CIELO

Introduction

CIELO stands for Crystals In Ethyl-acetate Lazily Over-the-counter. In this process, mescaline from cactus is precipitated in ethyl acetate as crystals (see Fig. 1). This technique (TEK) is specialized for cactus, simple, and avoids harsh chemicals. The process needs to be followed closely to ensure good results.

Please grow your own cacti , . Echinopsis cacti containing mescaline are being over-harvested in the wild in a non sustainable way , . Never purchase dry cactus powder. Online powders are poor quality and their purchase funds endangered plant harvest and destruction, with less of 1/4 of wild habitats being well stocked as of 2024. Obtain and grow live seeds, cuttings, or rooted plants. With patience and love, we can all extract the essence of the plant sustainably 🌵💚

This process was developed in a collaborative open source effort at the DMT nexus website. No parts of this procedure may be patented or used for profit. The information presented here and any modifications to it may be distributed freely with a reference to this source and with love.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this process: someblackguy, benzyme, shroombee, Metta-Morpheus, downwardsfromzero, Kash, grollum, Mindlusion, Doubledog, Dreamer042, merkin, _Trip_, Cheelin, Highlightprotein, Loveall, orchidist, BlackRose, endlessness, Madhattress, reptivity, wowitsbabygirl, and many others.

Fig. 1: Monomescaline citrate crystals in ethyl acetate. Nubes del cielo transformadas en estrellas. Credit: Loveall.

Safety ⛑️

Review ethyl acetate and citric acid safety information. Verify solvent MSDS, plastic compatibility, and clean evaporation.

This TEK is food safe if food grade materials are used. Use food grade citric acid since some of it will be in the final product as mescaline citrate.

Following this advice does not guarantee safety. It is up to each adult individual to make their own personal decisions.

Materials🛒

Consumables👩‍🌾

• 100g dry fine cactus powder
• 130g water + another 130g water as reserve
• 25g Ca(OH)₂ (lime)
• 1L to 2L (1qt to 2qt) ethyl acetate (sometimes sold as "MEK substitute")†
• 5g (~ 1tsp) of food grade citric acid (both anhydrous or monohydrate are suitable)
• Optional: 15g (~1 Tsp) of washing soda (anhydrous Na₂CO₃ sold as arm and hammer super washing soda).

^† while 1L (1qt) of ethyl acetate is usually enough to extract most of the mescaline, depending on pull technique using two quarts of ethyl acetate may yield a little more mescaline (up to ~+10%). See extraction section for more details.

Equipment🏺

• Knife, paper bag, dehydrator, food processor, coffee grinder, and flour sifter (to harvest plant, store cutting, and make cactus powder)
• Kitchen gram scale (to measure ingredients)
• Large bowl and spoon (to mix alkaline cactus dough)
• French press (all metal model 34 oz. or larger preferred)
• Coffee filters, filter basket, and funnel
• Quart or mason glass jars with lids (to collect and salt extract)
• Milligram scale (to measure product)

Reccomended Upgrades🪬

• Stand mixer with flat beater
• Magnetic stirrer

Fig. 2: Some of the over the counter materials. While a glass/plastic french press is show, an all metal model is prefferred. Credit: Loveall.

Process Overview 👀

In short:🌵➠🟢➠🧑🏾‍🔬➠✨➠💖➠💚, where,

• 🌵: Grow, harvest, store, dry, and grind cactus
• 🟢: Make a dough with cactus powder, lime, and water
• 🧑🏾‍🔬: Pull dough with ethyl acetate
• ✨: Precipitate mescaline with citric acid
• 💖: Collect, rinse, and dry mescaline citrate crystals
• 💚: Reclaim ethyl acetate for reuse

Detailed Process 📜

Powder 🌵

Grow , and harvest cactus. Some data shows that dark storage (stressing) of the cuttings can increase mescaline content. However, it has also been argued that with optimal growing conditions, stressing is not necessary. Usually, the optimal growing conditions are uncertain, so in practice, stressing is recommended. To stress the cacti, store live cuttings in a dark place for at least 3 months (e.g. in a paper bag or wrapped in newspaper). Side note: the top part of the plant contains more mescaline.

All parts of the cactus can be used. Outer green skin yields more than the inner white core for the same dry mass, but mescaline is present in both parts of the plant. Outer waxy layers and spines do not yield product, they can optionally be removed but that is not necessary because they are not detrimental to the extraction.

