Eating dried fungi is, frankly, pretty gross. Most people who’ve dabbled in psilocybin describe the taste as a mix of "old gym socks" and "dusty basement." But the flavor isn’t even the biggest problem. The real issue is the nausea. Raw mushrooms contain chitin, a fibrous cell wall material that the human stomach simply cannot digest. This is why you often end up curled in a ball for the first hour of a trip, clutching your stomach instead of enjoying the visuals.
Learning how to make tea from shrooms changes everything.
It’s not just about hiding the taste with a little honey or ginger. It’s chemistry. When you steep the fungi in hot water, you’re essentially performing an extraction. You’re pulling the psilocybin out of the indigestible chitin and into a liquid that your body can absorb almost instantly.
The Science of the "Come-Up"
Why does tea feel different? It’s faster. When you eat whole mushrooms, your digestive system has to break down the physical material before the psychoactive compounds hit your bloodstream. This process is slow and uneven. With tea, the barrier is gone. Most users report feeling the first effects within 15 to 30 minutes, whereas eating them can take an hour or more.
James Fadiman, a prominent psychologist and author of The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide, has long discussed how different delivery methods impact the "set and setting." Tea provides a smoother entry. It’s less of a rocky climb and more of a steady lift-off.
How to Make Tea From Shrooms Without Ruining the Potency
There is a persistent myth that heat destroys psilocybin. If you use boiling water, you’ll kill the magic, right? Not exactly. Psilocybin is actually quite stable at temperatures up to and even slightly above the boiling point of water ($100°C$).
That said, you don’t need a rolling boil. A gentle simmer or water that has just come off the boil is perfect. If you’re worried, just let the kettle sit for sixty seconds before pouring.
What You’ll Need
- The dose: Use a scale. Never "eyeball" it.
- A grinder: A coffee grinder or a simple weed grinder works. The more surface area, the better the extraction.
- Water: About a cup per person.
- A filter: A coffee filter, cheesecloth, or a fine-mesh tea infuser.
- Flavor: Ginger is non-negotiable for most because it settles the stomach. Honey and lemon are classics.
The Step-by-Step Reality
First, grind your dried material into a coarse powder. You don't want dust, but you don't want chunks either. While your water is heating up, put the powder into a mug or a small pot.
Pour the hot water over the powder. Now, wait. This is the part people rush. You need at least 10 to 15 minutes of steeping. Stir it occasionally. You’ll notice the water turning a murky, brownish-blue color. That’s exactly what you want to see.
Once the time is up, strain the liquid. Squeeze the leftover pulp to get every last drop of the "blue juice" out. Some people eat the leftover sludge just to be sure, but honestly? If you’ve steeped it correctly, there’s very little left in there. Throw it away and save your stomach the trouble.
Why Lemon Tekking is a Game Changer
You might have heard of "Lemon Tek." This involves soaking the ground mushrooms in pure lemon juice for 20 minutes before adding the water. The theory—though still debated among chemists like those at CaliSpora—is that the citric acid mimics stomach acid, beginning the conversion of psilocybin into psilocin.
Psilocin is what actually makes you trip. By doing this "pre-digestion" in a cup, the onset is even faster and the experience is often more intense, though it tends to last a slightly shorter amount of time.
Avoiding the Common Pitfalls
If you mess this up, you're usually just wasting expensive material. The biggest mistake is temperature control and patience.
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- Don't use a microwave. Microwaves create "hot spots" that can potentially degrade the compounds. Use a kettle or a stove.
- Don't skip the ginger. Even without the chitin, psilocybin itself acts on serotonin receptors in the gut. This can still cause a little "butterfly" feeling. Fresh ginger root is a literal lifesaver here.
- Don't use too much water. You don't want to have to chug a liter of liquid while you're starting to feel the effects. Keep it concentrated. One small mug is plenty.
The Nuance of Dosage
Tea hits harder because it hits all at once. If you usually eat 3 grams and find it manageable, 3 grams in a tea might feel significantly more "efficient." If it’s your first time trying this method, maybe dial back the weight by about 10-20% just to see how your body reacts to the speed of the onset.
It’s also worth noting that the duration might be slightly shorter. When you eat them, your body slowly processes the dose over 6 to 8 hours. With tea, you might find the peak is higher, but the total experience wraps up around the 5-hour mark. For many, this is actually a benefit. It means you aren't still "buzzing" at 3:00 AM when you're trying to sleep.
Cultivating the Right Environment
Since the tea works fast, make sure your space is ready before you take that first sip. Put your phone on "Do Not Disturb." Get your blankets ready. Put on your playlist. You won't have the typical 45-minute window to "get ready" once you've finished the cup.
Practical Next Steps
If you're ready to try this, start by sourcing high-quality, organic ginger and a local honey. The quality of your additives matters almost as much as the mushrooms themselves for the overall experience.
- Prepare your space entirely before the water touches the mushrooms.
- Grind your material as fine as possible to maximize the surface area for the hot water.
- Steep for a full 15 minutes; don't get impatient and pull the filter early.
- Add a squeeze of lemon regardless of whether you are "tekking," as the acidity helps stabilize the psilocin in the water.
This method is widely considered the "gold standard" by experienced mycologists and enthusiasts for a reason. It respects your digestive system while delivering the active compounds in a clean, manageable way. Stay hydrated, stay safe, and enjoy the clarity that comes with a settled stomach.