Aum_Shanti wrote:Sorry to bump such an old thread.
Same here
Aum_Shanti wrote:E.g. has there ever been made a blind test?
I don't know if this counts as a blind test, but just an anecdotal story from me:
For me Chaliponga is very distinct from Chacruna. The first stage is much like Chacruna - visual etc., but then comes the 2nd stage, which is very different. It's not visual, but more psychological, existential, often solipsist (makes me feel I'm the only person in the Universe and everything else is a product of my mind) and instils the feeling of dealing with something very sacred. It's more likely to produce intense fear. It's also very euphoric and can be stimulating. I like to take it at daytime on day-long nature hikes, as opposed to Chacruna, which I like to drink at night in the dark. In the 2nd stage I can be surrounded by people and pass as normal, while tripping my brains out without anyone noticing. Even in the midst of an intense experience I'm able to switch my mind to focus on the surrounding reality to deal with an immediate issue if needed. Chaliponga also lasts much longer, comes in waves and responds to food (e.g. it may not come on fully until I eat something). The strongest wave may not come on until 3 hours in.
Earlier this year I made a batch of Ayahuasca with old leaves (purchased some 3 years prior) that were labeled as Chaliponga. After testing the tea I realized it was fairly weak and I needed unusually high an amount to feel the effects - in the area of 25-30g, in contrast to the 3g that had worked well for me with a famous strain known as #8. Also the color and taste were unlike the strain of Chali I had worked with just before this one. This led me to suspect it was in fact Chacruna, labeled as Chaliponga by mistake. However, when I did drink enough, the effects were very profound and unlike Chacruna. Which again brought me to suspect it might be a weak strain of Chali... or a weird, long acting and wavey strain of Chacruna.
One time I shared this tea with a friend. As I wasn't even sure myself what plant it was (and was leaning towards Chacruna) I didn't tell him anything about its labeling and my uncertainty around it. He wasn't very experienced and it probably wouldn't have made a difference to him anyway. He had drunk Ayahuasca 3 times before, none in the previous 9 months, and in all 3 instances it was tea made with Chacruna.
After the experience he remarked on how long it lasted and that it came in waves. He also said his experience was very emotional, but not in the least bit visual.
I don't think he'd have recognized the taste as different from Chacruna, given his relative lack of experience, and the fact Chaliponga's taste doesn't differ from Chacruna's as much as it does from Mimosa's. And even then he'd have had no expectations that it would / should have been different, let alone different in these specific ways that many other drinkers have also observed.
I took this unintentional 'blind test' as a confirmation it was Chaliponga indeed. And a week strain at that... He drank 60 grams of it that day! when I drank 40 or so.