Difference between revisions of "CIELO"

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{{ShowInfo|[[Image:Note_error.png]]|'''Note:'''|This page is a workplace for an experimental process. It is intended to summarize information from ongoing discussions in the forum. Feel free to update this page with any observations or comments. Wiki changes are reversible so you can't break anything - be bold. This page is not currently linked to the main wiki and will remain as such until the process is independently verified by others.}}
 
 
 
= Introduction =
 
= Introduction =
  
'''CIELO''' stands for '''C'''rystals '''I'''n '''E'''thyl-acetate '''L'''eisurely '''O'''TC (Over The Counter).
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'''CIELO''' stands for '''C'''rystals '''I'''n '''E'''thyl-acetate '''L'''azily '''O'''ver-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.
  
  
In this TEK, aqueous alkaline cactus paste is extracted with ethyl acetate. The extract is salted with citric acid to precipitate mescaline citrate crystals directly in the solvent.
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'''Please''' grow your own cacti <ref name=seeds>Sowing Cactus Seeds[https://misplant.net/SeedGrow.html]</ref>, <ref name=guide>Cactus growing guide (PDF)[https://trichocereus.net/wp-content/uploads/Trichocereus%20Culture%20First%20Published%20Edition%20Cactus%20Cultivation.pdf]</ref>. Echinopsis cacti containing mescaline are being over-harvested in the wild in a non sustainable way <ref>Huachuma Collective Talk[https://youtu.be/xKWHJFzAFAk]</ref>, <ref>Huachuma Collective statement (PDF)[https://www.huachumacollective.org/_files/ugd/7cb3ef_bff49300ccbd4af0a821d0cec05631e4.pdf]</ref>. You can ask in the Nexus forum how to obtain live seeds. With patience and love, we can all extract the essence of the plant sustainably 🌵💚
  
== Materials ==
 
  
* Quart jars
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This process was developed in a collaborative open source effort at the DMT nexus website<ref>DMT nexus website[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/]</ref>. 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.
* 300g water
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* 25g Ca(OH)2 (lime)
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* 100g powdered dry cacti
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* ~ 1000g ethyl acetate ("MEK substitute")
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* Coffee filters
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* pH paper
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* Citric acid
+
  
== Safety ==
 
  
Review ethyl acetate's safety information<ref>Ethyl acetate safety[https://www.msdsonline.com/2015/04/10/ethyl-acetate-a-sweet-smelling-safety-hazard/#:~:text=Ethyl%20acetate%20is%20highly%20flammable,with%20the%20eyes%20or%20skin.]</ref> and check the manufacture's MSDS to verify you have pure ethyl acetate. Make sure any plastic you use is compatible with ethyl acetate.
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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, and others.
  
  
Each adult individual needs to find and review any other relevant safety information throughly and make their own personal decision on proceeding.
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[[File:IMG 20211220 095906809 copy 800x600.jpg|center]]<center>''Fig. 1: Monomescaline citrate crystals in ethyl acetate. Nubes del cielo transformadas en estrellas. Credit: Loveall.</center>
  
== Process ==
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= Safety ⛑️=
 +
Review ethyl acetate<ref>Ethyl acetate safety[https://www.msdsonline.com/2015/04/10/ethyl-acetate-a-sweet-smelling-safety-hazard/#:~:text=Ethyl%20acetate%20is%20highly%20flammable,with%20the%20eyes%20or%20skin.]</ref> and citric acid<ref>Citric Acid Safety[https://wiki.dmt-nexus.me/Citric_Acid_Safety#Process_.F0.9F.A5.9E]</ref> safety information. Verify solvent MSDS, plastic compatibility, and clean evaporation.
  
=== Paste ===
 
  
Mix water and lime. Add cactus powder and mix to a homogeneous paste for a few minutes.
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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.  
  
  
[[File:Screenshot_20210311-161134.png|center]]
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Following this advice does not guarantee safety. It is up to each adult individual to make their own personal decisions.
  
=== Pull ===  
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=Materials🛒=
  
Add ~ 200g of ethyl acetate to the paste. Extract by mixing very gently for 30 seconds followed by 10 minutes of settling. Decant to a second jar. If needed, a coffee filter covering the mouth of the jar and secured with a metal screw ring will keep the paste in the first jar (tear off excess filter paper and poke a breathing hole on one side).
 
  
 +
==Consumables👩‍🌾==
 +
*100g dry fine cactus powder
 +
*130g water + another 130g water as reserve
 +
*25g Ca(OH)<sub>2</sub> (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 Na<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub> sold as arm and hammer super washing soda).
  
It is important to never shake or stir quickly to minimize the ammount of solvent binding to the paste.
 
  
 +
''<sup>†</sup> 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.''
  
Pull three more times. Progress can be monitored with pH paper (green color indicates free base presence). Paste will change during the pulls and can become gunky.  
+
==Equipment🏺==
 +
*Knife, paper bag, dehydrator, food processor, and coffee grinder (to harvest plant, store cutting, and make cactus powder)
 +
*Kitchen gram scale (to measure ingredients)
 +
*Large bowl and spoon (to mix alkaline cactus paste)
 +
*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)
  
  
Combined pulls will give ~a quart of deep green extract (see image below up against a window with horizontal blinds).
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===Reccomended Upgrades===
 +
*Stand mixer with flat beater
 +
*Magnetic stirrer
  
  
[[File:Screenshot_20210311-161548.png| center]]
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[[File:IMG 20210608 223040865 copy 800x600.jpg|center]]
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<center>''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.</center>
  
=== Salt ===
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= Process Overview 👀 =
 +
In short:🌵➠🟢➠🧑🏾‍🔬➠✨➠💖➠💚, where,
 +
*🌵: Grow, harvest, store, dry, and grind cactus
 +
*🟢: Mix powder into minimally wet uniform lime paste
 +
*🧑🏾‍🔬: Pull paste with ethyl acetate
 +
*✨: Precipitate mescaline with citric acid
 +
*💖: Collect monomescaline citrate crystals
 +
*💚: Reclaim ethyl acetate for reuse
  
Dissolve ~500mg (~1/8 tsp) of citric acid into the extract making it cloudy. Test with pH paper, goal is to neutralize the free base and have excess acid in solution (notice subtle red color at the top of the universal pH paper below). If needed, add more citric acid in small increments of ~100mg until solution is acidic.
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= Detailed Process 📜=
  
[[File:Screenshot 20210313-180055.png|center]]
 
  
Move extract to fridge for 12-72h. White xtals should form towards the bottom of the jar.
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== Powder 🌵 ==
 +
Grow <ref name=seeds/>, <ref name=guide/> and harvest cactus. Store cuttings in a dark place for at least 3 months (e.g. in a paper bag or wrapped in newspaper). Data shows dark storage increases mescaline content<ref>Dark storage data[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=739806]</ref>, and that the top part of the plant contains more mescaline<ref>Paper with vertical signal[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1146358&#post1146358]</ref>. Chop whole cacti (into for example ~1/4 inch thick slices) and dry them with (for example) a food dehydrator at low temp (~115 F). All parts of the cactus can be used. Outer green skin yields more than the inner white core for the same dry mass<ref>Result for different cactus parts[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1127854#post1127854]</ref>, 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. 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 reccomended. See Fig. 2a for representative images going from seed to powder.
  
