129 replies to this topic

[carpo4]

this is my first time brewing the vine and,
since i'm in no hurry,
i've decided to go the crockpot route.

so, i started out with 31.5g of cielo caapi from <font color="119911">maya ethnobotanicals</font>


reduced this to powder with a nutmeg grater,


hammered the larger pieces before putting them in a coffee mill,


which left me with 28.6g of powdered vine.
i then poured 500ml of distilled h₂o mixed with 25ml of clear malt vinegar into a crockpot
and set the temperature switch to 'low'.
i picked this one up from my local charity shop for £8 ($15).


the waters' temperature reached a max. 78°c in about an hour.
i added the powdered caapi evenly and replaced the lid on the crockpot.


not being sure how quickly the brew would evaporate
i checked on it several times and,
24hrs. later, decided to do the first filtering,
using a double layer of cheesecloth.
this brew had reduced by exactly a half, giving me 250ml.


i returned the vine matter to the crockpot,
stirred in a further 500ml h₂o w/ 25ml clear malt vinegar
and replaced the lid.
i will leave the brew for a further 24hrs. before filtering for the second time.
this should leave me with approx. 500ml of brew in total.

now, i have a few questions:

1) are my liquid proportions correct for the crockpot method?
2) should i have pre-heated the h₂o/vinegar for the second brewing, before adding the vine matter
or does it not make much difference?
3) how much sediment is desirable in a brew, as the cheesecloth has removed practically all of it
and i'm not sure if this is a good thing or not?
4) should i do a third brew and,
5) which method should i use to reduce down the final mix?

any input greatly appreciated.

[carpo4]

thanx roo!
so, with 70 or 80g, should i increase the amount of water i use for each brew from 500ml and,
if so, by how much?

[carpo4]

yes, taking just the vine is my intention
as i want to feel it's effects in isolation
and develop a relationship with it.
i have chacruna
but i am in no rush to add this.
i want to get my brewing tek down first
and my diet
before i venture further.

roo, is there a link to hip's tek?
i've searched the archives but i could only find a few details
which i based this preparation on.

[carpo4]

roo,
i just found an <font color="0000ff">archived thread</font> of yours which pretty much answers all my questions.
hope you don't mind me quoting from it.


<font color="aa00aa">question:</font> should i have pre-heated the h2o/vinegar for the second brewing, before adding the vine matter
or does it not make much difference?
<font color="ff6000">answer:</font> The DH2O should be mixed with the vinegar before putting it into the water. Once you have it mixed, just pour it over the ground up leaves and vine.

<font color="aa00aa">question:</font> how much sediment is desirable in a brew, as the cheesecloth has removed practically all of it
and i'm not sure if this is a good thing or not?
<font color="ff6000">answer:</font> Straining is good for 2 reasons. The first is the fine plant material will irritate your stomach if you drink it. The second is that the extraction will be easier to burn during the reduction phase. Don't worry about losing too much of the good stuff as its in the DH2O and not the plant material.

<font color="aa00aa">question:</font> should i do a third brew?
<font color="ff6000">answer:</font> 2 extractions.

<font color="aa00aa">question:</font> which method should i use to reduce down the final mix?
<font color="ff6000">answer:</font> For the reduction phase a large porcelain turkey roaster is ideal. Preferably one that is new, if not new than VERY clean. One can do this on the cook top but I prefer the oven. Just preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the pan containing the extractions into the oven and bring the heat down to about 200 degrees. The liquid should very lightly boil, but a roaring boil may destroy the brew. We want to get rid of the excess DH2O and the acid. Vinegar will boil off before the water. Once the liquid comes down to about 200 or 300 ml it should be tasted. If it tasts acidic, add more DH2O and reduce it again. Usually after the second reduction the vinegar is gone. 100 to 200 ml per dose is good the first time you do this as its very easy to burn. 75 to 100 ml is actually better. The brew should not be thick, but almost the consistency of water.

[llama]

David: From my knowledge, the black caapi is extremely strong, and most experienced travelers warn against it for beginners. This is followed in strength by red and then yellow (common). I'm not totally sure where white fits in. More info:
http://www.biopark.o...scaspecies.html

[carpo4]

phew!
i was just in the process of cleaning-up from filtering the 2nd brew,
when i caught your advice about a 3rd one, roo,
so i've put the caapi in for another round.
i've also halved the amount of vinegar per 500ml,
as per your archived posts procedure,
and checked the acidity with a ph tester.
it comes in at just under 5 which, if i remember correctly,
is about right.