Do you remember the character Bubba from the film Forest Gump?
As you may fondly recall, his family was in the shrimp fishing business. At one point during the movie, he recites all the different ways to cook with shrimp—the fruit of the sea. “There’s shrimp kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp…” (this goes on for a while).
Now, there may not be quite as many ways to prepare and consume Psilocybe cubensis as there are ways to cook shrimp, but nonetheless you may find yourself surprised at the amazing variety of methods, recipes, and techniques that people have come up with over the years (and indeed millennia).
In today’s post, we’ll examine some of those techniques along with some of the best ways to take shrooms and tips on how to take shrooms. Remember, magic mushrooms are illegal throughout most jurisdictions, so unless you live in an area where psilocybin-containing fungi are legal or are taking part in an approved clinical trial, consider the information covered here as educational information only!
You can also learn about full-spectrum psilocybin therapy and it’s possible benefits and even about celebrities taking magic mushrooms and their experiences with taking psilocybin mushrooms.
The most common way of eating magic mushrooms is after they’ve been dehydrated (dried out), so let’s discuss that one first:
Dried Cubensis Mushrooms – The Most Common Way of Preserving and Doing Mushrooms
Psychedelic Experience and Psychedelic Mushroom Strains
Not just a favorite of recreational users, dried magic mushrooms are even used in clinical trials focused on whole-spectrum psilocybin therapy or psychedelic therapy using full-spectrum psilocybin, because some researchers believe that the additional compounds found in the mushroom alongside psilocybin have an impact on the overall effect of the psychedelic experience with psychedelic mushroom strains; this is in contrast to isolated synthetic psilocybin.
Drying the mushrooms will preserve the “full spectrum” effect, unlike other methods of preparations such as the aforementioned synthesized psilocybin or extracts and tinctures, as we’ll discuss later on in this post. If it’s important to the user to have an “all natural” experience, dried mushrooms are perhaps the best alternative to eating raw, fresh from the ground mushrooms. Some people find the taste of dried mushrooms far more palatable than when they’re raw.
It’s not all about taste, though—dried mushrooms are far easier to preserve. While they will eventually spoil, bad magic mushrooms are a relative rarity. In proper storage conditions, dried mushrooms can last for years. If one keeps them in an airtight container and away from light, heat, and moisture, they aren’t even likely to lose much potency, if any at all.
Finally, the other major benefit of dried magic mushrooms is the fact that dehydration of the fungi is a prerequisite for other methods of preparation, such as powders and as an ingredient in foods like chocolate or honey. More on that later, though.
One potential drawback to dried mushrooms is accurate dosing. Since each mature fruiting body (mushroom) can contain varying levels of psilocybin, it’s difficult to take a precise amount.
Typical Psilocybin Dosage
Typically, dried magic mushrooms are meted out in grams; three grams is a typical psilocybin dosage for a strong psychedelic experience. The actual amount of psilocybin consumed can vary, leading many experts in the field to quip that “the mushroom chooses the dose.”
Eating Raw Magic Mushrooms: It’s Doable, But Not For Everyone
Raw or fresh magic mushrooms, sometimes called truffles, are completely capable of providing the consumer with a psychedelic experience. However, you’ll find that it’s often not the case that even the staunchest of magic mushroom aficionados recommend this method of consumption.
The first reason is the taste. Many people have reported finding the taste of raw magic mushrooms to be quite unappealing. However, even if you can handle their strong flavor, the second reason may come into play: raw magic mushrooms, while no more harmful than dried mushrooms or mushrooms by any other means of consumption, can cause an upset stomach.
This potential for stomach discomfort is usually because in order to reach the desired dosage of psilocybin, one often must eat quite a few mushrooms indeed. The amount of psilocybin in each mushroom doesn’t differ whether it’s dry or fresh, but the sheer volume of mushrooms that must be consumed due to water weight will be much higher.
Consider for a moment that three grams of dried mushrooms will contain far more psilocybin than three grams of fresh (or “wet”) mushrooms. Thus, to reach a similar level of psychedelic effect, more raw mushrooms must be consumed, thus increasing the possibility of stomach discomfort.
Having said all that, some people enjoy the experience of taking magic mushrooms completely naturally, as they’re found in nature.
Magic Mushroom Tea, A Favorite of Many Psychonauts
“Shroom tea” is an incredibly popular way of consuming magic mushrooms—perhaps second only to dried mushrooms.
There are many reasons for this, but the main three are:
- Magic mushroom tea is very easy to prepare
- Tea has a much more palatable flavor
- Some find that tea is much easier on their stomach
Typically, dried mushrooms are used to make shroom tea, but raw mushrooms can also be used (keeping in mind what was discussed in the previous section about dosages and water weight). It’s a dead-simple process: those wishing to enjoy magic mushroom tea need only pour hot water over their mushrooms. Typically, mushrooms need to steep for about fifteen minutes or so before infusing the water with enough psilocybin to have an effect.
