Changa You've heard the word but perhaps don't know what all the hub-bub's about. Since I'm such a lover of Changa and have been getting quite a few Pm's about it I want share all I know and love about this beautiful blend
So what is Changa?- Changa is not as much a single thing as it is a type of administration of DMT. Changa is made up of two parts together infused into organic matter. The 2 active players are; NN-Dimethyltryptamine and Harmalas. The two are infused into various smoking blends. DMT must be in freebase form and the Harmalas can be extracted from different plants such as Syrian rue and Caapi vine or leaves or can be used in their isolated freebase forms, Harmine and Harmaline, and Tetra-hydr-harmine.
Why Changa?- Changa is more or less the same experience as freebased DMT but with a few pleasant differences; longer working time to administer, a slower on set, longer duration of effects, and many feel more depth and the ability to better navigate within the experience.
When vaporizing DMT the administration time window is very short and exceeding this time window is a common cause of mis-fires, aka sub breakthrough experiences. People go through incredible lengths and spend countless dollars on methods and devices made to administer their precisely weighed dose of beautiful white and orange crystals in a timely manner. IMO this starts the whole journey off on an anxious foot. Feeling the time crunch and trying to juggle a torch lighter, just enough heat, when to inhale, ext. all the while knowing you need to get it just right! It’s no wonder some people have hard time relaxing once they put the pipe down. They feel like they just finished a timed challenge on a game show.
Now imagine there was no time window, no perfect temperature to exceed or reach, no special pricey vaporizers to buy and then practice with. My lord! Sometimes I wonder why anyone even uses freebase. If you can pack a bowl and use a normal lighter or, match, you can breakthrough each time every time. With Changa you can layer up your experience gradually to breakthrough, or even better, stay in a selected perpetual state for extended period by periodically taking more hits.
On-set. For many people myself included the rapid onset feels like being fired out of a cannon into a vastly different world and can be nerve racking or become taxing after working with the molecule over time. The harmalas slow down this onset to a more gradual comfortable arrival into hyperspace.
The harmalas in the Changa increase the effects time. Everybody is different but generally speaking Changa lengthens the duration of the effects by a factor of 2. Perhaps it’s the longer working time, but many people myself included report a more comprehensive, personal experience. It’s not the same as an oral DMT experience but there certainly are subtle nuances that will feel similar.
Before we get into making our Changa blend I first want to talk about personalizing your Changa to specific needs and wants. This is another characteristic of Changa that is incredibly unique and again seats Changa above freebase dmt in my opinion. You have the ability to fully customize your blend to exactly your likes. You can create a heavy harmalas blend, a one hit break through blend, various aromas and flavors can be infused. I will discuss this latter characteristic in great detail. It’s a method I have been working on for a few months and feels it pretty much perfected. It is infusing any plants aroma and flavor with no chance of creating a harsh smoke. More of that later.
Standard blend- If you Don’t wish to get fancy and simply want to make Changa, the baseline numbers are generally accepted as a 1 to 1 pure Harmalas or enriched 10x harmalas infused leaf to spice. That may sound confusing so I will break it down.
1 to 1- When talking about Changa the first number is the ratio of freebase Harmalas to spice in relation to a single unit of organic matter or leaf. So a 1 to 1 Changa blend will contain 1g harmalas, 1g spice, all infused into 1g of leaf. The infused leaf should weigh 3g once infused and dried.
10x enriched leaf-
Most people find it much more cost effective to enrich their organic plant matter with the harmalas from the Caapi leaf rather than extract and use pure Harmala freebase or purchase them from vendors. The effects are the same. You need a min of 10g Caapi leaves to infuse 1g of spice. Just buy an ounce its cheap and you can use it for lots of things. Take 10g of leaf in a pot and add water as if you were making a pot of tea. Bring to a slow boil or simmer for a couple hours adding water to keep the level consistent.
Remove plant material by however you wish. I like to use a fine mesh sack used to strain jams but a cotton t is just as good. Ring out your leaf and put all the combined liquid back into the pot to reduce. Here you can go 2 ways. You can add a fresh gram of leaf to the reducing liquid, slowly simmer off the water then leave out to fully air dry, or you can reduce the liquid alone, evaporate the remainder and scrape up the powdery residue. This crude Haramla powder will be later added to 1g of Caapi leaf to make a 10x 1 to 1 changa blend. That’s 1g of 10x enriched Caapi leaf, 1g spice.