Chop whole cacti (into for example ~1/4 inch thick slices) and dry them with (for example) a food dehydrator at low temp (~120 F). Low drying temperature is recommended because chlorophyll begins to break down at 140F and it's byproducts have a yellow/tan color that can end up in the final product (although this is a cosmetic issue only).

Grind dry cactus slices to a fine powder. This can be done in two steps, first through a food processor (coarse grind) and then through a coffee grinder (fine grind). Use of grain mill is also recommended. See Fig. 2a for representative images going from seed to powder.

Fig. 2a: Cactus life stages. Seed (top), seedling (second from top), mature specimen (middle), harvested, stressed, cut, and dried chunks (second from bottom), and powdered (bottom). After this life cicle the plant is ready for CIELO. Credits (top to bottom): Loveall, Loveall, Madhattress, Endlessness, Loveall.

Run the powder through a flour sifter and regrind any course material caught by the sifter. It is very important to make a uniform cactus powder that is dry and finely ground. The fine grind enables good yields and proper crystalization. Clouds of fine dust fly into the air when handling a good powder, reminiscent of flour (but green). Store powder in a sealed container to avoid moisture absorption over time. Old cactus powder may change to a tan color, and still works well in this process, however extract may be tan and that color may make it to the product. No differences in subjective effects have been noticed for different off-white product colors (green/yellow/tan).

Dough 🟢

Proper dough consistency is extremely important. Take your time with this step and focus on it. Mixing can be done with a spoon or gloved hands. Alternatively, a stand dough mixer and is a great upgrade.

Mix the finely ground cactus powder and lime together until uniform. Add ~130ml of water, mix well for at least 5 minutes, and check consistency.

Typically, a "wet crumb" consistency is reached (Fig. 3 top left). Slowly add water while mixing right until the crumbs blend together into a uniform dough ball (Fig. 3 top right). Goal is to use minimal water to get a uniform crumb-free dough. Always mix well for a few minutes before adding more water; it can take some time for the water to fully incorporate and reveal the true consistency.

If by mistake the dough becomes too wet, adding more cactus powder and lime will make it dryer.

Fig. 3: Cactus lime dough conditions. Top left: Wet crumbs. This "dough" is too dry and may release loose particles/sediment into the ethyl acetate. Top Right: Ideal dough, the minimal amount of water has been added to coalesce the crumbs together into a dough ball. Bottom Left: OK dough, more water makes it softer than and gives it a wet sheen, while still holding its shape. This dough will send more water into the solvent increasing goo risk. Bottom right: Too wet. Dough stops holding its shape. Excess water increases goo risk further which may require an additional (but simple) re-xtalization step. Credit: Loveall and NewOutlandishness985.

Extract 🧑🏾‍🔬

Transfer the dough to a french press. Cover dough with ethyl acetate (~200g) and stir for three minutes (see Fig. 4)^*. The dough will break up into a sandy consistency allowing ethyl acetate to easily access all the mescaline in the plant matter. Pour extract into a clean quart jar trough a coffee filter. Squeeze the french press to recover as much ethyl acetate as possible while watching for water droplets (if any are seen the dough was too wet and squeezing should be stopped).

^* Room temperature ethyl acetate works and gives good results. Another option is to use fridge temperature (~40°F or 4.4°C) ethyl acetate. It has been found to also work and give matched yields with some advantages: (1) less smell, (2) less water absorbed, (3) more time to complete pulls, and (4) lighter saturation color. Higher than room temperate ethyl acetate is not recommended (larger amounts of plant matter and water move to the extract).

Fig 4. Ethyl acetate pull in metal french press ready to be covered and easily poured out. Credit: Loveall.

Repeat the extraction with ~150g of ethyl acetate until the extraction jar is full (5-6 total pulls).

A small yield boost can be done by optionally doing more pulls into a second jar. This second jar is also a good check on the effectiveness of the pulls in the main jar the first time this TEK is performed. A <10% boost in the second jar is considered good.

An additional check to verify the dough is spent can be done by leaving 200g of ethyl acetate in the french press for 3 days so the congealed dough can be extracted by diffusion. Less than 3% additional product from this step is considered a successful pulling technique in the main process.

All of the extraction pulls should be completed within 45 minutes (see Fig. 4b). After ~45 minutes the sandy plant matter will begin to congeal, making solvent penetration and recovery more difficult (colder ethyl acetate will provide more time, warmer ethyl acetate less time). Hours after the last standard pull, the congealed dough will have released a few ml of solvent which can be optionally added to the extraction.

