I've extracted using 5% white vinegar in the past. would food grade citric acid (pellets) be an upgrade.

for a 50 g acacia extraction I am thinking 20 g - 30 g citric acid dissolved in like 150 ml of distilled water? or is that excessive


also I don't have a method of testing PH? my Digi meter is broken

There shouldn't be a difference, use whatever is more convenient/cheaper. You can find ~100 litmus strips for $1 on ebay. The strips won't be very accurate but they will do the job.

Awesome I had a side project and now have about 5+/- lbs of quality citric acid. so looks like ill be giving that a try. also dug up so litmus, I hope they haven't expired.

I'll be reporting back with my extraction results. ive got some work to do now.

Jane thinks that citric acid is better, simply because both work efficiently but citric acid has the added benefit of not being smelly. SwiY can heat root bark in citric acid and not worry about the place smelling like a heroin lab.

Plus it's pretty benign and easy to work with.

This is not a recommendation, but I switched from acetic to hydrochloric acid for same reason: smell. HCl is odorless.

Citric acid is a weak acid, but if it works for you, that's great.

I've had excellent sucess and yields using granular citric acid. I'd microwave distilled water in a beaker, and add the granules until PH-3 was observed using a litmus test. Worked fine, every time.