Oxide - Tea-making destroys some of the antagonists that can cause GI upset, coupled with the fact that you are not ingesting the highly-fibrous plant matter, then it's no surprise you prefer the tea method
Add a teaspoon of ginger to the tea and you should find minimal side-effects in the way of stomach upset. Another great way to take Thom which is easy and very effective is the sludge method - place dose in glass, add tiny bit of liquid to create wall-paper paste thick sludgey consistency which helps bind the powder to the water [as if you have tried just mixing it into liquid, you will unfortunately know that it doesn't quite work that way] then fill up the glass with more liquid and stir, stir, stir for a wee while then neck it.
OEandricearoni - Bali's, Indonesians tend to be the more sedating strains. Stimulating strains are Malaysian and Thai strains (though this is in no way an accurate depiction of their true origin....much of the Kratom comes from Indonesia and Malaysia, regardless of it's label)
You are going to want a good Bali. I can't source you, but the US can get some great Bali (as well as some questionable ethics surrounding some strains and additives, but thats another discussion) if you know where to look. There's a million and one vendors, and a lot of bunk but a lot of half-decent Kakuam available in the US.
Lower amounts of most strains provide only high enough concentrations of stimulating alkaloids, regardless of the particular abundance of agonists unique to that strain. That is, regardless of the potential to achieve a nod with a potent Borneo-based strain ("Bali"), at the lower end of the dosage-spectrum the sedating strains will afford the consumer a stimulation not dissimilar to Kava Kava, sativa-dominant Cannabis Polm and Caffeine. However, go further up to around 10-15g and you can expect some pleasant euphoric dreaminess and a sleepy intoxication with a tendency to lightly drift in and out of consciousness (I refuse to make any comparisons between Kakuam and opiates).
For one to amass the greatest benefit and achieve the most wholesome, well-rounded effect then one should adopt a multi-strain combinatory (it's my new word, hoping it catches on, you like it?) approach. Different strains can vary in effect depending on soil grown in, drying methods ( for example, many types of Green Indo are defined as such simply by being sun-dried, air-dried and other various manufacturing methods), region, maturity of specific tree and time of year. Taking this into account, the best way to get a balanced and well-rounded high with more character is to combine certain strains.
This is where the real connoisseurship comes into play, and you practice mixing and matching varying quantities of
x and
y strain at certain times in the high. For example, Borneo Red Vein is very warming, sedate and relaxing and takes a good 1 hour 15 minutes to come on. Couple this with a superfine, quick-acting strain with stimulating properties, such as a good superfine Red Vein Thai and you get the best of both worlds, as the RVT begins to taper off, you are greeted with a lovely, relaxing comeup from the highly-relaxing Borneo strain. There are a million and one combinations you may do and this only comes with practice - which is half the fun.
In this way, it is much akin to Coffee, Whiskey or Cannabis.
It truly is a wonderful herb - otherwise I wouldn't have spent
thousands upon thousands of pounds on it.