  
[[File:Screenshot_20210311-162001.png|center]]
 
  
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[[File:IMG 20230213 104225336 HDR copy 800x648.jpg|center]]
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[[File:IMG 20230213 103910895 HDR copy 800x720.jpg|center]]
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[[File:20230203 085108 copy 800x1215.jpg|center]]
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[[File:8iwkwZzHmA copy 643x502.jpg|center]]
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[[File:IMG 20230213 102718133 copy 800x643.jpg|center]]
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<center>''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.</center>
  
If there are issues with chrystalization,make sure salting is complete and extract is acidic (see example below). If the extract still does not crystalize it should still be possible to recover any product present with water pulls followed by evaporation and ethyl acetate washes.
 
  
=== Finish ===
 
  
Loosen up any crystals on the jar walls and catch the product pouring through a coffee filter. Rinse a few times with fresh ethyl acetate until green color is wicked away. Let dry, this is the final product.  
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It is '''very important''' to make a uniform cactus powder that is dry and finely ground. The fine grind enables good yields. Clouds of fine dust fly into the air when handling a good powder, reminiscent of flour (but green). Store properly sealed 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).
  
 +
== Paste 🟢 ==
 +
Proper paste consistency is extremely important. Take your time with this step and focus on it. Mixing can be done with a spoon and a lot of elbow grease. Alternatively, a stand mixer with a flat beater will make mixing very easy and is a great upgrade.
  
[[File:Screenshot 20210312-234218.png|center]]
 
  
 +
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.
  
Mass spectrometry (MS) results from solaris analytical<ref>Solaris analytical service[https://www.solarisanalytical.com/]</ref> indicate the product is very clean mescaline. See MS spectrum below, peak near 210.5 is mescaline. Peaks at and 193.6, 178.4, and 162.0 are believed to be mescaline with amine/methyl/methoxy groups cleaved to generate the lower mass mescaline spectrum in multiples of ~16 au (16.9, 32.1, and 48.5 respectively). The small peak at 239.5 is not attributed to mescaline.
 
  
 +
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 consistency (Fig. 3 top right). Goal is to use '''minimal''' water to get a uniform crumb-free paste. Mix well for a few minutes before adding more water; it can take some time for the water to incorporate and reveal the true paste consistency.
  
[[File: Screenshot_20210310-062431.png|center]]
 
  
== Lab Notes ==
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If by mistake the paste becomes too wet, adding more cactus powder and lime will make it dryer.
  
The pulls appear to be very efficient, extracting mescaline within minutes. The similarity between the solvent's ethoxy group and mescaline's methoxy groups could contribute to the solubility.
 
  
 +
[[File:Screenshot 20240718 035248 Slides copy 800x1146.jpg]]
 +
<center>''Fig. 3: Cactus lime paste conditions. '''Top left:''' Wet crumbs. This "paste" is too dry and may release loose particles/sediment into the ethyl acetate. '''Top Right:''' Ideal paste, the minimal amount of water has been added to melt the crumbs together into a uniform paste. '''Bottom Left''': OK paste, more water makes it softer than and gives it a wet sheen, while still holding its shape. This paste will send more water into the solvent increasing goo risk. '''Bottom right:''' Too wet. Paste stops holding its shape. Excess water in the solvent increases goo risk further which may require an additional (but simple) re-xtalization step. Credit: Loveall and NewOutlandishness985.</center>
  
It is possible to chemically dry the extract with a drying agent such as anhydrous MgSO4 before salting. However, no clear yield benefit was observed by performing this step. Surprisingly, solutions carefully dried with anhydrous CaCl2 followed by K2CO3 had difficulty crystalizing, indicating that a some water is desirable for crystalization. This points to the precipitate from this TEK maybe being hydrate salt. Regardless of the reason, the water content in ethyl acetate directly from the pulls is in a good range experimentally.  
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== Extract 🧑🏾‍🔬==
 +
Transfer the paste to a french press. Cover paste with ethyl acetate (~200g) and stir for three minutes (see Fig. 4). Pour extract into a clean quart jar trough a coffe filter. Squeeze the french press to recover as much ethyl acetate as possible while watching for water droplets (if any are seen the paste was too wet and squeezing should be stopped).
  
  
During salting, every 10mg of citric acid ('''CitH3''') reacts with enough free base mescaline ('''Mes''') to precipitate up to 43mg of mescaline citrate (or slightly more if a hydrate form is precipitating):
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[[File:IMG 20230210 115119600 HDR copy 800x558.jpg| center]]
 +
<center>''Fig 4. Ethyl acetate pull in metal french press ready to be covered and easily poured out. Credit: Loveall.''</center>
  
  
'''<span style="color: Orange"> <div style="text-align: center;">3Mes<sub>(↑)</sub> + CitH3<sub>()</sub> ⇒ 3(MesH)Cit<sub>(↓)</sub></div></span>'''
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Repeat the extraction with ~150g of ethyl acetate until the extraction jar is full (5-6 total pulls). The paste consistency will become more sticky as the pulls progress. 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. Poor execution (sloppy technique, cactus powder not ground fine enough, paste too wet, etc) will give a larger yield boost in the second jar. A <10% boost in the second jar is considered good<ref>Second set of pulls [https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1132198#post1132198]</ref>. An additional check to verify the paste is spent can be done by leaving 200g of ethyl acetate in the french press for 3 days so the congealed paste can be extracted by diffusion. Less than 3% additional product from this step is considered a successful pulling technique in the main process.
  
  
250mg of citric acid are enough for the typical cactus (up to 1% yield). However, and outlier like the legendary Ogun would need ~1100mg of citric acid for a 4.7% yield.
+
All of the extraction pulls should be completed within 45 minutes (see Fig. 4b). After 45 minutes the paste can begin to congeal, making solvent penetration and recovery more difficult. There is plenty of time to lazily perform the pulls by remaining focused on the task. However, extracting in a warm environment may shorten this time. Hours after the last standard pull, the congealed paste will have released a few ml of solvent which can be optionally added to the extraction.
  
  
Over acidifying helps precipitate crystals better. This is a simple lab observation, compatible with Le Chatelier's principle. There is room for excess citric acid in solution since several grams can dissolve in a quart of ethyl acetate even when chilled. The vast majority of excess acid is poured off after salting, and any traces removed when washing the crystals.
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[[File:IMG_20210601_122315740_copy_600x800.jpg| center]]
 +
<center>''Fig. 4b: Ethyl acetate extract. Color may vary (darker green is normal), but extract must be clear and free of debris. Credit: Loveall</center>
  
  
Other solid organic acids could work. Fumaric acid was tested and gave wispy tiny crystals (not ideal). Malic was tested and slowly crystalized from a dry solution. Tartaric could not crystalize well from dry a dried extract, but began to crystalize with some water added (similar to citric acid). There are many other solid organic acids soluble in ethyl acetate that can be tested (ascorbic, succinic, etc).
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The spent paste can be dumped in a compost pile outdoors when not raining. Residual trapped ethyl acetate (~100ml) will quickly evaporate and the lime amend the soil. Alternatively, allow the paste to dry in a ventilated area and dispose of it in the trash.
  