Even then, the strength of the tea will not be the same as the amount of mushrooms used to make it. Generally, people making magic mushroom tea will use about 20% to 25% more mushrooms than they would usually want, since some of the psilocybin will remain in the mushrooms, rather than the tea.
If reducing the taste of Psilocybe cubensis is the purpose behind making tea rather than consuming the mushrooms directly, the imbiber may wish to add sugar or honey to the tea to further lessen the bitterness of the taste.
Brewing magic mushroom tea is an ancient practice, thought to date back hundreds if not thousands of years in different parts of the world, particularly Mexico. However, magic mushroom tea is far from the only “psilocybin beverage” one can make—while we don’t have time to go over them all here, fruit smoothies with mushrooms added are also very popular.
Powdered Magic Mushroom Capsules, Popular With Microdosers
Powdered magic mushrooms are relatively easy to make. You’ll recall that we mentioned earlier that dehydrated mushrooms are a prerequisite for many different methods of preparation and consumption, and this is especially so for powdered magic mushrooms.
One begins by drying the mushrooms first—fresh mushrooms wouldn’t make much of a powder! Once dry, the mushrooms are placed into a mortar and crushed with a pestle until a fine powder is created. This powder can then be added to other recipes (such as some of the food items we’ll discuss below), or added to an empty gel capsule.
In common parlance, gel capsules like this are often called magic mushroom scooby snax, since they look a bit like miniature dog treats (although they should never be given to an animal).
One of the biggest benefits of powdering and encapsulating magic mushrooms is that other compounds can be added to the mixture; herbs and extracts are popular among naturalists, such as ginger or tryptophan.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of magic mushroom capsules is that you have numerous magic mushroom strains to microdose which provides many options for microdosing the best magic mushroom strains more effectively in by using capsules. A single capsule won’t contain a large amount of psilocybin, and one can control the amount of powder in each capsule for even more granular control over the dosage. Furthermore, capsules are discreet—they look like regular vitamins.
Generally, around 0.5 grams of dried and powdered magic mushrooms will fit into a capsule (although capsules of different capacities are available). This may be too much for a light microdosing experience, or too little, depending on the users preferences. Generally with capsules, “less is more”, since the idea is to have a finer degree of control over dosage.
As a final note, powdered magic mushrooms in capsules is beneficial for storage purposes. Just like dried whole mushrooms, capsules can last for a very long time when stored properly—away from heat, light, and moisture.
Extracts & Tinctures – An Uncommon But Interesting Method of Taking Magic Mushrooms
Magic mushroom extracts (sometimes called tinctures) are exotic, but more adventurous psychonauts may wish to explore this unconventional but interesting method of taking hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Like most extracts, making magic mushroom psilocybin extract requires the use of a high proof alcohol (not the drinking kind—we’re talking 200 proof ethyl alcohol or similar). One will also need to have dry magic mushrooms, which then must be powdered as described in the previous section.
The mushroom powder is then mixed with the high proof alcohol, mixed thoroughly, and let to sit for at least a full 24 hours. Only enough alcohol to cover the mushroom powder is necessary. Shaking every 3-6 hours can help make an extract stronger. After the required duration has passed, filter out the alcohol from the mushroom powder (which at this point is more like a “goopy” substance).
In most extraction methods, the above method is repeated with fresh alcohol on the remaining mushroom powder/slurry. This results in two containers of extract, which can then be combined. At this point, the remaining alcohol must be allowed to evaporate from the mixture. This can take at least a day.
As you can see, making magic mushroom tinctures is a very involved, time-consuming process—but the result is a very potent extract. Approximately 2 grams of dried magic mushrooms will make 1 milliliter of the extract. Thus, only 1-2 milliliters will provide a strong psychedelic experience.
Magic Mushroom Honey & Psilocybin-Infused Chocolates
Honey and chocolates are just a couple of the many ways that psilocybin mushrooms can be introduced to food—omelettes, milkshakes, and even shroom pancakes are all possible recipes to explore. If you have a culinary bent whatsoever, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to flex your skills with magic mushrooms. Having said that, honey and chocolate are fun, popular methods, so we’ll discuss those here.
As we’ve seen throughout the various methods discussed here, dried magic mushrooms and magic mushroom powder is a versatile “base” for several other recipes and methods. Magic mushroom chocolate is no different—the powdered cubensis mushrooms are added to warmed chocolate, stirred in thoroughly and evenly, and left to cool. Piece of the chocolate can then be broken off and consumed later.
Psilocybin honey doesn’t require powder, but it does require dried mushrooms. Most people make psilocybin honey by adding magic mushrooms to a jar of honey—real honey preferably, not the imitation stuff that comes in a little bear at the grocery store—sealing the jar up tightly, and letting it sit for several weeks. The mushrooms will diffuse into the honey, eventually permeating the entire jar.
As you can see, anyone wondering how to take hallucinogenic mushrooms has many options at their disposal if they live in a jurisdiction where doing so is legal, of course. Unfortunately, psilocybin is illegal in most areas.