Greetings..

I would disagree that it is all about 'taste.' Though, it is important nonetheless.. anyways, onwards and upwards!

1: Black seed: I use the seeds for obvious reasons. The most bitter herb I've ever put in my mouth by itself, which is why I combine it with honey and coconut to relieve the bitterness. The experience is putting one of the greatness herbs known to mankind kind of experiences. 10/10

2: Dandelion: I eat this plant raw and / or cooked because of its dense nutritional levels. Raw dandelion is very bitter so I usually like cooking with it. This herb I can use a few days of the week. The experience is nice and chewy, good source of energy. 8/10

3: Wood sorrel: I use this rarely but definitely one of the bitterest / sourest herbs I've had. Leaves a bitter impact on the mouth tissues. Good once and a while. The experience is very sour but leaves a bitter touch afterwards.. enjoyable once a week I should say, helps clear the system out. 7/10

All of these herbs make me feel great! Ergo why I eat them.. knowing that they are all bitter doesn't change the bitterness, its just bitter.

And there you have it! May I ask why you care so much about bitter herbs? Are you just starting to use bitter herbs?

Thank you for responding. Firstly, sorry about the size change, I find the text a little small overall (just my preference, I need to change browser setting rather than posting font). Secondly, I was just stating the specifics of the subject matter but not it's importance. The title was a "caps lock" mistake (now corrected). I have mistakenly used the word "herb" and should have used the word "plant" (so much for posting so late at night, must be overtired. LOL), and the bitter taste can put some people off from re-participating. I would also like to include mushrooms and extracts into the mix. I want to know how others peoples experience of bitter plants like calea zacatachichi, salia divinorum, wormwood, dandelion, etc. and how much a factor bitter taste is. Helpful information may come out of this, in fact it has already thanks to you (I knew nothing about black seed until you just mentioned it, and black seed is much more on my radar now that I've googled it, WOW ).

I can only think of 1 bitter plant I tasted, and that was ephedra sinica.

It was very bitter, I'd give it a 9.
I prepared a tea by shredding the stalks and soxhleting with water. I felt my eyes "adjust" and textures on the ground became far more noticible and distant details became more clear. I felt like I had brand new lungs and like I could flip a car if I wanted to!

Thanks for the reply. Using lab equipment to make tea is an interesting approach. I have to say that although there seems to be various views on the internet as to the safety of ephedra sinica, it is also now on my radar too. I have recently taken calea zacatachichi (dream herb) as a tea and Salvia Divinorum as a quid. I give the salvia 5/10 and the calea 6/10. In my opinion, most posts I have read have overrated their bitterness level.

There are many plant's I'd love go try, I've heard amazing things about kratom. I use a soxhlet for nearly anything from infusing alcohol to extractions, or running a solvent through a sieve to remove water impurities. I will never regret investing in it!

After checking the prices required for a soxhlet, I think I will stick to simmering my tea in a pot of water and using a fine sieve .

To each their own it has paid for itself more times than I may count so I can't complain

Is there anyone else that can rate the bitter taste of plants, shrooms, etc that they have taken. If I can get a clearer picture on how people cope with the bitterness issue, I may have an unusual solution that is not pleasant, but should work very well. I am working on the concept now but need more info as well as more personal experience. The only mind developing substances I indulge in is Salvia D,Calea Z, and African Dream Root (the first two being bitter).

Calea's probably the most unpleasantly aromatic plant I've ever tasted, but the fresh leaves seem more bearable than tea for some reason. It's also more potent quidded fresh.
A strong decoction of rue is perhaps the most alkaloidy bitter, makes me grimace every time. I've had delicious caramel-honey flavored ayahuasca on the other hand.
Mushrooms and morning glory can cause psychologically-induced instant nausea from the taste, but objectively are just "wild tasting".

Thank you for your reply, additionally I apologise for not responding sooner (been busy). I did not know that calea Z could be take as a quid, and that it is more potent. I have many questions on this method of consumption.

1) How much Calea Z do you take (volume/weight/mouthful)?
2) How long do it take to have an effect?
3) As a quid, is it most effective with a subligual method (under tongue) or buccal method (in cheeks)?
4) How much more potent is quid compared to tea (in your experience/view)?

I will try this method when my plant gets big enough. I also have an extreme, but effective solution to the problem of the highly bitter taste of some natural product/plants. I will post the solution as a new topic soon, but until then I would like to hear from a few more members on their experience of bitterness and additionally how the cope or overcome the issue.

I have been busy and will be going on holiday soon to Egypt for over a month, so before I go, here is my solution to all bitter tasting stuff. Reset your perception of what bitterness is in relation to the taste-buds of your tongue and your mind. This can be done with a herb called Quassia (Warning... Treat with respect and Caution... Very bitter indeed.) Soak some Quassia wood chippings in cold water to make an infusion of extreme bitterness. It does not take much wood or time to make a very bitter solution. If you can handle a strong Quassia infusion, all other bitter stuff become quite tolerable/mild in comparison.

(Warning...The bitter taste will linger long after consumption and is not easily gotten rid of.)

Woah, really should have responded to this sooner, would have if I'd seen it.

I haven't worked with Calea too extensively yet, but I have a shopping bag full of it sitting next to my desk, so maybe this is the wakeup call
1) The leaves are pretty tiny, but I can only stand about 10-20 in a sitting if I'm quidding. This is psychoactively perceptible if you give it time to sit in the mouth.
2) Last time I tried it I think it was apparent within 5 minutes. Pretty much whatever you'd expect from quidding some leaves, similar to salvia onset.
3) It's good to saturate the entire oral mucosa with the planty essence. It's much easier buccally, farther from the tongue.
4) Couldn't tell you exactly, I only ever quidded my homegrown plants, and had tea with commercially purchased leaves. The commercial stuff had a mild effect when smoked but tea did next to nothing. My gut says tea is quite a bit less effective. It may be that some of the main components aren't water soluble, but that a tincture could work perfectly ok.

Thanks for the response kerelsk, most appreciated. I have my own plant too and will be using it alot more next year when I get back from holiday. I am leaving for Egypt very soon, but will take Salvia/Calea combo with me enough for the first night only. Will try to post while out there.

Greetings all

I got back home from egypt very saturday morning but still had to work the weekend. The calea-z/ salvia combo did not work on holiday, but will try again later on in the year. Both my plants are now recovering from not being watered for 6 weeks. Even though I gave both plants a heavy pruning and good watering before I left on holiday, I was surprised to find them still alive 41 days later. The pots were very dry and the plants were partly wilted, but they are both coming back to health after a good drenching of water. Will keep you all posted on my progress.