  
It is possible that some of the assumptions and conclusions in these lab notes are incorrect or incomplete. The process was tested in several ways, but the search was not exhaustive<ref>Ethyl acetate approach[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=96262]</ref>. There could be ways to improve this process.
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===Partial Dry (Required for begginers)===
  
== References ==
 
<references/>
 
  
== Appendix: Shroombee's Notes ==
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This step can be skipped if the paste was ideal. However, achieving an ideal paste requires practice and skill. Beginers may have too much water in their paste, which makes it into
 +
the extract and can interfere with xtalization, causing goo.
  
=== Experiment #2 ===
 
  
 +
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<sup>''*'' ''♡''</sup>. Filter the extract and proceed to the next step.
  
'''March 12, 2021'''
 
  
'''8:45 am''' Weighed out 100 grams cactus chips (will use 50 grams for this experiment and the other 50 grams in a followup experiment).
 
  
'''8:48 am''' Ground cactus chips to very fine powder in Vitamix for 2 minutes, eventually hitting highest speed.
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''*If all the washing soda clumps up or a water layer forms, the extract (and paste) 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 paste technique (fine grind, mix well adding water slowly giving it time to fully incorporate, etc).''
  
'''8:50 am''' Weighed out 12.5 grams lime, 153.1 grams purified water, 50.5 grams finely ground cactus powder.
 
  
'''8:58 am''' Mixed water and lime together in a stainless steel mixing bowl to make a milky water. Gradually added cactus powder, incorporating powder into milky water.  Cactus gets to a fluffy texture and then transitions to being a little more clumpy.  Finished mixing at 9:05 am.
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''♡If none of the washing soda clumps, congrats! This is an indication that your extract was not excessively wet and you made an ideal paste. Next time, you can try to salt your extract without a partial dry. It is reccomended to do a small test run with 10% of the extract to verify xtals form without the need for a partial dry.
  
'''9:11 am''' Added 99.8 grams ethyl acetate to the cactus for pull #1. Mixed gently for 30 seconds.
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== 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 mono-mescaline 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).  
  
'''In retrospect, do not mix at all.  Just push the cactus around a little so the ethyl acetate can run through the cactus.'''  Solvent quickly turns green.
 
  
 +
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.
  
'''9:23 am''' After letting the cactus and ethyl acetate sit for 10 minutes, decanted the ethyl acetate into a beaker with a metal coffee filter sitting inside the top of the beaker (works well).  Beaker plus filter beforehand was 342.3 grams.  After decanting solvent into it, 372.8 grams.
 
  
'''Solvent recovery for pull #1 = 30.5 grams (out of 99.8 grams added).'''  For next experiment, see if not mixing at all will reduce the amount of solvent that the cactus absorbs.  A drop of solvent on pH paper turns the paper dark green (not blackish green though).
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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.
  
  
'''9:28 am''' Added 110.1 grams fresh ethyl acetate to cactus for pull #2. Very gently pushing the cactus for about 10 seconds, just to get the solvent to run through the cactus. The ethyl acetate quickly turns green.
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[[File:IMG 20230211 145228076 HDR copy 800x800.jpg|center]]<center>''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.</center>
  
'''9:31 am''' Moved pull #1 to a mason jar. Mason jar beforehand is 426.8 grams.  After is 456.6 grams.  29.8 grams solvent moved from beaker to mason jar.
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== 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).  
  
'''9:38 am''' After 10 minutes sitting with the cactus, decanted pull #2 into the beaker.  Beaker is 342.3 grams before, 447.9 grams after.
 
  
'''Solvent recovery for pull #2 = 105.6 grams (out of 110.1 grams added).'''  pH paper is medium dark green.
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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).
  
  
'''9:45 am''' Added 103.3 grams fresh ethyl acetate to the cactus for pull #3.  Almost no manipulation of the cactus at this point. Solvent quickly gets green color.
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[[File:IMG 20210603 130102387 copy 600x800 copy 800x600.jpg|center]]
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[[File:RDT 20240718 1333511883143029882510217 copy 800x600.jpg|center]]
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[[File:WIN 20230329 22 04 26 Pro copy 800x600.jpg|center]]
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[[File:WIN 20230329 22 05 46 Pro copy 800x600.jpg|center]]
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<center>''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.</center>
  
'''9:46 am''' Moved pull #2 to the mason jar (combining with pull #1).  Mason jar beforehand is 456.4 grams.  After is 560.4 grams.  104.0 grams solvent moved from beaker to mason jar.  Interesting at 9:31 am the mason jar weighed 456.6 grams.  15 minutes later it weighs 456.4 grams.  Is this evaporation of ethyl acetate or error in the scale?  Scale supposed to be accurate to 0.1 grams.
 
  
'''9:55 am''' After 10 minutes sitting with the cactus, decanted pull #3 into the beaker. Beaker is 342.5 grams before, 450.3 grams after.
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Yield depends on the cactus and is usually between 0.3% to 3% with ~1.2% being common<ref>Cactus analysis thread[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=71353]</ref>. However, yields up to 8.2%<ref>High bridgesii yield[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1180912#post1180912]</ref> (5.0% mescaline HCl equivalent) have been reported.
  
'''Solvent recovery for pull #3 = 107.8 grams (out of 103.3 grams added).'''  We got back the amount we added for pull #3, plus a few more grams.  The paste is starting to stick to itself, making it easy to decant and pour solvent out of the mixing bowl by holding the paste back with a strainer/skimmer ladle.  pH paper is light green.
 
  
 +
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.
  
'''10:00 am''' Added 103.9 grams fresh ethyl acetate to the cactus for pull #4. As with pull #3, almost no manipulation of the cactus. Just pushing the cactus under the solvent. Solvent picks up green color.
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[[File:4118 089df672-6b60-4a76-a6d8-6a467e8c398b Captura de tela 2023-02-11 220537 copy 800x398.jpg|center]]
 +
<center>''Fig. 6a: NMR results of 93.1% monomescalune citrate with the remaining 6.9% being water, consistent with the hydrated salt form '''(MesH)H<sub>2</sub>Cit·1.5H<sub>2</sub>O''' (see appendix for notation description) within the detector resolution. Credit: endlessness.</center>
  
'''10:08 am''' Moved pull #3 to the mason jar (combining with pull #1 and pull #2).  Mason jar beforehand is 560.2.  After is 667.0 grams.  106.8 grams solvent moved from beaker to mason jar.  As before, mason jar seems to have lost 0.2 grams of solvent.  The solvent in the mason jar is a beautiful emerald green.
 