Fig. 4b: Ethyl acetate extract. Color may vary (darker green is normal), but extract must be clear and free of debris. Credit: Loveall

The spent dough can be dumped in a compost pile when not raining (avoid introducing ethyl acetate into waterways). Alternatively, allow the dough to dry in a ventilated area and dispose of it in the trash.

Partial Dry (Required for begginers)

This step can be skipped if the dough was ideal. However, achieving an ideal dough requires practice and skill. Beginners may have too much water in their dough, which makes it into the extract and can interfere with xtalization, causing goo.

To ensure water levels are correct, add a tablespoon of washing soda to the extract, shake for a few minutes, and rest overnight in the fridge. The washing soda will absorb some water and partially clump^{* ♡}. Filter the extract and proceed to the next step.

*If all the washing soda clumps up or a water layer forms, the extract (and dough) is too wet. You are at a risk of goo. Isolate the extract and repeat the partial dry until some washing soda does not clump. Improve your dough technique (fine grind, mix well adding water slowly giving it time to fully incorporate until crumbs just disappear, etc).

♡If none of the washing soda clumps, congrats! This is an indication that your extract was not excessively wet and you made an ideal dough. Next time, you can try to salt your extract without a partial dry. It is recommended to do a small test run with 10% of the extract to verify xtals form without the need for a partial dry.

Crystallize ✨

Drop ~5 grams (~1 teaspoon) of citric acid into extract. Do not under salt with citric acid since it is necessary to have excess citric acid to form crystalline momomescaline citrate (gooey trimescaline citrate can form in alkaline conditions). Allow the citric acid to dissolve by diffusion without stirring. Extract will cloud as the dissolved citric acid reacts with mescaline freebase to form insoluble monomescaline citrate. Cloudiness may be hard to see in darker extracts (a backlight may help). If the citric acid is anhydrous and/or coarse it may take a while to dissolve, however it WILL dissolve fully. Leave cloudy extract undisturbed and sealed with a lid. Crystals of monomescaline citrate should begin to appear after a few hours, and take a few days to completely crash out (at least 3 days of wait is recommended).

Crystals can have different shapes and crystallization dynamics. In general, more agitation/stirring/lifting jar to check makes smaller/powdery crystals while dissolving by diffusion and rest produces larger needles. See appendix for other crystallization options.

If no crystals form and goo appears, see FAQ below. If goo still results after taking the FAQ suggestions into account, please report this on the DMT nexus.

Fig. 5: Monomescaline citrate crystals growing in ethyl acetate. When light is shining in front of the extract it can appear a dark red. Overall appearance may vary (see Fig. 1 for an example with back light). Credit: Loveall.

Collect 💖

Swirl ethyl acetate to knock crystals loose. Crystals that cling to the wall can sometimes be dislodged by shaking or with a knife/spoon. Send solvent through a coffee filter to catch crystals (note: do not store the used solvent in a metal can because excess citric acid can corrode metal). Rinse any crystals remaining on jar walls with fresh ethyl acetate and send wash through filter to wash the crystals there and collect any loose crystals remaining in the jar (repeat ~2-3x until off color is mostly removed).

After the solvent washes are dry collect crystals in the filter by sliding them off. Rubbing the inside of the filter against itself with the palms of the hands can help loosen the last bit of crystals. This is the final product (Fig. 6).

Fig. 6: Images of mescaline citrate. Appearance can vary and crystals may be smaller to the point of looking like a powder. Top without mamagnification, second from top macro lens image, second from bottom at 50x microscope magnification, and bottom at 100x microscope magnification. Credit: Loveall, Madhattress, and Vincent.

Yield depends on the cactus and is usually between 0.3% to 3% with ~1.2% being common. However, yields up to 8.2% (5.0% mescaline HCl equivalent) have been reported.

The product is monomescaline citrate with 1.5 molecules of water per molecule of salt (see fig 6a). This hydrated salt contains 491mg/g of mescaline which was verified separately by Altitude Consulting measuring 492mg/g of mescaline (anonymous source). The rest of the hydrated salt is 447mg/g citric acid 63mg/g of water. The product is therefore ~58% as strong as Mescaline HCl which contains 853mg/g mescaline.

Fig. 6a: NMR results of 93.1% monomescalune citrate with the remaining 6.9% being water, consistent with the hydrated salt form (MesH)H₂Cit·1.5H₂O (see appendix for notation description) within the detector resolution. Credit: endlessness.

