Kratom Tea-Making - Brewing and Dosing Ideas for the Rest of Us

partynuts - Because kratom isn't FDA tested or approved, kratom can only be sold in the United States for burning as incense - it does burn quite nicely, with smells reminiscent of a crisp fall day. I cannot condone the ingestion of kratom or kratom tea, but for those who are looking for an all-natural, effective, legal means of attenuating chronic pain - say from Lyme Disease or spinal cord issues, Kratom is an amazing leaf, and may offer the relief you seek. Kratom is the dried and crushed (or powdered) leaves from the species Mitragyna speciosa, a tree which is native to Southeast Asia. The kratom tree is in the same botanical family as the coffee tree. It's been used as a medicinal & recreational herbal drug for thousands of years, and offers stimulant (at low doses), sedative (at higher doses), analgesic, and (yes) euphoric, opiate-like properties. Kratom contains similar alkaloids as the pharmaceutical, synthetic opiates, but is said to be much less addictive. In-fact, sometimes kratom is used as a means to lessen opiate addiction withdrawal symptoms. If you are going to use it for pain relief, however, please be careful and treat it with respect. After 2 back surgeries and years of occasional, yet severe discomfort, I've come to realize that I needed a non-addictive means of controlling the spells of severe back pain that creep-up from time-to-time; kratom fits that bill perfectly. Kratom is an all-natural solutions that really works for me. Frankly, I'm not sure if it actually dulls the back pain, or whether it makes me just not care about it (because, frankly, it gives a really wonderful opiate-like buzz that feels just GREAT!). I guess it really doesn't matter; I occasionally use kratom, I feel better... period. Life is good! Now, there are some who actually enjoy the age-old ritual of boiling-dipping-stirring-straining-repeating, in order to make a batch of kratom tea. Indeed, some also savor the alkaline-bitter, green-grass taste of kratom tea... but personally, I don't care-for either. Don't get me wrong, I really like the smell of fresh kratom leaves & powder, and I love the pain-relieving and attitude-altering effects of kratom, but that bitter alkali taste - the very ingredient that makes kratom so special, just turns my stomach. Kratom tea preparation isn't ritualistic for me, but instead a necessary evil, a real pain-in-the-butt chore that needs to be accomplished in order to enjoy the benefits of the leaf.