hi , many off you know through my recent posts I will be doing an aya session this weekend out in the British countryside. Now I will be preparing my caapi tonight over 3 boils at home on the lowest gas mark.

From personal experience do you add vinegar,lemon juice or nothing?
What does that actually do as I heard many indigenous cultuires dont do this..

Thanks

Personally I add nothing, but I dont throw the bark away after the last boil, and I let it soaking in vinegar for a couple of days (even do an overnight freeze-and-thaw if I have the patience) and do one last boil at the end. With the 3 no-acid first boils, I drink, and the last acidic soak-and-boil I extract, since usually there's some more alkaloids there. That way I feel like I get the best of both worlds.

The acid helps breaking down the bark and improving solubility of alkaloids in water.

Indigenous cultures use river water that is naturally acidic in many cases. It's a question of personal taste in the end cos many say it's not essential. The main thing is to boil it enough to extract as much as possible.

I suggest making a citric acid solution that is very mildly acidic. It shouldn't really matter that much, the acid is only going to speed things up somewhat. If you are willing to let finely shredded plant material soak for 2-3 days in ph ~5-6 water + ethanol you will get pretty much everything (assuming the soaking volume is sufficient).

From my experience, citric acid or lemon juice makes the brew taste exponentially worse. So i stick with small dose of vinegar, 1 table spoon per liter.

I use a spoon and lots of time

I alternate between using citric acid and vinegar..which ever I have on hand.

I always reduce the brew down to roughly a shots worth and just throw it back. This pretty much guarantees minimal taste bud contact.

It won't taste too pretty either way you brew it hehe.