Attempting to smoke the product is not recommended as potentially unwanted compounds can form , .

Mass spectrometry (MS) results from Solaris analytical indicate the product is very clean mescaline (Fig. 7a) in one example where pachanoi was used. It is unknown if cacti with different starting starting alkaloid profiles would give the same result, and more data is needed to make that claim.

Fig. 7a: Mass spectrometry result. Peak near 210.5 is mescaline. Lower mass peaks line up with the spectrum of mescaline cleaved functional groups. The peak at 239.5 is not attributed to mescaline. Credit: Benzyme.

Testing the product with fresh and well stored marquis reagent gives a bright orange color as expected (see Fig. 7b). Several reagent results for the product from this TEK have been published by _Trip_. Note that marquis reagent may expire after a few months depending on storage conditions after which the reaction color is invalid/brownish.

Fig. 7b: Marquis reagent result. Credit: Merkin.

Tip: The coffee filter used to collect the crystals can be re-used upside-down before salting the next next extract. Any small crystals not collected may be forced into the extract and subsequently act as seed crystals for the next extraction.

Dosage ⚕️

The mescaline experience is subjective. It can vary by individual and can be affected by the environment. Natural settings usually go well with the mescaline experience. A small group of trusted loved ones or close friends also goes well with the experience. When deciding on a dose for a desired experience classification, the results of several non-scientific poll results indicate the following (see Fig 7c):

• Threshold: 100 - 165 mg
• Light: 165 - 485 mg, typically 350mg
• Common: 485 - 860 mg, typically 650mg
• Strong: 860 - 1370 mg, typically 1000mg
• Heavy: >1370mg

Fig. 7c: Reddit mescaline citrate dosage poll summary of 112 responses. Salt form is monomescaline citrate with 1.5 H2O molecules of hydration (unfortunately the .5 did not show up on the plot axis). Poll is non-scientific and subjective. Respondents participate in a mescaline forum and had previous experience. Note the overlap in poll responses. For example, while at 350mg a light experience is expected, but there are some chances of having a threshdold or common experience. Percent of answers are normalized by each subjective effect category. Credit: Loveall.

Reuse 💚

Reusing solvents is simple, environmentally friendly, economical, and highly encouraged at the DMT nexus.

To reuse, the excess citric acid will be removed. The green chlorophyll does not interfere with the process and will remain. There is no limit to the number of reuses.

Before washing solvent, check for new crystal grown and collect any new product if present. Sometimes, a small amount of product precipitates after the main collection.

It is not necessary to remove the green/dark color present in the solvent because it does not affect the TEK and remains stable after many reuses (chlorophyll saturation). Also, any mescaline that does not crystallize in the main extraction will mostly remain in the ethyl acetate during regeneration.

Do not store salted solvent in metal cans. The excess citric acid can make them rust. It is ok to store neutralized/washed solvent back in the original metal can.

There are two options to regenerate the solvent. The option that uses a magnetic stirrer is a lot less work and is recommended.

With Magnetic Stirrer

For each teaspoon of citric acid used during salting, add a teaspoon of sodium carbonate and a teaspoon of water to the solvent, cover loosely, and magnetically stir for 12 hours.

CO2 bubbles from the neutralization reaction will begin to appear after a few minutes (best seen by shining a light). If they don't appear, add an extra teaspoon of sodium carbonate and water to speed up the reaction. Neutralization reaction is complete when bubbles stop, and can be verified with a pH paper matching fresh EA.

A cloudy haze of sodium citrate from the neutralization reactiom will appear over time (best seen by shining a light). If the solvent has enough water, hydrated sodium citrate subsequently forms and drops out of solution as a wet white solid layer. If cloudiness persists after 12 hours, add a tablespoon of water and check again after another 12 hours. Repeat until cloudiness dissapears.

Finally, stop the magnetic stirrer, rest the solvent for a few minutes, and pour off the neutralized clear extract from the wet clumped up solids (sodium carbonate and sodium citrate) through a coffe filter. The solvent is reclaimed and ready to use.

Note: if the xtalization during the main TEK did not completely finish (impatience, mistake, etc), the reclaimed solvent will carry any residual mescaline to the next extraction.

