by Troy Ivan (IchiBanCrafter)

Stories about the great healing power of psychedelic mushrooms (shrooms) are everywhere these days for good reason; the stories are true and improving countless lives every day.  I was introduced to shrooms many moons ago in high school, but my profound journey didn’t start until a few years ago.  That initial part of my journey is well documented in my Magic Journal post where I was focused on chasing down a reliable extraction technique that regular people could perform at home.  I succeeded in making an extract with great characteristics and effects, but the stability and potency retention were not ideal.

My motivation for developing a reliable extraction method came from the discovery that the extract eliminated the stomach discomfort and nausea I suffered from every time I used mushrooms in any form.  Like me, I believe many people who suffer the same intense stomach discomfort choose to forgo consuming the shrooms for medicinal and mental health benefits to avoid intense nausea.  The incredible health benefits can reach more people if stomach discomfort can be eliminated.  This was my mission.

Once I had the extract process down, I was ecstatic about the end product’s performance, but it was a lot of work for something that wasn’t stable enough to be stored for extended periods.  Throughout human history, we have consumed shrooms simply by eating them or making tea, and many people don’t suffer from stomach discomfort at all.  It felt like there should be an easier answer. Maybe there was a better way with less hassle?  I wanted to find the easier way, if there was one, and I started looking at freeze drying.

THE IDEA OF FREEZE DRYING

I remembered reading that freezing mushrooms causes significant cellular disruption. Could that break up chitin, making it easier to digest, and reducing the risk of stomach discomfort?  The big problem is you can’t freeze mushrooms and just thaw them because they immediately turn black and rot right in front of your eyes as they defrost. I wanted to chase this idea down since chitin has been the main suspect in causing my stomach discomfort (it may not be; we don’t know for sure). It appeared that the only way to freeze mushrooms without ruining them was through freeze-drying.  I couldn’t find credibly documented information on what I wanted to know, so I waited and continued to search for answers. For about a year, I looked for a way to test this for myself without spending thousands of dollars on something that was merely a hunch I didn’t believe would work. My experiments repeatedly failed miserably.  In a twist of fate, while working with someone on a different business venture, they happened to have a few freeze dryers they weren’t using and offered to let me borrow one.

I got straight to work.  The great thing about the freeze dryer is it’s straightforward to use and is hands-off for the whole process.  Just push a button to start, then collect the finished product 24-36 hours later.  Skeptically, I loaded the machine with a few strains and pushed the button to start the process.  If it didn’t work, trying something new was at least fun.  It took about 30 hours, and I was prepared for the worst as I pulled out the finished product, but they were glorious!

They looked fresh, almost exactly like when I loaded them into the machine, but were dry and just a fraction of the weight.  The aesthetics were terrific, but what I wanted to know was how the effects of consuming them contrasted with regularly dried shrooms.

FREEZE DRIED SHROOM EFFECTS

To give myself the best chance of experiencing stomach irritation and nausea I chewed about 1 gram of the dried material as is, swallowed, and waited for the moment of truth.  How long would it take to start feeling ill?  I waited.  I could feel the effects creeping into my consciousness and waited for the sick feeling to set in.  It never came, I didn’t feel even a hint of nausea!!!  I was shocked and finally knew firsthand the effects of freeze-drying shrooms.  Eliminating nausea was incredible but I was blindsided by another benefit I had no reason to anticipate.  There was an obvious and very identifiable absence of body load, or as I like to call it “drag.”  Eliminating body load and drag is great for two reasons.  First, getting rid of the weighted down feeling made the high is more enjoyable.  Second, there’s no heavy lethargic come-down at the end, it fades away agreeably.  In addition to getting rid of nausea and body load, I feel the onset was faster.  It made sense that the effects came faster if the chitin was disrupted and the active compounds were able to be digested more quickly. 

It blows my mind that my extract’s major benefits are consistent with freeze drying: no nausea, no body load, and fast onset.  I can’t pinpoint precisely why the freeze-dried shrooms are so different from the regularly dehydrated/dried shrooms, so there’s more work to do.  Someone out there probably already has the answers, but if they don’t tell me, we’ll figure it out soon enough.  To this point, I’ve only dosed up to 2 grams of freeze-dried APE, so more testing and heavy dosing will be happening soon with more people to validate the experiences, but I don’t anticipate much will change.

TESTING RESULTS

Analytical lab testing was done to put numbers alongside the anecdotal effects observations. Two samples were prepared from the same harvest; one was dehydrated traditionally, and another was freeze-dried. The testing included an extended tryptamine panel performed with HPLC-DAD. The difference in results was stark. Traditional dehydration measured total analyzed actives at 0.975% while the freeze-dried sample was 1.357%, an increase of active compound retention of nearly 40%!

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

The big question is, what does this mean going forward?  Freeze-drying is a much easier process than making the extraction, and it provides similar characteristics as the extraction. This makes freeze-drying extremely attractive. On the other hand, there are still advantages to the extract as well.  The extract contains almost no plant matter, so it’s much easier than the fluffy texture of ground-up freeze-dried mushrooms to consume or incorporate into edibles like gummies and chocolates.  Also, with the extract, the high is shorter with no lingering effect to keep you awake, so it works well when you need a predictable duration of intoxication and a good night’s sleep.  There’s a place in the market for extracts and freeze-dried products, both of which are great.