A couple of questions when using hexane...

Recently i came accross some hexane and wanted to make sure ratios are correct b4 starting my first batch of changa. A friend of mine recomended that i use 100 ml of hexane to dissolve the spice (1 gram?) in at a room temp., and i should then use 4 grams of caapi leaf to sit in the solution until it evaporates... does this sound correct?

Thanks
Soulshine

Why not use a less toxic solvent like ethanol for infusing changa, or also something fast evapping like acetone?

Also why not heating up the hexane so you dont need to use so much (maybe half of that) and it evaps faster once you infuse?

1g spice to 4g caapi leaf seems too diluted. Better make 1:1 or at most 1:2 IMO and if you think its too strong, just dilute manually with some uninfused herbs later on, better than having it too weak

I have to agree with Endlessness to consider using a different solvent.

According to wikipedia, that stuff sounds pretty nasty.

Also for real changa, you need to use a 1:1 ratio of spice and 10x caapi. Just regular caapi isn't going to give you enough MAOI for any real caapi effect. As endlessness also stated, it's better to have it a little too strong than too weak.

Thanks for that fellas, I have also thought of heating the hexane to disolve the spice, as well as using a 1:1 ratio. To be honest those were my initial thoughts. But he convinced me otherwise (hes a smart person in a chemestry program getting his phd, i guess i figured he would know, lol. oops)

He has not made changa b4. He said not to use store bought industrial thinners because they are more toxic (or so he thought). So he recommended the hexane, and not to heat it up because he didn't think the solvent had to be that consintrated.

Any way... I use acetone (brand: Klean-Strip) to clean my gvg. So i can just heat that up, maybe 40-50ml per gram of spice?

Then a 1:1 ratio with 10x caapi leaf, right?

Then let evaporate and dry and thats it?

really that easy?

That would work great. Just remember to keep stirring it periodically so that everything gets absorbed evenly.

Sometimes when I let it evap without the stirring, it will create a layer of film on the top and then it gets kinda clumpy.

But yeah, it's that easy Good luck!

Great thanks again. Putting in my order monday for the caapi. Very excited

Soulshine