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Senin, 23 September 2013

What is the real story with Maeng Da?

UPDATE 10-15-13:
I have new information that changes a few things about the article below.  It comes from a knowledgeable source, so is probably true.  It appears that the original Maeng Da may not actually be a horned leaf strain.  While there are horned leaf varietals out there, and they do tend to be potent, it seems that calling them Maeng Da is actually a later addition.

You've all probably seen companies selling something called "Maeng Da" kratom.  Supposedly translated to mean "Pimps grade", it's often marketed as the top of the line kratom strain.  So is the hype accurate?  Is the Maeng Da sold by various companies all the same?  It turns out to be an interesting story.

Bear in mind that everything I'm about to say is based on conversations with growers and suppliers and is the truth as far as I know.  Having said that, if anyone has any additional information that they wish to share, please let me know and I'll update the post.

So here's the skinny:  Maeng Da, that is real Maeng Da, the original Maeng Da, all comes from one place.  There is a plantation in Indonesia that claims to be the "World's first legal kratom plantation" (which is kind of silly but I'll save that for later).  This plantation supplies a few proprietary strains of kratom, the two most famous being Maeng Da and Bali.

Real Maeng Da is often marketed as "Genetically grown",  which is a weird thing to say.  Having a good understanding of the subject of biotech,  I know for a fact that nobody is genetically engineering kratom, so it definitely isn't "Genetically engineered" kratom, but what does "Genetically grown" mean then?

I spoke to a kratom farmer about what makes Maeng Da different.  There are a few pieces to the puzzle.  First off, I'm told Maeng Da originates as a Thai strain of kratom (Mitragyna speciosa), from mature green vein trees.

Now comes the "genetically grown" part.  What is this mysterious high tech process?  Well, it turns out to be the ancient art of grafting.   Apparently, there is something magical in this grafting process that creates an exceptionally potent plant,  perhaps combining traits from two different strains, or perhaps speeding the maturation process and increasing the alkaloids.  From what I've been told, if you try and plant seeds from this grafted plant, it will only retain the partial genetics,  and so it's necessary to graft a new tree for every true Maeng Da tree.

So what about all these other Maeng Da strains? As you can imagine, some companies just copied the name Maeng Da haphazardly, but reputable companies usually are referring to a horned leaf variety.  For instance, Mu Synergetics sells 3 types of Maeng Da.  There is the True Maeng Da (aka genetically grown / grafted), and then two others which are other rare horned leaf varietals, the wild Malaysian and the Deveined red vein Maeng Da.

The most recent batch of True Maeng Da that I purchased from Mu Synergetics boasted a mitragynine content of about 2.6 percent - which is literally the highest I've ever seen, so although the strain is expensive, it is really something unique and different.  Both energizing and euphoric, often described as being very "clean", True Maeng Da is truly unique.  Although the horned vein kratom also tends to be potent, the "genetically grown" original stuff is still something special and unique (and is relatively scarce on the market).





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Rabu, 18 September 2013

Making your own kratom blends

Greetings friends,

In the last post, I went over some of the qualities of the different strains (see below this post).
Just like coffee or wine, there are some finer points to blending kratom strains.  Traditional kratom users in southeast Asia very often prefer to chew a combination of a red vein and a white or green vein together.  It makes sense, you get the best of both worlds, a little energy, a little euphoria.

Of course the ratio of the two and the origin of the kratom will make a big difference in the final effects of the blend.  Getting to know the strains individually is important for understanding a blend,  but there is also some sometimes unpredictable synergy that can emerge with a particularly magical blend.

The traditional balanced blend is a good place to start.  A nice combo would be:

1/3 Kalimantan or Pontianak white vein
2/3 Kalimantan red vein #1 or #2

 Of course the ratios can be changed depending on preference.  Some prefer a straight 1:1.

I find that in general it's good to blend strains that are complementary in one way or another, rather than strains that are too similar to each other. A white vein mixed with a green vein might be better than two white veins for instance.  I find that when two things are too similar, the good effects cancel out and the unwanted effects multiply.  Not that all reds are the same for instance, our Thai red dragon could mix nicely with a Kalimantan red vein, since they are fairly different leaves and emphasize different points on the spectrum.

There are no hard and fast rules though, and with a little experimentation, you can discover your own perfect blend.

Here are a few of my all time favorites.


Mustafa's morning mix:

1 part Wild Malay Maeng Da
1 part Deveined Maeng Da
1 part Kalimantan or Pontianak white vein 



Mustafa's basic anytime mix:

1 part DV Maeng Da
1 part Kalimantan red vein



Mustafa's Super anytime mix

1 part Wild Malay Maeng Da
1 part Deveined Maeng Da
1 part Kalimantan red vein



Mustafa's Transcendental Chillaxation blend

1 part Kalimantan red vein #1
1 part Kalimantan red vein #2
1 part Kalimantan green vein



Mustafa's peacetime blend

1 part Kalimantan red vein #2
1 part Kalimantan green vein


Happy blending!

Don't forget to visit MuSynergetics 







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Getting to know the strains and vein colors

Greetings friends,
Welcome to Mustafa "Mu" Ricevanto's kratom blog!

Kratom biochemistry is remarkably complex.  There are at least 40 compounds in the Mitragyna Speciosa plant - many of them alkaloids.  Plants from different regions can be markedly different in chemical makeup and thus effect.

Kratom leaves have a hard midrib ("vein") that can occur in three colors: red, white, and green.  Since the color of the vein is associated with differences in chemical makeup, kratom is often identified by it's vein color.  Between the vein color and place of origin, kratom leaves can have quite a range different effects.

In general, the vein color is traditionally thought of like this:  The red veins are the most euphoric, analgesic and relaxing, the white veins are the most stimulating and energizing, and the green veins are somewhere in the middle, a little more energizing than the red, but not exactly stimulating like the white.

As far as location, red veins and green veins from Thai strains tend to be more energizing than red veins and green veins from Borneo (Kalimantan).  I've yet to sample a Thai white vein, so I can't comment although I'd expect it to be quite stimulating.  Malaysian strains tend to be fairly balanced, somewhere in between.  Most Malaysian kratom I've seen has been green vein, although I've seen an occasional red Malay strain.

It should be noted that almost all commercial kratom is grown in Indonesia.  Most Thai kratom is actually Thai strains grown in Indonesia.  Very little kratom that was actually grown in Thailand comes to the US.  Some Malaysian kratom is actually wild harvested in Malaysia, but some is also farmed in Indonesia.  Indonesian Borneo, the Kalimantan region, is the source for the Borneo or Kalimantan strains.

It appears that kratom trees need to be at least around 5- 8 years old before they start to produce decent leaves, and much of the kratom on the market is wild harvested from mature trees in the deep jungle.  Certainly more and more farms have come online in recent years, though, and besides farms in Indonesia, there are supposedly farms in Hawaii, Florida and Costa Rica.  It will be interesting to see how much commercial kratom will hit the market from these other places in the future.

As always you can visit MuSynergetics.com for a great variety of the best strains from around world.
(If you do check out MuSynergetics.com, enter the coupon code mustafa and get 5% off on any order over $25.  Thanks guys!)







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