I've read good chunks of this thread -- but will honestly say I have not read all 14 pages.
I'm not new to opiates, by any stretch,.. have done PST a few times with different methods,.. and poppy pods many more times than that. **I really prefer Hydro over much anything else.. The pure full-on mixture straight from the pods (seed or pod) tends to give me a body feeling that is uncomfortable and even slightly painful.
I can feel with PST and especially pod team a rush from my back up through my neck into the back of my scalp. It isn't a oooo, what a rush feeling. It is a slow, increasing in intensity sort of dull radiating pain/pressure. It has heat (which is fine).. but the pressure/pain that is hard to describe takes away from the PST or Pods. Everyone always blames the negatives on thebaine,.. maybe thats it.
But I digress..
The point of this post is to ask a few things about Poppy seed tea:
1) What is the general consensus for applying heat to preparation to poppy SEED tea? ---I've seen *mostly* a consensus to use warm water in bottles and shake them. The more you put into the shake the better the mix, but not exessively. And warm water is all you need.
I've also seen those who get extravagent and do some time consuming work and involves heating things in some parts.
So -- Heat? Will this help extract anymore?
Heat? Will it burn off any unwanted effects?
Heat? Will it/could it destroy some of the opiate alkaloids we so avidly are after?
Heat? Any benefit, or just a waste of time? If benefit, how much?
2) Seeds -- in specific.. if you are going to buy them out of spice racks (Sometimes it is just hard to find them bulk) -- The difference in Organic vs Non?
I ask this because it could seem either way to me:
One way being organic is more prone to have the latex we need stuck on the seeds. Or the bad way : Maybe organic is washed extra well -- thus very bad for PST.
Non organic? Basically I think the non-organic is luck of the draw. (By non-organic I mean all the jarred/bagged poppy seeds that you see in all the stores).
I've personally had quite a noticeable effect from straight mckormic (sp?) seeds (maybe 4-5 jars) although it was a noticeably 'milky' substance.. almost like the oils got out (I didn't crush anything) -- so I had the pinned pupils, and the feeling -- but also an uncomfortable sort of 'upset' stomach. (Not diarhhea upset -- just queezy). Which detracted from the buzz. But the alkaloids were present in that brand seeds.. and I have a high tolerance unfortunately.
I have also used other brands seeds and really not noticed much of anything. In particular when I used a method that was told to pour water and a bottle of lemon juice into a pan.. then the seeds.. and use a big spoon/device to rake them around (stir) for an hour. I got nadda off that.
I recently went 'shopping' for seeds -- and nothing bulk was available within 30 miles -- so I visited the whole foods shops.. fresh foods.. even groceries.
I found a brand I had never seen -- that was 'Poppy Seeds' and under it said organic. Then next to these were the same brand, but did not have the 'organic' under it.
I took both bottles out and examined them both closely, sliding the bottles around gently, looking through the bottoms/sides, etc for quite a while. People looking at me like what is he doing? =)
In the organic it had some apparent flakes from the pods.. big enough to know it was pod material. Also you would see for about every 10 seeds floating around.. 3-4 would be 'stuck together'. There was this reddish/brown residue that was sticking them together. That looked like a pretty good sign to me. The seeds overall were a very dark gray.
I also went to another place and found different brands of the same organic vs non -- And this time the *non* organic looked more 'potent' -- The non organic this time was very dark,.. looked to have more sticking than the non organic which was a very light color (not that that matters) -- and had no residue that was noticeable. (These happen to be Mckormic (sp) -- So I was at a loss to which would have a better shot, the regular Mckorm, or the certified organic. ((I know, I know.. probably both had very little .. but were vastly different in appearance.)
So to sum this up -- Heat,? Yay, nay? why?
And.. How do you visually (if you have done so) determine 'dirty' seeds from not so dirty ones? I was able to open the one that looked quite dirty and it had a significant smell.
Organic vs Non-Organic ? -- I mean Organic means it had to be grown in a controlled way, no chemicals and so on.. am I right? Would seem like organic could be in our favor, against us,.. or not even really matter and be something to make a buck.
Lastly,..
I am preparing this tomorrow -- so hopefully I will get an answer on the method.
I intend on placing them in 20oz water bottles (I have alot of them)... probably about 100grams per water bottle. Add in 60% water or so (eyeballing it).. Very warm water that is..
Then shake all 7-8 bottles for quite a while. (An idea just popped in my head.. turn the drier heat off.. and let it do the work for you? Sound like a bad idea ? )
Then of course just loosen the cap only enough for liquid to come out over a larger container (that is ingenious,.. the whole method of using cloth, strainers, and so on is always messy).
Thanks