Without Magnetic Stirrer

Are you sure you don't want a magnetic stirrer? Regeneration of one quart of solvent is done in two steps:

1) Add a tablespoon of sodium carbonate and 50ml of water to the extract. Shake vigorously, releasing CO2 gas as citric acid reacts with sodium carbonate. Neutralization can be verified with pH paper matching fresh EA and/or the absence of pressure buildup. If excess citric acid is used (above the TEK's main recommendation) more sodium carbonate may be needed for neutralization (0.83 parts sodium carbonate neutralize 1 part citric acid). It is important to remove all the citric acid and it can take 5 minutes or more of shaking to fully neutralize the extract. A water layer may form above the excess sodium carbonate and the extract will cloud. Afer resting for at least an hour, decant neutralized extraxt into new jar (you may need to leave a small ammount of solvent behind when decanting: it can be added to the next extraction's neutralization). Optionally, use a separatory funnel to recover all of the neutralized extract.

2) Wash neutralized solvent with a tablespoon of salt and ~50ml of water. The solvent cloudiness will change after shaking for a few minutes. Rest the solvent in the fridge for a few hours until a backlight shines through clearly. Decant into a long term storage container (e.g. original solvent can if empty). As before, you will need to leave some solvent behind wich can be added to the next brine wash). Optionally, use a separatory funnel to recover all of the washed extract.

Frequently Asked Questions ❓

Q: I froze my cuttings, is ok to proceed with the TEK?

A: No. Freezing the cuttings will change the consistency of the dough during the pull, resulting in a pancake-like batter mixture and low yield . If you proceed anyway and find a way to make it work (less water, more lime, etc) please share with your result with the community on the dmt nexus.

Q: I bought cactus powder only and I'm getting a low yield, is this normal?

A: Yes. Online powders typically yield below 1%, with 0.5% being common. Buying powders online is not recommended as it can finance poaching and plant destruction in the natural habitat. Instead, grow your own cacti if possible. If not possible, go out there and make it possible. Finally, be warmed that mescaline is a gateway drug to gardening.

Q: Does increasing the basing time increase the yield?

A: No. Shroombee has tested 15 minute, 24 hour, and 72 hour basing times and there was no difference in yield. Other process variables were 8 minutes incorporating milky water with cactus, 6x3 minute pulls, and 15 mg/gram citric acid added with the fast crystallization method. Loveall has confirmed in his experiments that 10 minute and 24 hour basing times produce the same yield. So we assume that any basing time from 10 minutes through 72 hours will produce the same yield. See a detailed explanation in this post.

Q: I got an emulsion while pulling, what do I do?

A:If the dough and solvent form an emulsion, the dough was too watery. Add lime and dry magnesium sulfate until the dough becomes chunky again and solvent is released. Keep the lime to magnesium sulfate ratio above 1 to ensure dough remains alkaline. Next time, use less water to make the dough.

Q: I have a thick bottom layer in my pulling jar after the fridge rest. What is it and what do I do?

A: It is a water layer. This can happen if you squeeze the French press aggressively and/or the initial dough is too wet. Without these issues only a few ml of water crash because of the lower solubility of water in cold ethyl acetate. Luckily, the TEK is robust to this issue. Simply separate the layers using a pipette or separators funnel and continue the TEK with the top ethyl acetate layer. The water layer should be pulled with ethyl acetate since some mescaline was likely partitioned into the large volume of water (for the standard small volume of water an extra pull is not needed). The TEK can be continued with these pulls at the washing soda fridge rest step.

Q: I heard of people using more citric acid and shaking. What’s the difference between the two crystallization methods?

A: In general, adding more citric acid and aggressively stirring or shaking will:

• Force crystals to form faster
• Form smaller and denser crystals (can be powdery in appearance) less likely to stick to the jar walls
• Cause a negligible amount of tiny crystals to drop through the coffee filter.

Q: What is the upper limit of citric acid that can be added to the extract?

A: The solubility of citric acid monohydrate in ethyl acetate is over 50 mg per gram of ethyl acetate. Note that plant matter or other unwanted extraction products (such as water) may affect the solubility. Stay well under 50 mg/gram limit and do not chemically dry the extract to ensure no undissolved citric acid is mixed in with the mescaline citrate. Under mostly anhydrous conditions the solubility of anhydrous citric acid in ethyl acetate has been measured as low as 10mg/g .

Q: After adding citric acid, I saw clouds followed by precipitation, but the precipitate reminds me of citric acid. How do I know a mescaline salt is precipitating and not citric acid?

A: Citric acid does not precipitate and stays in solution because it is well bellow its solubility limit (50mg/g) in the TEK. The white particles that form from the clouds after citric acid has dissolved are mescaline salts and not citric acid.

Q: After adding citric acid, nothing precipitated, what gives?

