Psychedelic Jay's post was really well-written and thorough, but I wanted to add several things that I've discovered during my years of using pod tea that might help your friend save pods and time and get more out of his experience.
Test Dose and Dosage for a Good High
First, even as a seasoned opiate user, your friend might want to do a test dose of 3-4 medium pods (~1/4 - 1/3 c. finely-ground powder) to see how he reacts to the cocktail of alkaloids in the pods.
The first few times that I did I tea, though I was on 200-240mg OC/day (Ugh. Bad old days), I got a bunch of unpleasant side effects like uncontrolled sweating, palpitations, vascular issues, headache, uncontrolled shaking, and hypersensitivity to light. My body adjusted within a few uses. But the first time wasn't very pleasant. Pods have a heavy and complex body load. That dose was roughly 1/2c. powder (abt. 5 large pods).
Because pods differ so greatly between vendors and even individually between batches, unfortunately no one will be able to give you a specific number of pods that will guarantee the perfect dosage. My conservative guess at a dosage is below.
Alternate Brewing Method
Another method or making the tea if you don't have a coffee machine is to use a plastic melitta cone brewer with a plain, conical coffee filter. Grind the pods as fine as possible; powder is ideal to get the most from your pods. A coffee grinder is perfect. I am guessing 6-8 large pods (~2/3c. powder) will be a good dose if it takes 120mgOC to feel good. But again, pods, vendors and individuals differ…
Put the powder in a saucepan with some water (about 1 1/2 - 2 cups) and bring to a boil, at which point, reduce the heat to a simmer (just below boiling point) for a minute or three, then turn off the heat. Let the mixture sit for about 30-45 min. Much longer if you couldn't grind the pods to a fine powder. This is important, you wan to get as much as possible out of your pods. Strain it through the coffee filter. Sip slowly as lukewarm tea.
Your tea should be bitter and dark brown, or at least a dark golden color, depending on the potency of the pods and how much water you used. (Personally, I don't like to use a lot of water.) If it's not bitter, the pods are bunk. Even if you used a gallon of water, potent pods would still impart some bitterness to the tea.
I always did a second wash. I dumped the used "grounds" back in to the pan, added some water, swished around and re-strained. The second wash usually came out almost as dark and bitter as the first. A third wash rarely tasted like anything was left, so I gave that up.
Temperature and Taste
Once your friend becomes confident about a safe dosage, I suggest trying the tea over ice. Like beer or wine, the flavors are muted when the liquid is ice-cold. But this is definitely for when he's confident about a safe dose.
The tea tastes like bitter, dirty plant material so, personally, I find sweetener makes the flavor worse as it enhances the bitterness. At the other end of the spectrum, there's some sort of bitter flavor synergy between pods and grapefruit juice that masks the pod flavor, so you could mix the tea with some freshly-squeezed GFJ. This is where using the minimum amount of water comes in handy. GFJ is a potentiator too.
Slow Onset of the High:
Poppy pod tea comes on slowly, so sipping, as Jay suggested, is essential for the first few times. It's sort of like Methadone. You don't start to feel anything until at least 30-45 min. and the full effects don't really come on until 2 hours after ingestion. Again, this depends on individual metabolism, method of ingestion, when and what you've eaten and the use of potentiating substances.
But it's one of those drugs that sneaks up on you because you don't feel anything so you're tempted to re-dose. You know the story: As soon as you've taken your next dose, you finally feel the first dose. And it's strong as fuck. And keeps getting stronger. That shit.
Mega-Threads
The Pod Mega-threads are a great resource. Though both PJ's and my brewing methods will definitely yield potent tea, people have many different methods and preferences as how they like to consume their pods.
Mega-thread, pt III. The first post of this thread provides links to the first two mega-merged pod threads:
http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/showthread.php?t=480294&highlight=pod+mega
There's some good reading in those threads and left-wing merged with style and grace.
