These are interesting questions. I often wonder about the layer that settles to the bottom of the container after the tea is brewed and cools down, especially after some time in the fridge. It seems like no matter how much I filter and decant, a new layer always forms at the bottom. So I wonder, is this undesirable leftover plant material worth discarding? Or does it contain mescaline?
Usually I discard it because the flavor is so incredibly bitter. But I wonder, is that some kind of a mescaline rich slurry settling there? Certainly, if I was performing an extraction I would include that material. But the taste is so vomit inducing that I toss it when drinking tea. But what is it and does it contain mescaline?
As far as making tea goes, a trick I figured out awhile back is that when it comes time to reduce down the tea, towards the latter part of the tea making process, it is best to leave the cactus material in the water while it is reducing. I have found that this lessens the risk of the tea blackening or acquiring a burnt taste during the final stage of reduction. The presence of the plant material seems to make it harder for the tea to burn while being reduced, especially when the level of water drops very low. So I do all of the reducing while the cactus pieces are still in the pot. Then I only remove the cactus material after the pot is taken off the burner. For me this has helped a lot to prevent blackening / burning of the tea.
And don't forget to squeeze all of the tea out of the cactus pieces that you remove. That liquid is then added back to the tea. The cactus pieces hold a lot of liquid.
IT WAS ALL A DREAM