A: Some water is needed for the salting crystals to form. Add a few drops of water and check for clouding.

If the drops of water initiate clouding, add 0.5% water and check for xtalization after a few days. If no xtalization repeat the drop test and add another 0.5% water if nee clouds form. Next time you perform the TEK, think about how you may have made the extract too dry or ask on the online forums.

If clouds do not form, check the jar walls, a transparent product may have precipitated there (e.g. this has been reported for whole bridgesii).

If product did not precipitate on walls as a transparent film, bring up the citric acid concentration up to 20mg/g and wait a few days. Higher citrate concentration can help a initiate xtalization, but this borderline case is rare.

If your cactus is not active, no mescaline citrate will form. It is possible to have bunk cactus, especially if bought as powder online (which should never be done).

Q: After adding citric acid, goo/oil precipitated instead of crystals, what gives?

In one example from Cheelin the goo was 65% mescaline citrate. In another example, goo was measured to be roughly equal parts water, citric acid, and mescaline citrate . The cause is usually an issue with the citric/water/mescaline ratio when salting. Most people report that too much water was their issue, but too little citric acid or not enough water can also cause problems. An issue with ratios can be avoided with good starting materials and good TEK execution:

• Ensure you are using an active cactus (>0.4% mescaline). Low mescaline concentrations can fall outside the proper crystalization process window. People may encounter this when using low potency PC plants (note that not all PC plants are low potency for unknown reasons).
• Good consistency dough (not too wet)
• Not excessively squeezing the French press
• If the dough is on the wetter side, need to rest extract in a cold fridge with a teaspoon of washing soda overnight which is always recommended for beginners.

Before salting it is important to ensure water and debris are not present. Tilting the extract and shining a flashlight are needed for a good check. Take your time, especially the first time you try the TEK.

To reduce the water percentage before salting, , Shroombee suggests to add fresh ethyl acetate (usually relatively dry from the manufacturer) to the extract . This can increase robustness if any water is missed by a novice. For example, by adding ~100g of fresh ethyl acetate to a quart of extract.

Some people recommend a freezer rest followed by filtering off the ice crystals that form. This is very effective at removing large amounts of water if the TEK has not been done properly. However, if a lot of water is removed with this technique, about 1 to 2% water needs to be added back before salting for good crystallization dynamics. This is a gross sledgehammer for water removal, and may be useful for those who don't trust their skills or have fridge/ambient temperature issues (e.g. fridge is set to warm and/or crystallization environment is set too cold).

If you continue to encounter goo even after taking all this information into account, please report it on the forum.

Q: I recovered the goo/oil precipitate instead of crystals, what do I do?

A: A simple recrystallization with 99% IPA is recommended. Dissolve the goo in minimal heated 99% IPA (using a hot water bath) until only white solid mescaline citrate remains undissolved. Move the IPA to the freezer where more mescaline citrate will precipitate and collect. The collected product can be rinsed once with a small amount of freezer cold 99% IPA. Immediately press the outsides of the folded collection filter into absorbent paper towels so the cold product does not absorb air moisture (it may liquify if dried slowly in a high moisture environment).

Q: How quickly can the extraction process be done?

A: With experience, and by skipping the fridge rest step it is possible to go from raw cactus powder to dry crystals in under an hour by choosing a fast crystallization method. Current documented world record is 48 minutes to go from cactus powder to dry mescaline crystals ready to use.. However, there is an increased risk of obtain goo without the fridge rest step. The express process is not recommended for newcomers.

The world record was beat in October 2024 with a time of 32 minutes.

Example CIELO process for record seekers (raw cactus powder to pure mescaline citrate):

- Prepare ingredients for world/personal record and start timer

- Turn on stand mixer with 1 part cactus and add in order 0.22 parts lime until uniform (seconds), 1.3 parts ice cold water (seconds), and finally 2.2 parts fridge cold ethyl acetate. Stand mix for a few minutes

- Strain/filter mixing bowl solvent into jar over mag stirrer with mag stirrer rod (a fine metal pasta strainer pushed down into the mixing bowl can be helpful)

- Add another 2.2 parte fridge cold ethyl acetate parts to sand mixer for second pull for a few minutes (go to next step before this one finishes)

- While stand mixer runs with second pull, turn on magnetic stirrer with first pull and add 0.055 parts of citric acid

- Strain second pull into xtalizing extract conditions must be met:

1) Total yield must be above 1.1%

2) The pull after the timer stopped must yield less than 0.06%

3) Original yield must be measured again after 11 hours with no weight loss detected from solvent evaporation

Q: The cactus dough congealed in ethyl acetate very quickly and I couldn't finish the timed pulls with a sandy consistency. How can I give myself more time?

