How to Make Your Own Ayahuasca Vine Extract for Microdosing

When it comes to microdosing with the ayahuasca vine, there are a few different forms of the vine that can be used and ways to make it. The most common forms are an extract, a paste-based liquid solution, and a tea. 

Perhaps the easiest and most hassle-free way to begin your microdosing journey is to simply order a ready-made extract that is shelf stable and ready to go. If however you appreciate a bit of challenge, hard work, and the joy of making something yourself, then making your own extract can be a fun and exciting process. You may find that the process of making it connects you even more to the medicinal properties of ayahuasca vine and its spiritual and energetic qualities. 

Let’s explore the different forms of ayahuasca vine for microdosing, and how to make them. 

How to Make Ayahuasca Vine Extract for Microdosing

Ayahuasca vine extract is the most fundamental form of ayahuasca vine to use for microdosing, but takes a bit of time and effort. It involves boiling your vine in water several times until all the alkaloids are extracted, and then reducing the extract to a workable paste which can be diluted in water and stored in your fridge.

Before you begin your ayahuasca vine preparation, be sure to set up the space and create a sacred container for the making of this medicine. You may want to smudge the kitchen with sage, speak some intentions, and give thanks to the plant for its healing properties. Take this time to open up a dialogue with the spirit of ayahuasca and be receptive to the wisdom and teachings it has for you. 

Even though microdosing with the vine will have a more subtle effect than taking a full dose of ayahuasca in a ceremonial setting, you can still commune with the wisdom of this plant teacher and receive powerful benefits if you approach it with a great deal of respect.

This process takes approximately 10-12 hours. Since it is such a big time commitment, we recommend taking this day to be in a prayerful and meditative space. Really connect to this plant and what it has to offer you, while being tuned in to yourself and your inner guidance. 

What you’ll need: 

• A timer 
• A cooker or fire
• Two large stainless steel pots
• White vinegar
• Distilled or reverse osmosis water
• Banisteriopsis caapi vine (purchase here!)

IMPORTANT! Always use stainless steel pots. Aluminium or other metals can be degraded by the vinegar and could cause your extract to become toxic.

Step 1: Cover your ayahuasca vine with distilled or reverse osmosis water and add one generous tablespoon of white vinegar per liter of water added. The vinegar will help to extract the alkaloids from the plant. Distilled or RO water contains no tap additives or minerals, keeping your brew clean. Distilled water can also help prevent spoiling.

Step 2: Bring the water to a boil and simmer for 3 hours. 

Step 3: Pour off this solution and keep it in a separate pot. Add more water and vinegar solution to your materials and repeat this process. Do this one more time, making it a total of 3 boils and simmers. 

Step 4: You can now discard the vine. You may want to strain off the liquid through a cheesecloth to ensure there are no pieces in the solution. In one pot, combine the three reductions into one. 

Step 5: Now it is time to further reduce this combined solution on a steady boil. Keep a careful eye on this to be sure it doesn’t boil over. The consistency of your final reduction may vary. As a rough guideline, reduce it down to 1 quart if you used 250g of ayahuasca vine or less. If you used over 250g of ayahuasca vine, reduce to 2 quarts. The final reduction should not be a sticky paste and still have some liquidity to it, without being too thin or watery.

You now have your very own B. caapi extract! Store this in a glass jar and keep it refrigerated, or freeze it for longer-term storage. Pour off small amounts into a dropper bottle for daily usage. Add distilled water as needed to get it to the consistency of your liking. It should be thin enough to drop out of a tincture dropper. The extraction should stay stable in the fridge for several months, so long as it is not frequently left out. 

Figuring out your ideal microdosing dosage might take some experimentation, and could vary from batch to batch. Keeping a microdosing journal is essential so you can track your dosage.

How to Make Ayahuasca Vine Extract for Microdosing (Easier Version!)

If you don’t want to boil ayahuasca vine for hours, there’s the option of purchasing premade ayahuasca vine paste, to which you just need to add distilled water to turn it into a microdosing solution!

There are no set guidelines on how much water to dissolve your paste into, and you may need to experiment. Here’s a rough place to start: If you have 10g of 30x concentrated paste, add a quart of water. Then take one drop as a microdose, and increase your dose from there as required.

How to Make Ayahuasca Vine Tincture for Microdosing

Technically, a tincture is an alcoholic extract of a plant. However, alcohol extraction of the ayahuasca vine is not as effective as water extraction, and takes a long time, so we don’t recommend trying it. 

Some people simply add alcohol to their ayahuasca vine extract to help preserve it for longer, and so that it doesn’t need to be refrigerated. This is sometimes referred to as an ayahuasca vine tincture. Unfortunately, there is no standard guideline on what concentration of alcohol to use to preserve an ayahuasca vine extract.

While many herbal extracts use 20% alcohol, some people argue that only higher concentrations (over 60%) are going to totally protect your solution from bacterial growth.

We recommend adding enough alcohol to your extract to give you comfort that the mixture will be preserved, while not adding too much that your vine extract is overly diluted and overly alcoholic! You don’t want a strong alcoholic solution interfering with the effects of your microdosing routine.

Simply add your chosen quantity of high-proof alcohol to a jar containing your extract solution. Keep the lid on tightly, and shake well to mix. If separation occurs over time, shake the jar regularly. This ‘tincture’ can be stored in a cool dark place.

How to Make Ayahuasca Vine Tea for Microdosing

If you want to drink a fresh warm tea of ayahuasca vine for your microdosing regimen, then you can practice simply decocting the vine, without necessarily concentrating it. The longer you simmer the vine the more alkaloids you will extract, but there is no hard and fast rule about it. 

As a general rule, you probably want to simmer the vine for at least three hours to extract a substantial amount of alkaloids from the vine. If the liquid gets too low, feel free to keep adding water. For this method, we recommend using the shredded vine (which you can purchase here). You can also add B. caapi leaves (available here). 

It will take a lot of trial-and-error to find your ideal microdosing quantity with this homemade tea, but you’ll certainly get the experience of tasting the vine in a way that an extract or tincture wouldn’t give you!

Want an Even Easier Method for Microdosing Ayahuasca?

Making your own ayahuasca vine extract will give you a feeling of satisfaction for the substantial amount of time and effort it takes. You also have the benefit of getting to commune with the plant in a more intentional way through the preparation process. 

However you may not have time for making your own extract, or maybe you’re worried about ending up with a substandard product. Maybe you don’t want to experiment with dosage and want to start with a verified standard dose!

EntheoNation recommends several ready-made ayahuasca microdosing products, all of which come prepared in microdosing dropper bottles, ready for you to start immediately!

We’ve reviewed the best ayahuasca vine extracts out there, rating them all for their various qualities, helping you find the one that’s perfect for you…