  
'''10:10 am''' After 10 minutes sitting with the cactus, decanted pull #4 into the beaker.  Beaker is 342.7 grams before, 444.7 grams after.
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Attempting to smoke the product is not recommended as potentially unwanted compounds can form <ref>Citric acid heat degradation[https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-03-citric-acid-potential-respiratory-sensitisers.html#:~:text=However%2C%20thermal%20degradation%20of%20citric,and%20its%20isomer%20itaconic%20anhydride.]</ref>, <ref>Direct heat vaporization test[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=101546]</ref>.
  
'''Solvent recovery for pull #4 = 102.0 grams (out of 103.9 grams added).'''  pH paper is faint green.  After drying, the paper barely has any greenish tint.
 
  
 +
Mass spectrometry (MS) results from Solaris analytical<ref>Solaris analytical service[https://www.solarisanalytical.com/]</ref> 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.
  
'''10:16 am''' Added 104.0 grams fresh ethyl acetate to the cactus for pull #5.  Almost no manipulation of the cactus.  Solvent picks up a light green tint.
 
  
'''10:20 am''' Moved pull #4 to the mason jar (combining with pull #1-3). Mason jar beforehand is 666.9 grams. After is 767.8 grams. 100.9 grams solvent moved from beaker to mason jar.  Mason jar lost 0.1 grams solvent since 10:08 am.
+
[[File: Cactus-extract copy 800x600_1.jpg|center]]''<center>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.</center>
  
'''10:26 am''' After 10 minutes sitting with the cactus, decanted pull #5 into the beaker.  Beaker is 342.5 grams before, 446.0 grams after.
 
  
'''Solvent recovery for pull #5 = 103.5 grams (out of 104.0 grams added).'''  pH paper has no materially significant color change.  After drying, the paper shows no color change. This pull is NOT being combined with pulls #1-4 since it does not appear to have any freebase mescaline. Will consider what technique to use to see if there is any mescaline to be obtained from this pull.
+
Testing the product with marquis reagent gives a bright orange color as expected<ref>Marquis reagent result[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1180894#post1180894]</ref> (see Fig. 7b). Several reagent results for the product from this TEK have been published by _Trip_<ref>Reagent results[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1165913#post1165913]</ref>.
  
'''Total solvent added = 99.8 + 110.1 + 103.3 + 103.9 + 104.0 = 521.1 grams.  Total solvent recovered = 30.5 + 105.6 + 107.8 + 102.0 + 103.5 = 449.4 grams.  Lost 71.7 grams solvent to the cactus (almost all in pull #1).'''
 
  
 +
[[File: IMG 1293 copy 800x600.jpg]]''<center>Fig. 7b: Marquis reagent result. Credit: Merkin.</center>
  
'''10:46 am''' Washed and dried the metal coffee filter.  Then added a paper filter into the metal filter.  Ran pulls #1-4 through the metal+paper filter and into a new mason jar.  Ran pull #5 through the metal+paper filter and into a separate mason jar.  The purpose of filtering again is that I noticed a few bits of cactus material got into the combined decanted solvent.  I don't know how that occurred since the metal filter is a fine mesh filter.  In any case, now we have filtered solvent.
 
  
'''10:52 am''' Added 254 grams of citric acid to the combined pulls mason jar. Clouds form in the solvent. Stirred gently with a spoon. pH paper comes out yellow.
+
Tip: The coffee filter used to collect the crystals can be re-used upside-down before salting. Any small crystals not collected may be forced into the extract and subsequently act as seed crystals for the next extraction<ref>Filter reuse[https://www.reddit.com/r/mescaline/comments/14kot72/free_cielo_salting_tip_come_can_get_it/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button]</ref>.
  
'''10:56 am''' Put a stainless steel lid with silicone liner on the mason jar. Put mason jar into the frig to wait for crystals.
+
== 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<ref>Experience Classification[https://en.psychonautwiki.org/wiki/Dosage_classification]</ref>, the results of several non-scientific poll results indicate the following (see Fig  7c):
  
'''1:45 pm''' Mason jar is in the frig.  Solvent is opaque.  No crystals yet.
+
*Threshold: 100 - 165 mg
 +
*Light: 165 - 485 mg, typically 350mg
 +
*Common: 485 - 860 mg, typically 650mg
 +
*Strong: 860 - 1370 mg, typically 1000mg
 +
*Heavy: >1370mg
  
  
''Added by Loveall: This looks promising. If xtals do not form, I would try adding citric acid until pH paper has some red coloring (maybe another 250mg will do). If xtals still don't form, I would add water at ~0.5% increments (~2.2g), shaking and waiting to see if xtals form. I added a picture of how the pH paper looks from an extract that crystalized well.''
+
[[File:Mplotc.jpg|center]]
 +
<center>''Fig. 7c: Reddit dosage poll summary of 112 responses. 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, there but there are some chances of having a threshdold or common experience. Percent of answers are normalized by each subjective effect category. Credit: Loveall.''</center>
  
=== Experiment #1 ===
+
== Reuse 💚==
 +
Reusing solvents is simple, environmentally friendly, economical, and highly encouraged<ref>On reusing non polar solvent[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=31398]</ref> 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.
  
'''March 9, 2021'''
 
  
'''6:42 pm'''
+
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.
  
100 grams Peruvian Torch chips
 
  
298 grams purified water
+
It is not necesary 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).a Also, any mescaline that does not crystallize in the main extraction will mostly remain in the ethyl acetate during regeneration.
  
Blended cactus chips in the Vitamix dry container so it becomes a fine powder.
 
  
'''6:58 pm'''
+
''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.
Mixed cactus powder and water in a plastic mixing bowl rather than a mason jar because it seems easier. Product is a fluffy texture, olive green color. There is no excess water.
+
  
The bowl plus cactus plus silicone mixing spoon weighs 826.5 grams.  Microwave on high for 30 seconds, mix, then weigh.  This is pretty easy.  I wouldn't want to do this in a mason jar.  The cactus does not bubble and there is no issue at 30 seconds with anything bubbling over.  Weight after each 30 second cycle:
 
  
825.6 grams
+
There are two options to regenerate the solvent. The option that uses a magnetic stirrer is a lot less work and is reccomended.
  
823.9 grams
 
  
820.2 grams
+
===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.  
  
816.0 grams
 
  
808.7 grams
+
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.
  
800.7 grams
 
  
791.3 grams
+
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.
  
783.2 grams
 
  
775.8 grams
+
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.
  
765.8 grams
 
  
DONE
+
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.
  
After a couple of the microwaving cycles, the cactus lost its fluffiness and became like light bread dough, not sticking much to the bowl.
+
===Without Magnetic Stirrer===
 +
Are you sure you don't want a magnetic stirrer? Regeneration of one quart of solvent is done in two steps:
  
'''7:25 pm''' Begin slowly mixing in 25 grams pickling lime.  Started with the plastic bowl but switched to a ceramic bowl after a minute, not knowing how the plastic would react to the base.  Bowl appears fine after washing it out.
 