A: Try using less water and/or lower temperature ethyl acetate next time. 1) Excess water can accelerate congealing of the cactus dough and decrease yield as it is harder to extract.

2) Higher summer temperature pulls in the summer can also accelerate the dough congealing. Keep ethyl acetate in a cool place. Consider using colder fridge ethyl acetate.

Q: Why do I need to neutralize the extract before re-use?

A: Salted extract is acidic due to excess citric acid. The citric acid will react with the lime in the dough releasing small particles of calcium citrate into the extract, making a cloudy mess. While it is possible to rest/settle/decant these particles off with time, neutralizing the extract and washing it is recommended by default.

However, if the operator would rather deal with calcium citrate as part of the extraction process, reclaiming the solvent is not needed. The resulting calcium citrate can be used as a supplement.

Q: I have old resin and/or tea and would like to extract mescaline for a measured dose, can CIELO be used?

A: Yes! Adding resin or even tea to the dough works. Make sure you use the full amount as mentioned in the TEK (some people use less and are ok but that is not recommended if you are adding extra plant matter).

Q: Is there a lingo for this TEK

A: Yes, the clouds formed after salting are called "nubes" and the star shaped crystals growing on the jar walls as they clear "estrellas". These are the Spanish words for clouds and stars. You can practice your Spanish while doing this TEK. For example:

San Pedro vio nubes transformarse en estrellas en el cielo

Translates to

St. Peter saw clouds transform into stars in the sky

Q: Is there a video example of this TEK?

Yes, see for example https://youtu.be/5SNIUA-g0jM. Note that the example is an older version of the process and did not use washing soda during the fridge rest. Also, the video incorrectly states that there are 45 minutes before the dough congeals after adding water, but the 45 minutes do not start until adding ethyl acetate. However, the dough description and xtalization example are very good in the video.

Appendix: Development Notes 🔬

Dough 🌵

No improvements were seen with longer basing time, dough oven drying, or increasing the ionic strength with CaCl2. Microwave treatment or boiling water resulted in a small yield loss.

Dough made with sodium carbonate failed. Dough congeals very quickly and requires long solvent soaks which are darker and don't crystallize to large loose crystals (small sticky crystals were obtained).

Use of lime and boiling water causes the saponification of chlorophyll over time :

Chlorophyll + 2OH^- ⇒ Chlorophyllin^-- + Phytol + Ethanol

Chlorophyll is soluble in Ethyl Acetate, but Chlorophyllin and Phytol are not. Saponification in hot water gives an extract with less plant matter and lighter color, however yields where slightly lower with this approach.

Extract 👨🏾‍🔬

Tests with longer/warmer pulls resulted in darker extract, smaller crystals, more dough solvent absorption, faster congealing of dough, stickier crystals and no yield benefit. Colder ethyl acetate makes the process easier with no yield loss.

Chemically drying the extract with anhydrous CaCl2 had no benefits, while drying with MgSO4 was problematic. However, depending on the worker and techniques used, a chemical dry with CaCl2 pellets (available commercially as de-icer) could reduce water content in the solvent and possibly make crystallization easier. Washing soda (when sold as Na2CO3 in monohydrate form, or when making the anhydrous form from baking soda with an oven) also dried the extract and be beneficial in such cases and is now recommended in the main TEK.

Crystallize ✨

Alternative crystallization options:

• Shaken not Stirred: Also called the 007 process. After adding the citric acid, shake the sealed jar vigorously. The citric acid will dissolve quickly and small crystals will precipitate as the shaking continues. After 15 minutes, shaking will crystallize most (but not necessarily all) of the product out of solution quickly.

• Fast crystallization option: Use a magnetic stirrer to dissolve the citric acid and speed up crystallization. This produces a fast crystallization and minimizes crystals that are stuck to the wall. A stirring vortex will go from visible, to not visible as clouds form, to visible again as mescaline citrate precipitates (see Vid. 1). Crystallization is complete within two hours. Crystals will be very small with this approach and look like a powder. The crystals should still be large enough to be caught by a filter, but if some are not caught, slowing down the magnetic stirrer will produce larger granules in subsequent runs. The resulting powder is are dense and easier to pack in capsules compared to the long needles, but not as pretty to look at (see Fig. 8aa).

