I have been using Kratom for a decade, but I have never been able to obtain fresh Kratom leaves, until today. I’ve always wanted to try chewing on Kratom leaves, and I am excited that it is finally happening.
From what I’ve heard, in the areas where Kratom grows indigenously it is common for users to chew on the Kratom leaves, which leads to a rapid onset of effects, and also a different effects profile. The Kratom absorbs sublingually through the mouth, much like chewing tobacco.
I’m not starting this experience 100% from baseline, since I took 1 teaspoon of Kratom 4 hours ago, but basically all the effects from that previous dose of Kratom are gone.
First I washed the leaves, since they were outside until this morning. I used only a slight stream of water from the sink, so that I wouldn’t destroy the leaves, and massaged them lightly so that they would be totally clean.
I have 2 small leaves and 2 big leaves, I figure I will start with a small one. I try smelling them and they don’t smell like much of anything, perhaps the slightest leafy smell. This is quite interesting considering how strong the smell of Kratom powder is.
I take the stem off the end of the first small leaf, and put the leaf in my mouth. I begin to chew it a bit, and at first it has a leafy taste, then it becomes pleasantly bitter. I alternate between chewing it up and letting it sit in the side of my mouth.
I feel a hint of something in the first minute, which may just be excitement and placebo. I let the leaf juice sit in my mouth for awhile like chewing tobacco. Within the first couple of minutes I feel a light and unmistakable warmth.
I then decide to eat a bigger leaf, and swallow the juice from the first smaller leaf, which tastes bitter and has a Kratom taste, but much more pleasant than Kratom powder’s taste.
It is now a few minutes since I began chewing, and there is no doubt that a shift in my perception is occurring, with energy, euphoria, and opioid warmth.
It seems like chewing Kratom leaf has a very fast onset. Indeed, it works via sublingual absorption, where the Kratom crosses directly from the mouth to the blood stream rather than needing to be digested in the stomach.
I then had to drink some water after 5 minutes, it is hard to keep the Kratom juice in my mouth even for a little while.
After about 10 minutes I have a moderate Kratom feeling. I’ve been letting the chewed up leaf sit in the side of my mouth like chewing tobacco. I need to keep drinking lots of water, the Kratom leaf makes my mouth feel dry, and the bitterness is adding up.
At about 15 minutes I notice a real increase in euphoria and energy/focus.
After about 20 minutes I am left with a pleasant feeling of warmth and calmness.
Basically, the experience started with a rapid perception shift and more energy, and the full spectrum of Kratom feelings happened at various moments. Eventually the experience steadied out and shifted towards being mellow, warm, and relaxing as the Kratom sunk in.
After 30 minutes or so I swallowed the Kratom leaves, and once I did that there wasn’t much of an after taste left. At the 40 minute mark I begin to feel pleasantly sedated and there are strong analgesic effects, any pain and fatigue I had before is gone. Sedation and calmness continued to increase towards the 1 hour mark.
Overall, it is a total miracle that eating a couple of leaves can have such strong effects, including total relaxation and opioid analgesia. I didn’t even want to eat the other 2 leaves for this experience, I was satisfied with just 2 leaves. The most notable aspect of this experience was the extremely rapid onset, even a bit faster than Kratom extracts, and the effects profile was unique, with a surge of different Kratom effects at first followed by a comfortable plateau.