0:I don't understand why there is a template for experience reports/bioassays but not for extraction teks.
1:When following a tek in realtime it's incredibly frustrating to search for scattered data and one can never be quite sure he/she has met the requirements for the given tek without checking and re-checking each and every step and searching (sometimes futilely) for individual details that really should be right there in the tek.
2:I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure there is not a single extraction tek for either DMT or "allies" that specifies each specific volume/weight needed, required PH for each step, optimal temps, optimal yield percentages, etc.
3:I understand that different materials have different average "actives" content and that each batch of a given material will vary some. I realize that many of the listed average actives percentages were obtained by professionals under lab conditions but I propose that those numbers have little real world application, particularly when following a vaguely written tek. More than once I have followed a tek to the letter and gotten less than half of the low end of the published actives content range for the starting material. Why? I can only assume I'm over/under ph, have too much of this or not enough of that solvent or reagent, wrong temperature, etc. MHRB that is very potent at the 5 gm oral "tea" level (for example) should be expected to have extractable DMT content within the published ranges. So what is the problem?
4:Many teks read like a general overview while some seem to be rather incomplete reports of a given batch, often including proud pictures of final products.
5:"General extraction overviews" like some that CYB, Noman and Q21Q21 wrote are great but unless they are very specific they generally end up costing those who follow them time and money unnecessarily. They all seem to leave quite a bit of room for "Kentucky windage" or trial and error. I dislike the expense of trial and error, just sayin. I don't mind putting in the work but I want results when I just spent my 3 month spice budget.
6:"Batch reports" that give specific steps and checkpoints (including the metrics listed above) and report quality and yield of an individual extraction would be much more helpful IMO.
7:Maybe stickying the most effective "General overviews" like The Tao of Rue for instance and requesting batch reports using a templated format would be more helpful for everyone. I appreciate knowing that a magic eraser is a good cleanup tool but I REALLY want to know optimal PH for both sides of any given A/B tek, just sayin.
8
Tangentially, It sucks that the search engine pulls up forum posts that reference specific teks or threads by name but does not pull up the requested tek or thread itself)
9:I'm not trying to open a can of worms. I realize that "patent level" teks detailing all the calculations of a lab grade process are over the head of most members, most especially mine, but I do think a bit more organization and specificity would greatly increase quality of life for many here.
10:Take sodium carbonate for example. I can look up the PH of sodium carbonate anywhere but is that the PH of my home made junk or some lab grade stuff? More important is the question "what was the ACTUAL PH of the sodium carbonate (or carbonate solution if applicable) used in the tek I am following now"? Conversely, what was the ACTUAL PH of the solution prior to basing?
11:I'm not suggesting that all of the classic teks written in the past be updated or modified to fit a template (one can hope) but individual batch reports of a given tek using a template would be a much better learning tool IMO.
12:A database of templated batch reports for each tek would allow members to decide for themselves what will work best for them without the need to constantly re-invent the wheel.
13:About links and notes:
Hoo boy. Nothing like trying to choose a tek for a particular application and getting sent all over the nexus (or more often all over the internet) reading links then trying to apply the data in the links to the tek that referred to it all the while keeping track of how this info relates to any other teks I may consider for a given extraction.
14:If your tek or batch report uses a sodium carbonate step, for example (again) PLEASE take a moment and include a note on how to make it and what PH we should hit when basing our solution IN THE STEP THAT CALLS FOR THE CARBONATE rather than either assuming we know or referring us to someone else in a different thread.
15:Extractions are the tools we use to create our own art here. I'll never replicate one of Monets color pallets (or the funky white fun fest crystals for that matter) until I know the exact composition and proportion of pigments he mixed. I can come close through trial and error, but I'll never be sure I have it right and I can't afford to keep wasting paint.
16:I'm hoping to get plenty of input here. I'd love to see some of the professionals here create a template or templates for extraction teks/batch reports but I'll happily work one up myself if I can get input from other members in the interest of doing it right the first time.
17:Eventually, I would be thrilled to see stickied extraction teks with a thread of templated batch reports (especially problematic/botched batches!) for each tek. Perhaps at that point we could build a somewhat comprehensive trouble shooting guide for the laymen among us based on batch reports for individual teks and I could stop being such a pest with my constant questions in chat!
18:Thanks for hearing me out. Comments are appreciated.
Be regular and orderly in your life, that you may be violent and original in your work. -Flaubert-
till next time , ahskฤ:nฤ hฤ ( Peace)