So I took about 28 grams of leaf cuttings from the Sinicuichi plant. Also known as Sun Opener plant or Heimia salicifolia.
Its said exposing the leaves to sunlight ferments the chemicals inside and make it something as an hallucinogenic tea.
So giving this a try I put 28 grams of leaves in a jar and fill with water. I broke up the leaves with my fingers and licked them afterwards, very bitter. Then put in the sun for 24 hours for the light and heat to do its thing on the concoction.
One problem I had was lack of sunlight. And a cold snap showing up right around the time of fermenting the tea. I am suppose to have the jar in full sun to make it work.
Well since the weather did not work with me, I'm afraid the tea did not form right.
After a day out in the sun I put the jar in the freezer so help burst the plant material through freezing. It helps to release more chemicals from the leaves.
I put the jar outside the next day and it thawed. Around that time I started to see alot of bubbles forming. Got me excited as that's a sign of fermenting.
So I left it out for another cloudy cool day and hoped for the best. The following day I took it inside and strained out the leaves. I used a cheese cloth to crush any more liquid out of the leaves.
This left a dull yellowish brown colored liquid. It had fruity smell to it.. maybe the fermenting of the tea made it smell like that.
I took a UV blacklight to the liquid as it is suppose to shine brightly from the extracted chemicals inside.
Well it barely glowed, and that worried me. Making me think the lack of sun and heat did not fully ferment the tea.
I decided to take a swig of it. It was bitter in my mouth. I swallowed and the bitterness intensified. I started dry heaving and could not take a second drink. It also burned a little. So yeah I think I'll need to try again when it's hot and sunny. Not overcast and cool.
I may try to make an extract as well so I would not need to consume a whole jar of this tea. And I hear positive things about smoking and maybe vaping the leaves.. ill look into that more.
Live and learn... @cwow2 I figured yall would want to know about this.
Hmm interesting! I saute you for still taking a sip of it hehe! :D
Sorry to hear about the weather not being on your side this time around :/
Thanks for the update! :D
Yeah its something for sure, I did not drink enough of it to get an effect besides its strong taste. Haha glad to try it out, I was hoping it would not be so bitter.
glad you liked it
You could maybe add some Honey or Syrup for sweetness? :D
Ah good idea.. may be worth a try
Was i the fermentation process that will make it Hallucinogenic @solominer or the Sunlight shining on it?
Maybe you can add some sugar and some bread yeast to bootstrap the fermentation process but anyhow I hope that you discover and learn what is the best for your little experiment there.
Good luck now :D
Fermentation is suppose to bring the chemicals out of the leaves. Otherwise id have to mulch the leaves and eat them which is hard on the stomach. Yeah the light shining on the jar heats it up and the light does something with the plant chemicals and makes the whole thing bubble. Its important to leave the lid a little vented so gases can escape.
Hmm maybe that would help, idk... if I have a bunch of plants its something id give a try.
So true, discovery is half the fun :-)
Dude, I'm sorry that didn't work out for you, but hopefully next spring/summer will be better. Would a UV/faux-sunlight lamp work?
BTW, love the boxes in the yard!
Hah no worries, my plant is huge so I think by then it will be ready for another trimming of leaves.
Any UV light that makes things show their fluorescence, I am not sure about a sunlight lamp. But blacklights will work if thats what it is.