Dear members,

Last week someone asked me a question that gave me a hard time to answer, I had to ask quite a few questions myself before I could answer it and then it still left me with a feeling that I did not really know how to answer this correctly.

The question this person asked was : What is the best extraction tek?


To me there are quite a few good extraction teks that each have their own different way of doing things, some are easy to perform with a slightly lower end result while others take more time but have excellent yields, etc.

Since people have different priorities I thought that it might be a good idea to give all the teks on our WIKI a rating for each different aspect. This thread is about gathering the different aspects that are needed to pick the right extraction tek for you.

So I thought about a few of those aspects already and here is the list I came up with:


SAFETY

Some teks are safer than others. Lime for example is on average less dangerous to handle than lye, warm water baths can have more solvent vapors than cold extractions, etc.


EXPECTED YIELD

Of course this is a very important aspect, the higher the yield the less source material is needed which is better for the environment among others.


EXPECTED PURITY

How pure can the end result be when the tek is followed in detail?


SIMPLICITY OF STEPS

How easy are all the steps in this tek? This can be the amount of steps but also how well each step is explained and also how easy those steps are to understand.


SIMPLICITY OF EQUIPMENT USED

How much equipment do you need for this tek and how easy is that equipment to use? A cooking pan is more easy to use than a soxhlet for example.


TIME OF EXPOSURE

What is the time that it will take between starting this tek and having the end results? This can be important to have your extraction in the open for the shortest time possible.


DISCRETION

Thinks like odor of the solvent that can be smelled by neighbours and certain combinations of chemicals you have to buy, disposal of the mix, etc.


If any of you have other aspects in mind that are important to show with each tek then please reply to this thread and explain why you think that aspect needs to be added.


Kind regards,

The Traveler

Interesting post! I think a rating system will make choosing a ten easier but at the same time still think it's important to read through several different teks to get an idea of the different ways people go about to get to the end result. The main things I have considered you have already listed. Time/how long the teks takes is one I haven't thought of but most of the teks I have read tend to be pretty quick. A

Of course, one should consider how their source material can affect any of these variables. A grass extraction will likely require a bit more time and solvent so the defats can be performed while an STB can be done fairly quickly if you have root bark. My favorite tek is q21q21's ten because it is fairly quick and can be entirely foodsafe with D-Limo or only require naphtha if tek 2 is used. I wouldn't want to use lye, for example, which a lot of teks are adamant about so that narrowed my choices down from the get-go.

Would have really been a case of; "Well that depends on....." tough question. There's so many different ways of applying the art of science.

You've covered the main aspects of qualification very well.

I think a rating system would be useful, but how would it be calculated? Would each of these aspects be addressed individually (with its own score) or would it simply be a total based upon these criteria? Would it be user rated? This is my main sticking point. User rating opens it to personal and statistical bias, however if all ratings are created by an individual it opens the system to favouritism and individual interpretation of the criteria (for example, what benzyme considers "basic chemistry" is only just within my realm understanding, and I'm not a scientific slouch). Perhaps ratings could be conferred upon by the mods (although that raises the question of institutional bias) or some other group of experienced extractors.

I definitely think it's a good idea and would be helpful for the less experienced, but it has to be implemented correctly.

Hope answering you're question with a bunch more questions helps

This is an awesome idea! Of course everyone should still do in-depth research before attempting a tek. They should also not use a tek based on ratings alone.

But having a rating system can definitely help newcomers (or even those who are experienced) quickly find a suitable tek.

How exactly will the ratings be administered? Will members take a poll/vote? Perhaps senior members or those chemical experts out there should have an overall say once the poll/vote is taken? Or maybe their vote is worth 2 votes (or 10 votes, they are the experts after all)...?

Just throwing out random thoughts at this point...

Would source material also be a consideration? Mhrb vs. Acrb for example.

I thought this too. Its a consideration, but not really something a tek can be rated on, although the yield and simplicity could change based on source material.

Where it might be needed we could add a different rating for each source material. Though we have to see if this is really needed since for simplicity I rather leave it out.


Kind regards,

The Traveler

My idea was to have each tek rated by a first proposal that the community can give their feedback on, then that feedback will be used for the final rating.


p.s. I have also added a new rating aspect: EXPECTED PURITY


Kind regards,

The Traveler

That's a good thought. A kind of combined community rating and expert rating.

In terms of quantification, here's what I think you be most useful. Rate each of the criteria out of 2. Add the scores for Safety, Simplicity of method, Simplicity of equipment, Purity and Time, then multiply the sum by the Yield score to give a total score out of 20 (because l, in my mind, yield is the most important factor in determination of objective quality).