  
'''7:39 pm''' I'm using a fork to try to get the lime mixed evenly. I figure my Kitchenaid stand mixer will be easier so I break that out.
+
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 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.
  
'''7:45 pm''' Letting the Kitchenaid stir the cactus for me.  Much easier!
 
  
'''7:53 pm''' Added 25 grams calcium chloride.  Before adding, the cactus paste was fluffy and stuck to the sides of the stainless steel bowl. After adding the calcium chloride, the cactus became like clumpy sand and hardly stuck to the sides of the bowl.
+
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.
  
'''7:58 pm''' Stopped mixing.
+
= Frequently Asked Questions ❓ =
  
'''8:05 pm''' Transferred cactus to a wide mouth quart mason jar and added 220 ml of ethyl acetate (weighing 199.9 grams).  The ethyl acetate came up to approximately 540 ml on the side of the mason jar.  After shaking, the cactus looked like fluffy beach sand.
 
  
'''8:28 pm''' Shake for a minute.
+
'''Q: I froze my cuttings, is ok to proceed with the TEK?'''
  
'''9:00 pm''' Shake for a minute.
+
A: No. Freezing the cuttings will change the consistency of the paste during the pull, resulting in a pancake-like batter mixture and low yield <ref>Freezing cutting result[https://www.reddit.com/r/mescaline/s/gr2yeqm5bR]</ref>. 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.
  
'''9:22 pm''' No shaking, I notice the ethyl acetate is light green.
 
  
'''10:30 pm''' Shake for a minute.  The cactus is starting to get a little stickier, leaving streaks on the glass.
 
  
'''11:00 pm''' Ethyl acetate comes up to exactly 500 ml on the side of the mason jar.  Versus ~540 ml at 8:05 pm when the ethyl acetate was first added.  '''What accounts for this 40 ml difference?'''
+
'''Q: I bought cactus powder only and I'm getting a low yield, is this normal?'''
  
'''12:00 am''' Shake for a minute.
+
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.
  
'''1:06 am''' Weighed mason jar with cactus: 1001.4 grams.
 
  
  
'''March 10, 2021'''
+
'''Q: Does increasing the basing time increase the yield?'''
  
'''7:57 am''' Weighed mason jar with cactus: 1001.1 grams.
+
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.<ref>Basing time tests results[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1109045#post1109045]</ref>
  
Ready to decant ethyl acetate.  Large pyrex beaker with metal coffee filter weighs 342.3 grams.  Ethyl acetate is a medium, emerald green.  Definitely not light green and not yellow.
 
  
Using a small ladle to decant, which gets most of the ethyl acetate with no plant matter.  Beaker weighs 427.2 grams meaning we recovered 84.9 grams of ethyl acetate.  Not too good.
+
'''Q: I got an emulsion while pulling, what do I do?'''
  
I transferred the cactus to a french press to see if I could recover more ethyl acetate.  The sticky paste does not compress and I recovered an additional ~6 grams ethyl acetate. '''French press is obviously not worth the effort!'''
+
A:If the paste and solvent form an emulsion, the paste was too watery. Add lime and dry magnesium sulfate until the paste becomes chunky again and solvent is released. Keep the lime to magnesium sulfate ratio above 1 to ensure paste remains alkaline<ref>Lime and magnesium sulfate ratio vs pH[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=942484#post942484]</ref>. Next time, use less water to make the paste.
  
'''8:21 am''' Done with decanting, transferring, french pressing, weighing, et cetera.  Total recovery for this pull is 90.6 grams ethyl acetate.
 
  
'''8:23 am''' Added 90.7 grams of fresh ethyl acetate to the mason jar.  Stirred ethyl acetate into the sticky cactus, did not shake. Ethyl acetate is already changing to green color.
+
'''Q: I have a thick bottom layer in my pulling jar after the fridge rest. What is it and what do I do?'''
  
'''8:33 am''' Photo of pH paper. Paper is dark green. pH 10 or 11?  Also tested using the 4 color pH strips. More difficult to judge the pH with these.
+
A: It is a water layer. This can happen if you squeeze the French press aggressively and/or the initial paste 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 fridge rest step.
  
'''8:34 am''' Photo of recovered ethyl acetate showing it is an emerald green color.
 
  
'''8:45 am''' Poured 10 ml of ethyl acetate into a small beaker.  Added 13 mg of citric acid.  Lower half of the beaker turned milky, cloudy.  Checked pH and it's basically the same as the rest of the solvent. So the small amount of citric acid didn't change the pH much.  I used a disposable pipette and pulled from the top of the solvent, so perhaps the top layer didn't have a chance to react yet.
+
'''Q: I heard of people using more citric acid and shaking. What’s the difference between the two crystallization methods?'''
  
'''8:49 am''' Photo showing cloudy 10 ml in small beaker.
+
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.  
  
'''8:50 am''' Poured the 10 ml and the rest of the solvent into a mini Pyrex baking dish, using the larger volume of solvent to rinse out of the small beaker.  I probably should have left the solvent in a mason jar or beaker rather than adding to the baking dish.  Added 95 mg of citric acid.  Stirred a little because I wanted to get a more accurate pH.  pH was about 7.  Added an additional 61 mg citric acid.  pH went to about 6.  Total citric acid added to the 90.6 grams ethyl acetate is 169 mg.  Even after rinsing with the main solvent, the bottom of the small beaker has some spots that look like something crystalizing.  I don't know if it's just sticky citric acid or ???
 
  
'''9:07 am''' Photo of 3 pH test strips.
+
'''Q: What is the upper limit of citric acid that can be added to the extract?'''
  
'''3:42 pm''' Moving the dish to the freezer. Solvent is clear (and has been clear for at least a few hours). Initially I thought there were droplets on the bottom of the dish (around 11:00 am). Then tried to scrape at them with a knife and not seeing any movement, I figured they were a reflection from the surface because I noticed some tiny droplets on the surface if I caught the light at the right angle.  Then as I tipped the dish at 3:42pm to move it into the freezer, I now see the droplets really are at the bottom of the dish. Sort of an oily substance. There are no crystals.
+
A: The solubility of citric acid monohydrate in ethyl acetate is over 50 mg per gram of ethyl acetate<ref>Citric acid solubility[https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/source/hsdb/911#section=Other-Experimental-Properties-(Complete)&fullscreen=true]</ref>. 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 <ref>Anhydrous citric acid solubility test[https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/source/hsdb/911#section=Other-Experimental-Properties-(Complete)&fullscreen=true]</ref>.
  
  
'''8:00 pm''' Retrieving pull #2.  Beaker plus metal coffee filter weigh 342.3 grams.  Weighs 407.5 grams after decanting.  Recovered 65.2 grams.  Looks like the cactus sucked up more solvent even though I didn't shake.  pH is basic, although the pH paper is not as dark green as pull #1.
+
'''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?'''
  
'''8:09 pm''' Removed a few tablespoons of sticky slimy cactus and put it into a separate bowl. Mixed in 5.4 grams of calcium chloride (which is a lot relative to the amount of cactus). Even waiting more than 30 minutes, no additional solvent is released.  The cactus is drier though, more clumpy, and lost some gooey sliminess.
+
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.
  