Play with numbers to see if you understand this explanation before we talk about how to get everything infused together. What would the ratios be if you wanted twice as much harmalas in the same batch of Changa we have been discussing using Caapi leaf? It would still be a 1 to 1 standard blend but instead of 10x enriched Cappi it would be 20x enriched Caapi written as; 20x 1 to 1 Changa. Or if using purified Harmalas it would be a 2 to 1 Changa.
Infusing the blend- It’s pretty easy and there are multiple ways. I’ll describe the easiest and use the most commonly found ingredient which is 99% isopropyl alcohol or IPA.
In a pot with water in it place approximately 40ml IPA into a small glass and heat up the alcohol in a double boiler method. It does not need to be piping hot or boiling just quite warm to hot. Once heated remove from pot and add your spice and harmalas to the IPA. You can stir or swirl whatever you want until all the spice is dissolved. If using enriched dried leaf only add the spice to the IPA. Now place your plant material on a bowl or small dish and pour the IPA into the bowl over the plant matter and mix well. Put in a safe non direct sun area with a fan on it until fully dry. When you think its fully dry, dry it some more. If you’re in a highly humid area you may need to take other steps to fully evaporate the solvent out. There are tips at the end of this tutorial regarding drying your blends in high humidity. You now have Changa, congratulations!
If you don’t wish to customize your Changa to personal perfection this is your stop. 1 to 1 blends are nothing short of amazing and getting super detailed as will be discussed in the next paragraphs is not necessary but I highly recommend it.
The perfect blend.
What do I want in my Changa? So why am I playing with numbers here. Well It’s because if you really wish to custom create your dream blend you need to know what you like. For me, my favorite go to Changa for deep self-work and working with experienced explorers is 17.5x 1 to .8 or when using Pure Harmalas 1.75 to .8. That’s 1.5g Harmalas, .8g Spice to 1g organic material. I dialed in these numbers for a specific bong. This is important if wishing for very consistent effects. This blend in my Changa bong is a comfortable 1 hit breakthrough every time. In a different smoking tool that could change drastically. In a bigger bong it would be far too strong, in a pipe multiple hits would be needed. Find a tool for only Changa and perfect your blend for that tool. I like a 1 hit B.T. because I dislike fumbling around as I come up with lighters and sitting bongs down and I also dislike that back and forth wondering if I should take another hit, if so how big. I like to hit it and forget it. No guess work, no stress of, “OMG was that second rip too much, Did I not hit it enough times” ext.
Note- I have edited my preferred ratios to my current likes. I also wish to give an advisory that the high harmala content to my changa is not very common and is something I have worked my body up to. I don't recommend people new to changa start with my preferred personal ratios as they may be too much until the body has developed a relationship with Caapi. Since my work with Ayahuasca I do prefer a heavy harmala load but have backed it down from 1.75 to 1.5 sometimes less. I also have in my collection much lower harmalas for working with new people or facilitating groups in which multiple journeys are planned in a short time span.
Remember, if your goal is deep exploration starting the experience off relaxed and with a quite mind is essential for the best results. You would be surprised how comfortable Spice can be when you remove all these little annoyances and doubts that get the heart rate up and mind racing. Most people never even know this is happening but it is and it affects the experience.
Finding your perfect blend takes a bit of time and trial and error but is well worth it if you’re serious about a Changa practice or deep self exploration. Its a fun process though!
Organic plant matter as a base-So Caapi leaf is a great standard leaf. There are many many good plants you can use for your Changa. The only requirements are a safe plant to smoke and ingest and a smooth hitting material. Caapi is very smooth so is mullin, lemon balm, blue lotus and others. If your not sure take a pinch of whatever herb you wish to use and put in a clean dry pipe and take a decent hit. Exhale. It’s either smooth or its not. If it is you have a new plant to add to your palate if not set it aside for my always smooth infusion technique I will describe later.
A perfect Changa in my opinion should be pleasing to all the senses. It should smell and taste like an aromatic bouquet of amazingness. It should look interesting. I like ti have different herbs and textures as well as colors in my blend. Caapi leaf is amazing but looks just like a jar of dark brown cigar tobacco. Its lovely stuff but a bit dull on the’ senses. I love using Mullin, Blue Lotus, Lemon Balm, Muna, and Caapi as my herb base. This blend is very visually appealing. Now onto the fun stuff.