Obviously, to maintain credibility, the breakdown of each score should be available as part of the score's expanded details. Naturally the source, methodology and and means of calculation of the score should be made transparent (which this thread already does).

I think it is best to show each aspect with it's own score without any 'total rating' since each person can have their own reasons for giving a certain weight to an aspect.

And of course with a tek each aspect will get a short explanation as to why it got that score.


Kind regards,

The Traveler

I have used 5-6 different plants, and some teks that are good with mimosa are just completely impractical for other plants etc..

In addition to time of exposure perhaps also noticeability I.e. does it smell? Can it be blended into the background easily? Does it look 'weird' ?

And that is why a tek should state for what source material is can be used, we have to add that to each tek as well.


Kind regards,

The Traveler

Good thinking, though we have to be careful as to not go into the realms of 'stealth' teks that people might use in dorm rooms or their parents home without consent (for details see No unsafe extraction settings and procedures).

So I propose to use this name (thank you SnozzleBerry for that name):

DISCRETION

Thinks like odor of the solvent that can be smelled by neighbours and certain combinations of chemicals you have to buy, disposal of the mix, etc.


Kind regards,

The Traveler

I think that the rating system should be paired with a review per rate that individuals can read about. i would imagine it would show the rating of each category and then hyperlink (or something) reviews so that someone starting out (or even just hoping to explore different methods) could get an immediate rate to capture their attention and then click on that review button (or whatever) and get more in-depth.

also why not add in an "enjoyment" rating? alot of people i've talked to love extraction. why not make it easier for extraction enthusiasts to enthuse?

just a few ideas everyone else took all the good ones so i couldn't think of a whole lot besides that.

A good proposal and in the beginning this crossed my mind as well. Ultimately though this will lead to the best known tek as the most popular and thus the 'best rated' tek, something we should avoid since this has the probability of closing our minds for new teks.

Furthermore, there are not many people who tried all teks and who can compare them side by side so any popularity rating would be muted by that issue.



To me this is much too personal. Hence why we have the other aspects so people can decide for themselves which tek is he most fun for them.

Thank you for your suggestions though, it is appreciated.


Kind regards,

The Traveler

I'm not sure it's time for reviews but, "The DMT Handbook" is something that comes to mind. It uses 2kg of bark which by current standards is extremely excessive, especially for beginners. I've encountered a few newcomers with questions about extracting from 2kg and I always think, "Oh my, this isn't going to go well". Then I always find out they've been looking at "The DMT Handbook".

It's definitely a good reference but I would never recommend it.

So maybe another category could be "Reference vs Usability" or something along those lines. I guess the 2kg recommendation could fall under the "Discretion" category though.

Np Traveler, i wish i could help out more but i don't anything to add. good luck everyone else! i for one think a rating system is an excellent idea. it'd help me personally figure out which one is best for me.

A rating system is an excellent idea!
It gives structure to the experience and knowledge about the teks.

Maybe we can even go a step further.
What we want is: optimilising the way we cook. The ideal way in this respect would be to co-create a couple of teks for the different qualities of spice and the different equipment.

So, members propose there best way for a certain step in the process. Other members vote on these proposals. In that way we create ultimate teks by tapping into our collective intelligence.

I recognize this is probably technically not possible right now.... But I had to bring it forward

I agree with the aspects of the rating system generally, however I think time of exposure falls under discretion, but still how long a tek is expected to take should still be its own aspect. Also simplicity of materials and steps can sort of relate to discretion in a way, how about putting them together as an aspect called difficulty? And rather than discretion i like the word stealth.

Now when trying to factor in the source material things get hard...because although a tek that has proven to work with say both MHRB and ACRB, then it'd definitely be more appealing then a tek that only works with a certain strain of Acacia, or MHRB only. HOWEVER, it is unfair to rate a teks performance against a material it doesn't say it's for. So I say we leave it out of the rating system. I propose the following 7 aspects!

Oh and these are not in any particular order...you should prioritize yourself whats important to you in a tek.

1.Safety
2.Yield
3.Purity
4.Time
5.Expense ($)
6.Difficulty
7.Stealth

Actually here would be the aspects listed in my priority.

1.Purity
2.Yield
3.Expense
4.Stealth
5.Time
6.Safety
7.Difficulty

1-3 (Basically what I care about most is how good is it, how much will i get, and what will it cost me)
4-5 (I live alone, I have my own apt, it's not in a closed in complex, but still I can't afford to have these aspects be on the bottom of my priority list)
6-7 (if 1-5 are taken care of, then I don't care how dangerous or hard it is, I have faith in my abilities, that's why they are on the bottom, however notice I care about safety MORE than difficulty, so really the least thing im worried about isn't safety, its difficulty) That's just me though .