'''8:27 pm''' Since only 65.2 grams of solvent was retrieved, I decided adding this amount of fresh solvent for pull #3 would be too inefficient.  I added 197.6 grams fresh ethyl acetate and stirred for 1-2 minutes.  Solvent turned a light green fairly quickly.
 
  
'''8:38 pm''' Added 49 mg citric acid to the recovered solvent.  Bottom of jar got milky.  Tested pH with 3 strips.  (1) Took a solvent sample towards the bottom of the jar at the clouds: pH about 5.  (2) Solvent sample at the surface: pH about 7.  (3) Swirled the jar around then took a solvent sample.  pH about 6.
+
'''Q: After adding citric acid, nothing precipitated, what gives?'''
  
'''8:45 pm''' Put jar into freezer.
+
A: Check the jar walls, a transparent product may have precipitated there (e.g. this has been reported for whole bridgesii<ref>Whole bridgesii precipitate on jar walls [https://mycotopia.net/topic/111136-lets-talk-about-cactus-extractions/#entry1487992]</ref>). If product bid not present on walls as a transparent film, bring up the citric acid concentration up to 20mg/g or more (stay below 40mg/g due to solubility concerns) and wait a few days. Keep in mind that if your cactus is not active, no mescaline citrate will form. If all else fails, pulling the salted extract with water, evaporating, and washing citric acid with fresh ethyl acetate should leave behind a residue containing any mescaline in the cactus (dose will be less accurate and can be made proportional to starting cactus amount). The crystallization temperature should not be colder than the previous extraction settling temperature. Water layer formation is sensitive to temperature, and lower temperatures can produce a new water layer.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''Q: After adding citric acid, goo/oil precipitated instead of crystals, what gives?'''
 +
 
 +
This is the most common issue people encounter. In one example from Cheelin the goo was 65% mescaline citrate<ref>Goo conversion to crystals[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1133388#post1133388]</ref>. In another example, goo was measured to be roughly equal parts water, citric acid, and mescaline citrate <ref>Goo measurements[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1218686#post1218686]</ref>. 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 aslo 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 cyrstalization process window. People may encounter this when using low potentcy PC plants (note that not all PC plants are low potency for unkowm reasons).
 +
*Good consistency paste (not too wet)
 +
*Not excessively squeezing the French press
 +
*If the paste is on the wetter side, need to rest extract in a cold fridge (at least 15C below extraction temperature) for the full 24h
 +
*Careful decant of extract leaving all water droplets behind. A small amount of "sacrificial" solvent can be left behind to help keep the water away, this will not impact yield significantly. These dregs with a small amount of mescaline can be used in the next extraction if desired.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
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, Shroombee suggests to add fresh ethyl acetate (usually relatively dry from the manufacturer) to the extract <ref>Fresh ethyl acetate to lower water content before salting[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1181802#post1181802]</ref>. 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 water without decanting skills. 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 sledgehammer for water removal, and may be useful for those who don't trust their decanting 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 recrystalization with 99% IPA is recommended. Dissolve the goo in minimal heated 99% IPA (using a hot water bath). Move the IPA to the freezer where only mescaline citrate will precipitate. The product can be rinsed once with a small amount of freezer cold 99% IPA.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''Q: How quickly can the extraction process be done?'''
 +
 
 +
A: With experience, and by skipping the fridge rest step (crystallization temperature should be warmer than extraction temperature, by for example using chilled ethyl acetate) it is possible to go from raw cactus powder to dry crystals in under an hour by choosing the fast crystallization method shaking the salted extract vigorously. Current documented world record is 48 minutes to go from cactus powder to dry mescaline crystals ready to use.<ref>Plant to crystal record
 +
[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1134986#post1134986]</ref>. However, there is an increased risk of obtain goo without the fridge rest step. The express process is not recommended for newcomers.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''Q: The cactus paste turned to goo 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 next time and keep resting powder time to 10 minutes. Excess water can accelerate 'goofication' of the cactus paste and decrease yield as it is harder to extract from goo due to poor solvent penetration. Not all cactus powder is the same, so a 'feel' is needed to achieve the right paste consistency before pulling. The initial water amount is only a starting guideline, the consistency is the goal and water amount should be adjusted as needed. Higher summer temperature pulls in the summer can also accelerate the paste to goo change.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''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 paste 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 reccomended 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: 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''
 +
 
 +
= Appendix: Development Notes 🔬=
 +
 
 +
 
 +
== Paste 🌵==
 +
No improvements were seen with longer basing time, paste oven drying, or increasing the ionic strength with CaCl2. Microwave treatment or boiling water resulted in a small yield loss.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
Paste made with sodium carbonate saturated water congeals over time 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 <ref> Hot water saponification with lime[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1130649#post1130649]</ref>:
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''<span style="color: Orange"> <div style="text-align: center;">Chlorophyll + 2OH<sup>-</sup> ⇒ Chlorophyllin<sup>--</sup> + Phytol + Ethanol</div></span>'''
 +
 
 +
 
 +
Chlorophyll is soluble in Ethyl Acetate, but Chlorophyllin and Phytol are not<ref>Phytol not present in Ethyl Acetate plant extract[https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/1/69/pdf]</ref>. 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, solvent paste absorption, congealing of paste, and no yield benefit.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
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) may also dry the extract and be beneficial in such cases (but that is currently an assumption based on other lab techniques).
 +
 
 +
 
 +
== Crystallize ✨==
 +
Alternative crystallization options:
 +
 
 +
 
 +
*'''Shaken not Stirrer''': 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 recipitate 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 comolete 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).
 +
 
 +
 
 +
[[File:YouCut 20240110 125804737 (1).gif|center|800x800px]]<center>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.''</center>
 +
 
 +
 
 +
[[File:20231212 042235 copy 800x832.jpg|center]]<center>Fig. 8aa: Powdery product from fast crystallization. Credit: Loveall</center>
 +
 
 +
*'''CASEA:''' Endlessness has reported success with this method. In his words<ref>Endlessness' CASEA[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1186895#post1186895]</ref>:
 +
<Blockquote>''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):''</blockquote>
 +
 
 +
 
 +
[[File:PGQ7z4QBnh copy 800x600.jpg|center]]<center>''Fig.8a: CASEA crystallization results. Credit: Endlessness.''</center>
 +
 
 +
 
 +
During crystallization, excess citric acid ('''H<sub>3</sub>Cit''') reacts with free base mescaline ('''Mes''') to form to form the monomescaline citrate salt '''(MesH)H<sub>2</sub>Cit''', which preliminary NMR results indicate could be a hydrate:
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''<span style="color: Orange"> <div style="text-align: center;">Mes<sub>(↑)</sub> + H<sub>3</sub>Cit<sub>(↑)</sub> + 1.5H<sub>2</sub>O ⇒ (MesH)H<sub>2</sub>Cit·1.5H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>(↓)</sub></div></span>'''
 +
 