Always smooth aroma and flavor infusions-This is how I get my Changa to blow people minds even before they ever smoke it. When you open my jars you are met with strong distinct fragrances. Now anyone can do this by using good smelling herbs as their plant base but 9 times out of ten the really good smelling stuff hits harsh. Just take a toke of Lavender and see if you can even hold it in for 2 seconds. Yet lavender is one of the most relaxing soothing flavors and scents I work with. So how do we get the good and leave the bad? We infuse.
Find safe to consume herbs you think smell good and place in a small jar. I use baby food jars they are perfect size. Fill the jars 1/4 full with herbs and then fill the jar with 99% IPA. Put in a dark drawer and shake them every so often, once a day is more than enough. I like to soak my IPA infusions for a month or more but I have had incredible results from only 4 days. These IPA infusions will be what you dissolve everything together with in place of pure IPA.
Feel free to become a mix-ologist. Use 2 or 3 different aromas that complement each other. I like to use the following infused IPA’s together, Lemon Balm, Lavender, and Spearmint. Another favorite is Clove, Lavender and Muna. These aromas work with each other not against. I haven’t yet found a harsh hitting Infused IPA Changa. That’s not to say it can’t be done. If your infusions are too saturated and you use a lot of IPA it will make the smoke harsh. Play with infusion times and amounts. I am currently working on a Palo Santos Changa and I’m pretty damn excited about this!
Curing your Changa-This is often overlooked but as any good cannabis cultivator will tell you a good cure is the difference between good product and freaking amazing. It’s very important for Changa as well because it not only ensures a fully clean evaporated end product it adds greatly to the flavor and aroma. Take a clean mason jar or baby jar and put you fully dried Changa in it closing the lid. Let it sit for a few hours and open it. You will smell moist Changa and possibly hints of IPA. Leave the lid off for a few hours and repeat. Do this as many times as needed. I cure my Changa for about at least a week. After you cure is complete place the Changa in a sealed jar in the fridge. Freezer for long term storage that being a year or more.
Well there ya have it that’s all I have learned and all my little tips and ideas I have. Changa changed my life as well as gave me a new purpose. It is my wish that for all those who feel called to develop a relationship with Changa do and take great care in creating there blends to unlock a new understanding. Making Changa for me is an artistic active role in the DMT experience. With this approach a whole huge new level of hyperspace is un folding. Happy travels.
OM
Tips and tricks-Humid areas, Humidity can be a problem. Here are 2 ways I found to combat this. First is the best but requires ordering some desecant. Desecant is heat treated lava stones you can buy from laboratory suppliers. I hear you can also use the gel packets bought at herbal and natural food stores for keeping supplements fresh. The stones I buy are blue when dry and turn pink when saturated so they are easy to tell when they need to be re-baked in the oven to get all the moisture out. Then they will turn blue again. This stuff is amazing and you can keep all your goodies fresh as a daisy for long term storage.
I fill a large mason jar with about an inch or so of desecant. Put your changa in a smaller jar that will fit inside the large mason jar with the lid off. Place the changa inside the larger jar and put the lid on sealing it up. So the changa has no lid or a very loose lid and the large mason jar is sealed. Leave that be for a good day or 2 and then remove the changa and seal it up with its own lid.
If you leave the lid off the changa after drying it will re absorb the moisture in the air so try to keep it sealed as much as possible and if handling and using the changa often repeat the desecant drying every now and then.
The second way only requires a freezer or fridge. These appliances have a dehumidifier built in other wise you would have lots of condensation and in the freezer tons of frost covering everything. Tip- If you open your freezer and are met with a white Christmass or frost covering everything your de-humidifier probably isn't working in that appliance.
Place you changa lid off in the fridge but keep the lid next to the changa jar. Near the cool air output is best if that's possible. This cool air is very dry. Leave your changa in there for a day or 2 and then place in the freezer for one more day. When your done quickly remove the changa from the freezer and seal the jar. This will remove most the moisture.
If you keep your supply in the freezer normally for storage here is a tip to keep your Changa dry and fresh. When removing from the cold environment never open your jars until they are at room temp especially in humid regions. Take the jar out sealed and let sit on the counter for 10-15 min until room temp then open. If you open cold changa to the air it does the same thing as a cold soda can. It will collect condensation and become moist.
I am not gonna lie, shits gonna get weird!Troubles Breaking Through? Click here.
The Art of Changa. making the perfect blend.