowing dried mushrooms is the unpleasant taste. If you’ve ever eaten psilocybin mushrooms before, you know that the taste is not all that pleasant or enjoyable. In fact, for some people, it’s hard to even swallow psilocybin mushrooms without their gag reflex kicking in. Many people therefore turn their dried mushrooms into a nice psilocybin tea to sidestep this downfall and even add other tea bags to mask the unpleasant earthy mushroom taste. Another great way to spice up the flavour of your mushroom tea is to add ginger and honey for both taste and digestion.

Some psilocybin tea lovers take their mushroom tea fusions to new and exciting flavourful heights by adding things like hibiscus and licorice root. Other popular household favourites also include chamomile or green tea bags, lemon, lemon peel, a splash of orange juice, or any other citrus to give it an extra tangy kick.  

Besides the fact that converting dried shrooms into a psilocybin mushroom tea makes it far more enjoyable and easier to digest, many people enjoy and relish in the ritual of preparing the psychedelic brew. The simple process of breaking up the shrooms and brewing them has become its own ceremony that helps focus their awareness and energy, prepare their mind, and set their intention for the journey ahead. The ritual of preparing the psilocybin mushroom tea can be seen as part of a process of creating space for a spiritual experience and often acts as a grounding exercise that allows the drinker to ‘be in the now’ for the duration of their mushroom tea experience and journey.

Shroom Tea Effects: Does Mushroom Tea Change the Experience?

Consuming shrooms in the form of mushroom tea as opposed to dried mushrooms can intensify your trip and make the effects of the magic mushrooms come on faster and possibly stronger. In addition, the type of tea bag, herbs, or fruit you choose to add to your psilocybin mushroom tea can also influence your overall experience.

According to James W. Jesso, host of the Adventures Through the Mind podcast and author of Decomposing the Shadow: Lessons from the Psilocybin Mushroom, “Anytime you drink a tea it changes your subjective experience.” He goes on to explain that when you drink a specific tea, it will have a certain effect on your experience as a whole. Whether the effect is a calming sensation from lavender or an arousal effect from Catuaba bark, every experience is different and specific to the type of tea consumed as well as its contents.

The art of tea is the art of herbal alchemy,” - James W. Jesso.
Jesso also highlights psilocybin’s ability to change one’s “feeling state” to one where “feeling is an act of perception,” and that perhaps we’re extra perceptive to how our herbal teas are affecting us when we mix them with psilocybin.

Cannabis industry writer and editor at Green Entrepreneur, Lindsey Bartlett, reports a similar perspective to James W. Jesso: “I add in other tea ingredients for digestion and happiness, like tangerine, turmeric, white tea, marshmallow root, or peppermint.” Bartlett goes on to say that she’ll frequently add seasonal fruit to her psilocybin mushroom tea brew, and as a result, the trip itself can feel seasonal in turn.

Mushroom Tea Tek: How to Make Shroom Tea
Whether you’re an avid psilocybin tea lover or a mushroom tea beginner, there is an endless variety of mushroom tea recipes you can find online. But, as with most good things in life, the trick is to keep it simple! The shroom tea recipe below has consistently produced great results with no loss of potency.

Simple Shroom Tea Recipe:

    •    Step One: Weigh out the dose of your mushrooms
    •    Step Two: Grind the dried mushrooms into a powder form
    •    Step Three: Chop up some ginger and add it to your mushroom powder
    •    Step Four: Pour hot water over the mushrooms and ginger (feel free to add an optional tea bag or any other ingredients to enhance the taste – its entirely up to you)
    •    Step Five: Let it sit for 10-15 mins
    •    Step Six: Add honey for an extra taste boost & enjoy!
    •    *Optional step: If nausea is your main concern, strain out the mushroom bits and only consume the tea.

In the end, converting your magic mushrooms into a magic mushroom tea can alter and intensify your overall experience, with the added bonus of making it far more enjoyable and pleasant to consume. Not to mention much easier on your taste buds and digestive system. But, be prepared for the effects to come on a little faster and possibly stronger compared to eating raw mushrooms. And remember, for the safest and most pleasant psilocybin mushroom journey, always take safe use practices into consideration.