 +
 
 +
Monomescaline citrate salt's strength relative to mescaline HCl is 61% (assuming no hydrate formation)<ref>Mescaline citrate vs HCl[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1111858#post1111858]</ref>. By not using excess citric acid, different salt forms can be precipitated<ref>Trimescaline citrate candidate[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1131459#post1131459]</ref>, but that process is more complex than the simpler excess citric acid approach.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
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 <ref>Ethyl acetate approach[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=96262]</ref>.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
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<ref>Organic acid tests[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1136570#post1136570]</ref>,<ref>Succinic test[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1144986#post1144986]</ref>. 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<ref>Wet solvent succinic salting[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1145951#post1145951]</ref>) 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<ref>Orchidist's mescaline salt calculator[https://github.com/orchidist/nexus-calculators]</ref>.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
[[File:Screenshot 20220129-133134-447 copy 800x815.png|center]]<center>''Fig.8b: CIELO results using citric, tartaric, fumaric, and malic acids. No chemichal drying of the solvent was done in all cases. Credit: Loveall.''</center>
 +
 
 +
 
 +
[[File:Succinate-fumarate-comparison copy 400x400.png|center]]<center>''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_''</center>
 +
 
 +
 
 +
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 sruck to the jar walls tends to be small. If a lot of it sticks to the wall, the inital paste could be too wet. The lazyest way to collect this small ammount 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). Alsi, 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 regenerared (e.g. in a hot oven) it may ne economical to use it if a colorless solvent is wanted. However, there is no benefit to this other than esthetics since the final product is same regardles of the color of the starting solvent (provided some fresh ethyl acetate is available for the rinse).
 +
 
 +
= References 🗝️=
 +
<references/>

Revision as of 09:08, 9 August 2024

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 [1], [2]. Echinopsis cacti containing mescaline are being over-harvested in the wild in a non sustainable way [3], [4]. You can ask in the Nexus forum how to obtain live seeds. 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[5]. 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, and others.


IMG 20211220 095906809 copy 800x600.jpg
Fig. 1: Monomescaline citrate crystals in ethyl acetate. Nubes del cielo transformadas en estrellas. Credit: Loveall.

Safety ⛑️

Review ethyl acetate[6] and citric acid[7] 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, and coffee grinder (to harvest plant, store cutting, and make cactus powder)
  • Kitchen gram scale (to measure ingredients)
  • Large bowl and spoon (to mix alkaline cactus paste)
  • 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


IMG 20210608 223040865 copy 800x600.jpg
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
  • 🟢: Mix powder into minimally wet uniform lime paste
  • 🧑🏾‍🔬: Pull paste with ethyl acetate
  • ✨: Precipitate mescaline with citric acid
  • 💖: Collect monomescaline citrate crystals
  • 💚: Reclaim ethyl acetate for reuse

Detailed Process 📜

Powder 🌵

Grow [1], [2] and harvest cactus. Store cuttings in a dark place for at least 3 months (e.g. in a paper bag or wrapped in newspaper). Data shows dark storage increases mescaline content[8], and that the top part of the plant contains more mescaline[9]. Chop whole cacti (into for example ~1/4 inch thick slices) and dry them with (for example) a food dehydrator at low temp (~115 F). All parts of the cactus can be used. Outer green skin yields more than the inner white core for the same dry mass[10], 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. 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 reccomended. See Fig. 2a for representative images going from seed to powder.


IMG 20230213 104225336 HDR copy 800x648.jpg
IMG 20230213 103910895 HDR copy 800x720.jpg
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IMG 20230213 102718133 copy 800x643.jpg
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.


It is very important to make a uniform cactus powder that is dry and finely ground. The fine grind enables good yields. Clouds of fine dust fly into the air when handling a good powder, reminiscent of flour (but green). Store properly sealed 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).

Paste 🟢

Proper paste consistency is extremely important. Take your time with this step and focus on it. Mixing can be done with a spoon and a lot of elbow grease. Alternatively, a stand mixer with a flat beater will make mixing very easy 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 consistency (Fig. 3 top right). Goal is to use minimal water to get a uniform crumb-free paste. Mix well for a few minutes before adding more water; it can take some time for the water to incorporate and reveal the true paste consistency.


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


Screenshot 20240718 035248 Slides copy 800x1146.jpg

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

Extract 🧑🏾‍🔬

Transfer the paste to a french press. Cover paste with ethyl acetate (~200g) and stir for three minutes (see Fig. 4). Pour extract into a clean quart jar trough a coffe filter. Squeeze the french press to recover as much ethyl acetate as possible while watching for water droplets (if any are seen the paste was too wet and squeezing should be stopped).


IMG 20230210 115119600 HDR copy 800x558.jpg
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). The paste consistency will become more sticky as the pulls progress. 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. Poor execution (sloppy technique, cactus powder not ground fine enough, paste too wet, etc) will give a larger yield boost in the second jar. A <10% boost in the second jar is considered good[11]. An additional check to verify the paste is spent can be done by leaving 200g of ethyl acetate in the french press for 3 days so the congealed paste 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 paste can begin to congeal, making solvent penetration and recovery more difficult. There is plenty of time to lazily perform the pulls by remaining focused on the task. However, extracting in a warm environment may shorten this time. Hours after the last standard pull, the congealed paste will have released a few ml of solvent which can be optionally added to the extraction.


IMG 20210601 122315740 copy 600x800.jpg
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 paste can be dumped in a compost pile outdoors when not raining. Residual trapped ethyl acetate (~100ml) will quickly evaporate and the lime amend the soil. Alternatively, allow the paste 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 paste was ideal. However, achieving an ideal paste requires practice and skill. Beginers may have too much water in their paste, 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 paste) 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 paste technique (fine grind, mix well adding water slowly giving it time to fully incorporate, 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 paste. Next time, you can try to salt your extract without a partial dry. It is reccomended 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 mono-mescaline 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.


IMG 20230211 145228076 HDR copy 800x800.jpg
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).


IMG 20210603 130102387 copy 600x800 copy 800x600.jpg
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WIN 20230329 22 04 26 Pro copy 800x600.jpg
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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[12]. However, yields up to 8.2%[13] (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.

4118 089df672-6b60-4a76-a6d8-6a467e8c398b Captura de tela 2023-02-11 220537 copy 800x398.jpg
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 [14], [15].


Mass spectrometry (MS) results from Solaris analytical[16] 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.


Cactus-extract copy 800x600 1.jpg
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 marquis reagent gives a bright orange color as expected[17] (see Fig. 7b). Several reagent results for the product from this TEK have been published by _Trip_[18].


IMG 1293 copy 800x600.jpg
Fig. 7b: Marquis reagent result. Credit: Merkin.


Tip: The coffee filter used to collect the crystals can be re-used upside-down before salting. Any small crystals not collected may be forced into the extract and subsequently act as seed crystals for the next extraction[19].

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[20], 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


Mplotc.jpg
Fig. 7c: Reddit dosage poll summary of 112 responses. 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, there 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[21] 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 necesary 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).a 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 reccomended.


