Real Mad Hatter Teas (Hallucinogenic Teas that are legal in the United States)

I'm obsessed with tea. Personally I think it's unhealthy to be obsessed with something so trivial, but I guess it is what it is.  I have teas from California (my favorite is coconut chi black) all the way to teas from Key West, Florida (my favorite is a Cream Earl Grey).

This last week I went on a date with a culinary guy and we got to talking about tea, which somehow stumbled into a conversation about the darker side of tea. I had vaguely remembered the owner of Key West Tea telling me about a hallucinogenic tea that he had just ordered (perfectly legal stuff, though still anything hallucinogenic is disconcerting).

After my date I asked around, just out of curiosity, and apparently there are several hallucinogenic tea's.  The one I remembered from Key West Tea was "Kava."  However many say this does not make a great tea, it tastes like dirt and has to be cold brewed, because it looses its potency after reaching 140 degrees (tea is usually brewed at 160-200 degrees). You’ll probably want to mix it with a secondary tea to mask the gritty taste.

The second suggestion was ayahuasca.  Ayahuasca is a combination of two herbs that surprisingly when mixed together create a hallucinogenic tea.  This one is used by shaman and some religious people (which is why it is allowed in the United State. Apparently a few years back there were religious battles in the courts to get the tea legalized)....though if one were to try ayahasca with the hopes of hallucinating, they would have to get the version that has the DMT "Psychotria Viridis" in the tea, most ayahuasca teas sold use a different herb as a substitution, probably because hallucinating is a bad idea.

Third, and last on my list, is Kratom.  They debate whether Kratom is addictive, and it is said to have similar highs as opium (to be honest, I really don't know what that means)...there are about 5 different grades of Kratom, the Hawaiian version being the weakest, and cheapest, and Maeng da as the strongest, but also the hardest to find.  This one, if you ingest too much will cause vomiting (some how I find that comforting).

I feel the need to say, I am in no way endorsing the idea of trying any of these Mad Hatter teas, personally I doubt I will ever try a hallucinogenic tea, even though it is completely legal...I'm scared of advil, mind altering tea is much more scary than advil…but I must admit, I like knowing tea has a darker side.