Vid. 1: Fast crystalization. Magnetic stirrer speed was dropped after citric acid was dissolved so crystals would be slightly larger and caught by the filter. Credit: Loveall.

Fig. 8aa: Powdery product from fast crystallization. Credit: Loveall

• CASEA: Endlessness has reported success with this method. In his words:

I added 11.1g anhydrous citric acid in 250ml ethyl acetate. It did not dissolve much at all, even after overnight stirring in a magnetic stirrer and some time in the ultrasonic bath.

So I decided to add water in small amounts until it all dissolved. It took about 5ml water for the citric acid to dissolve completely.

So I added all the 250ml CASEA, and there was immediate clouding. After 1 hr it looked like this (see Fig. 8a):

Fig.8a: CASEA crystallization results. Credit: Endlessness.

During crystallization, excess citric acid (H₃Cit) reacts with free base mescaline (Mes) to form to form the monomescaline citrate salt (MesH)H₂Cit, which preliminary NMR results indicate could be a hydrate:

Mes_(↑) + H₃Cit_(↑) + 1.5H₂O ⇒ (MesH)H₂Cit·1.5H₂O_(↓)

By not using excess citric acid, different salt forms can be precipitated, but that process is more complex than the simpler excess citric acid approach, and the other salt forms can form goo.

There is a lot room for excess citric acid in solution since its solubility is 50mg/g in ethyl acetate. In extracts with crystallization issues, adding more citric acid can help force precipitation: in one example with whole cactus powder 20mg/g was used .

Several factors can make crystals smaller: Reusing ethyl acetate, longer/warmer pulls, higher citric acid concentration, mechanical agitation, and other potential variables. Small crystals can look like a fine powder. Potency does not seem affected by the crystallization appearance, and a powdery precipitate is not a problem unless it becomes difficult to decant/filter.

After the initial crystallization, adding more citric acid and/or moving the extract to the refrigerator does not result in any more precipitation. Moving the extract to the freezer produced ice crystals.

Other dry organic acids have been tested,. Fumaric and tartaric crystallized well as monomescaline and could be a substitute for citric. Malic also crystallized but took longer to do so, and a crude mass measurement indicated the dimescaline form. See Fig. 8b for resulting citrate, tartrate, fumarate, and malate crystals. Succinic also crystallized from a chemically dried extract (without drying crystals did not form) as the monomescaline form (see Fig. 8c). Ascorbic, and benzoic did not crystalize well. Other organic acids (lactic, oxalic, etc) have not been tested yet at the time of this writing. For the organic acids that crystallized, Mescaline HCl equivalent is (assuming no hydrate formation):

• Monomescaline Citrate: 61%
• Monomescaline Tartrate: 69%
• Monomescaline Fumarate or Succinate: 75%
• Dimescaline Malate: 89%

For a comprehensive reference of mescaline salt weight conversion see orchidist's calculator.

Fig.8b: CIELO results using citric, tartaric, fumaric, and malic acids. No chemichal drying of the solvent was done in all cases. Credit: Loveall.

Fig.8c: CIELO results using succinic acid after chemichally drying the extract with K2CO3. No xtals formed from succinic in an example where chemichal drying was not done. Credit: _Trip_

10% sulfuric acid was tested and while some crystals formed, a separate liquid layer also appeared making the process not practical. HCl has not been tested as it may break down ethyl acetate.

Collect 💖

Washing crystals in the filter with a splash of fresh ethyl acetate wicks away plant colors very effectively. It is the ultimate lazy purification method.

Any product stuck to the jar walls tends to be small. Minor amounts of xtlas on the wall are normal, but if a lot of it sticks to the wall, the inital dough could be too wet or the ethyl acetate was too warm. The laziest way to collect this small amount of product is to dissolve it in water used in the next extraction.

Reuse 💚

Dark extract can be cleared up with activated carbon (also called activated charcoal). Use dustless pellets (typically rinsed with water and dried before use).

Any benefit to using activated charcoal to decolor the used solvent is not clear (pun intended). Also, the environmental benefit of regenerating a colorless solvent is in question since ethyl acetate is easy to produce and activated charcoal requires resources to manufacture. However, if the activated charcoal itself can be regenerated (e.g. in a hot oven) it may be economical to use it if a colorless solvent is wanted. However, there is no benefit to this other than aesthetics since the final product is same regardless of the color of the starting solvent (provided some fresh ethyl acetate is available for the rinse).