Can anyone who has used [url=http://www.mh-uk.net/page22/page22.html]Guayusa[/] share their experiences and brewing techniques?

I read somewhere that in Ecuador they say if a man drinks guayusa he is destined to return to Ecuador or words to that effect.

Thanks

I received a free sample once and tried it on 2 occasions. Used a teaspoonful and boiled on low for 30 minutes. Drank before bed and didn't notice much effect on dreams... nice taste though and I'd like to experiment further.

The vendor had this to say :

"Included is a sample of shredded Guayusa leaves from Peru.
Guayusa is used by people of the Amazon basin to make an energizing tea and
as a herbal medicine. It also has the interesting effect of inducing lucid
dreaming, and being helpfull in recalling the dreams. For this reason, it is
known as the "Watchmans plant", as even when sleeping you are aware of your
external surroundings. For those interested in shamanic dreaming this is
certainly the plant to explore. It is used along with Ayahuasca to help ease
bitterness, to stay awake during Ayahuasca ceremonies, and to help prevent
hangover effects. 6 leaves, or 2 teaspoons of shredded leaves are boiled for
20-30 minutes in half a liter of water untill the liquid has a golden
transparent colour. When boiled longer the tea becomes bitter and very
energizing."

It's tasty

Mmmm Guayusa, will have to dig out my bit I have left over. Interesting plant indeed.

When I stuck a load in my brew and boiled for a long while it seemed I could feel every sip. You can re-brew the leaves after they have been used a few times too, so it can go quite a long way.

So is it the primary use/effect similar to in nature to coffee effect? Or more for dreaming?

This is something I am confused by. It is known to have large amounts of caffeine, but is also supposedly used as an aid to dreaming. Whether this is for recall, lucidity or what I am not so sure. I’ve only used it for it’s caffeine content so far, I didn’t get huge amounts of it and wanted to play with the stimulation aspect.

The stuff is super tasty,... I drank about 4 -5 sometimes more, cups a day brewed in the auto one cup coffee makers, like kueregs.

Strong medicine! Even small amounts of this stuff will keep me up for days.

The dreaming thing was about dreaming awake, so that the hunter could drift off to the land of dreams and still be alert and ready for anything at the same time or something along those lines IIRC.

I like to add a leaf or two to my mate'/coca blend in my gourd when I need good energy for a day (or three :wink

That sounds like a great combination! I don't think it tastes as good as Yerba though! It can keep you up for days dreamer? Really? How much are you drinking for that to happen? Lol

I thought people drank it early in the morning to get lucid dreams later that night when they went to sleep, sure it was the same as silene capensis? Also I've heard people adding it to aya for lucidity, never tried it myself.

I'm very sensitive to caffeine so that's probably a big part of it, but even a gram or two and I won't sleep properly for 2-3 days till it finally wears off. Don't know that's just my experience.

I was under the impression this one was less about getting lucid in the dreamstate and moar about being able to dream while awake and inhabiting both worlds at once, but it's been a long time since I studied the traditional uses, I may be wrong.

I could be wrong too, I'm sure that's what people would do though, maybe different people use it in different ways and were both right lol

good stuff, i love to drink it on its own or with my coffee, very stimulating in a smooth way,

I tried guayusa tea for a few days and noticed no effect. Gotu Kola tea did seem to have more of a kick to it. But lots of people swear by guayusa.

I had a mountain of essay reading/writing to do a few months ago, and this stuff helped GREATLY. Added much needed focus and energy. It is far more potent than tea or coffee in my experience, all without the jitters. Great stuff, I just ordered LOADS of it lol.

I was just going to ask about jitters. If I take too much caffeine I get jittery, nervous and a bit anxious but a few sources now have said it doesn't seem to leave that effect on the drinker. Thanks for all the feedback guys!

my favorite tea for energy. it's very strong. and has a delicious taste. it also tastes good mixed with a little coffee. no edginess. long lasting smooth energy. very underrated plant.

we drank guayusa every day in costa rica with the seicoya. it is delicious, energizing and replenishing... i love the stuff!!

L&G!

I drank like 10 cups of it one day and I swear I was astral traveling all night long.

I've tried this a few times now and find it is a nice tasting tea. As for its effects, I wouldn't say it's as strongly stimulating as coffee (this is from one teaspoon of leaves simmered for 10 minutes) however, last night I drank a cup a couple of hours before bed and I noticed as I was about to drift off to sleep that dream visions were entering my mind very rapidly, in fact so rapidly that I was still awake and it made me jump with surprise. This happened a few times as I got more comfortable and I was a bit anxious wondering what the night had in store for me.

However I finally got to sleep and don't recall dreams being any different than normal and my ability to remember them was no different either.