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.


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 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 paste during the pull, resulting in a pancake-like batter mixture and low yield [22]. 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.[23]


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

A:If the paste and solvent form an emulsion, the paste was too watery. Add lime and dry magnesium sulfate until the paste becomes chunky again and solvent is released. Keep the lime to magnesium sulfate ratio above 1 to ensure paste remains alkaline[24]. Next time, use less water to make the paste.


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 paste 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 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[25]. 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 [26].


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: Check the jar walls, a transparent product may have precipitated there (e.g. this has been reported for whole bridgesii[27]). If product bid not present on walls as a transparent film, bring up the citric acid concentration up to 20mg/g or more (stay below 40mg/g due to solubility concerns) and wait a few days. Keep in mind that if your cactus is not active, no mescaline citrate will form. If all else fails, pulling the salted extract with water, evaporating, and washing citric acid with fresh ethyl acetate should leave behind a residue containing any mescaline in the cactus (dose will be less accurate and can be made proportional to starting cactus amount). The crystallization temperature should not be colder than the previous extraction settling temperature. Water layer formation is sensitive to temperature, and lower temperatures can produce a new water layer.


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

This is the most common issue people encounter. In one example from Cheelin the goo was 65% mescaline citrate[28]. In another example, goo was measured to be roughly equal parts water, citric acid, and mescaline citrate [29]. 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 aslo 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 cyrstalization process window. People may encounter this when using low potentcy PC plants (note that not all PC plants are low potency for unkowm reasons).
  • Good consistency paste (not too wet)
  • Not excessively squeezing the French press
  • If the paste is on the wetter side, need to rest extract in a cold fridge (at least 15C below extraction temperature) for the full 24h
  • Careful decant of extract leaving all water droplets behind. A small amount of "sacrificial" solvent can be left behind to help keep the water away, this will not impact yield significantly. These dregs with a small amount of mescaline can be used in the next extraction if desired.


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, Shroombee suggests to add fresh ethyl acetate (usually relatively dry from the manufacturer) to the extract [30]. 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 water without decanting skills. 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 sledgehammer for water removal, and may be useful for those who don't trust their decanting 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 recrystalization with 99% IPA is recommended. Dissolve the goo in minimal heated 99% IPA (using a hot water bath). Move the IPA to the freezer where only mescaline citrate will precipitate. The product can be rinsed once with a small amount of freezer cold 99% IPA.


Q: How quickly can the extraction process be done?

A: With experience, and by skipping the fridge rest step (crystallization temperature should be warmer than extraction temperature, by for example using chilled ethyl acetate) it is possible to go from raw cactus powder to dry crystals in under an hour by choosing the fast crystallization method shaking the salted extract vigorously. Current documented world record is 48 minutes to go from cactus powder to dry mescaline crystals ready to use.[31]. However, there is an increased risk of obtain goo without the fridge rest step. The express process is not recommended for newcomers.


Q: The cactus paste turned to goo 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 next time and keep resting powder time to 10 minutes. Excess water can accelerate 'goofication' of the cactus paste and decrease yield as it is harder to extract from goo due to poor solvent penetration. Not all cactus powder is the same, so a 'feel' is needed to achieve the right paste consistency before pulling. The initial water amount is only a starting guideline, the consistency is the goal and water amount should be adjusted as needed. Higher summer temperature pulls in the summer can also accelerate the paste to goo change.


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 paste 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 reccomended 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: 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

Appendix: Development Notes 🔬

Paste 🌵

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


Paste made with sodium carbonate saturated water congeals over time 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 [32]:


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


Chlorophyll is soluble in Ethyl Acetate, but Chlorophyllin and Phytol are not[33]. 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, solvent paste absorption, congealing of paste, and no yield benefit.


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) may also dry the extract and be beneficial in such cases (but that is currently an assumption based on other lab techniques).


Crystallize ✨

Alternative crystallization options:


  • Shaken not Stirrer: 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 recipitate 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 comolete 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).


YouCut 20240110 125804737 (1).gif
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.


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Fig. 8aa: Powdery product from fast crystallization. Credit: Loveall
  • CASEA: Endlessness has reported success with this method. In his words[34]:
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):


PGQ7z4QBnh copy 800x600.jpg
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(↓)


Monomescaline citrate salt's strength relative to mescaline HCl is 61% (assuming no hydrate formation)[35]. By not using excess citric acid, different salt forms can be precipitated[36], but that process is more complex than the simpler excess citric acid approach.


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 [37].


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[38],[39]. 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[40]) 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[41].


Screenshot 20220129-133134-447 copy 800x815.png
Fig.8b: CIELO results using citric, tartaric, fumaric, and malic acids. No chemichal drying of the solvent was done in all cases. Credit: Loveall.


Succinate-fumarate-comparison copy 400x400.png
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 sruck to the jar walls tends to be small. If a lot of it sticks to the wall, the inital paste could be too wet. The lazyest way to collect this small ammount 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). Alsi, 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 regenerared (e.g. in a hot oven) it may ne economical to use it if a colorless solvent is wanted. However, there is no benefit to this other than esthetics since the final product is same regardles of the color of the starting solvent (provided some fresh ethyl acetate is available for the rinse).

References 🗝️

  1. 1.0 1.1 Sowing Cactus Seeds[1]
  2. 2.0 2.1 Cactus growing guide (PDF)[2]
  3. Huachuma Collective Talk[3]
  4. Huachuma Collective statement (PDF)[4]
  5. DMT nexus website[5]
  6. Ethyl acetate safety[6]
  7. Citric Acid Safety[7]
  8. Dark storage data[8]
  9. Paper with vertical signal[9]
  10. Result for different cactus parts[10]
  11. Second set of pulls [11]
  12. Cactus analysis thread[12]
  13. High bridgesii yield[13]
  14. Citric acid heat degradation[14]
  15. Direct heat vaporization test[15]
  16. Solaris analytical service[16]
  17. Marquis reagent result[17]
  18. Reagent results[18]
  19. Filter reuse[19]
  20. Experience Classification[20]
  21. On reusing non polar solvent[21]
  22. Freezing cutting result[22]
  23. Basing time tests results[23]
  24. Lime and magnesium sulfate ratio vs pH[24]
  25. Citric acid solubility[25]
  26. Anhydrous citric acid solubility test[26]
  27. Whole bridgesii precipitate on jar walls [27]
  28. Goo conversion to crystals[28]
  29. Goo measurements[29]
  30. Fresh ethyl acetate to lower water content before salting[30]
  31. Plant to crystal record [31]
  32. Hot water saponification with lime[32]
  33. Phytol not present in Ethyl Acetate plant extract[33]
  34. Endlessness' CASEA[34]
  35. Mescaline citrate vs HCl[35]
  36. Trimescaline citrate candidate[36]
  37. Ethyl acetate approach[37]
  38. Organic acid tests[38]
  39. Succinic test[39]
  40. Wet solvent succinic salting[40]
  41. Orchidist's mescaline salt calculator[41]