Here’s How To Lemon Tek — And Why Adding Citrus Is Not for Newbies

• By Sam Woolfe
• December 19, 2023February 4, 2024
• lemon tek Psilocybin Articles psilocybin mushrooms psychedelics
• With 3 comments

Lemon tek (or lemon tekking) is becoming a popular way to consume magic mushrooms. People prefer this way of taking shrooms for a variety of reasons, such as having a stronger trip. There are also many sources of information online where people can find out about lemon tekking. This includes how to prepare shrooms using this method, as well as what the benefits are.

Why are more people embracing lemon tek? And why are some people even exclusively consuming shrooms as a magic mushroom tea? We’ll explain what the benefits are. But first, we dive into what it means to lemon tek mushrooms.

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What Is Lemon Tek?

Lemon tek refers to letting your psilocybin mushrooms sit in lemon or lime juice for up to 20 minutes before you consume them. The idea is that the citric acid starts to break down the mushroom material. This can create a different experience compared to eating dried mushrooms as they are.

New Shrooms Users May Want To Avoid Lemon Tekking

While lemon tekking and then consuming the lemon-psilocybin concentrate in drink form is gaining popularity, this option will not suit everyone.

For first-time users, it’s best to eat dry magic mushrooms as they are, to first get familiar with the effects. Since lemon tek can lead to a fast come up and strong experience, this may be jarring and overwhelming to someone who has never used shrooms before.

Andrew Tansil of Sayulita Wellness Mushroom Retreat says, “We typically advise beginners to approach psilocybin mushrooms with caution, especially methods like lemon tekking. This technique, while popular for its intensified and rapid onset of effects, can be overwhelming for those new to psychedelic experiences. Instead, we recommend starting with simpler, more traditional methods such as consuming dried mushrooms at a low, controlled dose. This allows newcomers to familiarize themselves with the psychedelic realm in a gentler, more manageable way.”

Moreover, even for those familiar with the effects of shrooms, a fast come up may feel uncomfortable. Some users feel lemon tek makes the mushroom experience occur too quickly. This often leads them incapable of getting used to the experience. It is possible that you will feel the experience isn’t long enough to benefit from it. Indeed, there is something valuable about a more drawn-out and extended psychedelic experience.

Whether new to psychedelic mushrooms or not, be aware that lemon tek may significantly change your psilocybin experience. If consuming mushrooms this way, it’s best to take a lower dose, taking half the normal dose to stay safe.

How to Lemon Tek Mushrooms: A Guide

Lemon tekking is easy to do. You’ll need the following.

• Your dose of magic mushrooms
• A coffee or cannabis grinder, or blender
• One or two lemons or limes per dose
• A glass
• A cheese cloth or a few thick coffee filters

Once you have all of these items, follow the steps below.

1. Grind your shrooms into a powder using the grinder or blender. Then place the powder material into a shot glass.
2. Squeeze the juice of one or two lemons over the shot glass, making sure the juice covers all of the shrooms.
3. Let the juice and shrooms sit for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Drink as a shot or follow step five to reduce nausea.
5. If your aim is to reduce nausea, strain the mushroom material out of your juice using a cheese cloth or coffee filters. Squeeze the juice into a glass, then consume the juice only.

You can also turn your lemon-psilocybin mixture into a drink by adding it to a cup of hot (but not boiling) tea. Another option is to add some water and a sweetener to the mixture, creating a kind of psychedelic lemonade.

Lemon Tekking Dosage Guide

Lemon Tek Mushrooms: How It Works

Many psilocybin enthusiasts believe that lemon tekking works by mimicking the acids in your stomach. The effect, then, is shortening the time it takes for the shrooms to take effect. Your stomach has an acidity of between 1.5 and 3.5 pH. Lemons have a pH of about 2-2.6. So the lemon juice should replicate the environment of your stomach.

As Dr. Emily Biesmans of Katharsis Journeys in the Netherlands says, “Another commonly practiced method of consumption is chewing the dried form with lemon juice, either directly by drinking it while consuming or by soaking mushrooms/truffles in lemon juice beforehand. This is called ‘lemon tekking’. This is said to cause a chemical reaction which partly digests the mushroom and therefore increases the concentration by the time of consumption, speeding up the onset of the process.”

Others speculate that the lemon juice actually converts the psilocybin into psilocin (the latter being the psychoactive chemical causing psychedelic effects). But Dr. K Mandrake, the co-author of The Psilocybin Mushroom Bible, isn’t sure about this claim. He states the following:

“All of the knowledge on lemon tek is purely theoretical, based on the knowledge that psilocybin dephosphorylation is increased under acidic conditions combined with users generally reporting a quicker onset when using the Tek. It’s a fairly reasonable hypothesis, but hasn’t really been tested properly as far as I’m aware.”

Dephosphorylation here refers to the process of psilocybin turning into psilocin. However, even if this process doesn’t occur when mushrooms sit in lemon juice, this doesn’t mean lemon tek’s effects are simply the result of the placebo effect.

How Long Does It Take For A Lemon Tek Drink To Kick In?

It is possible that lemon tekking can make the psilocybin, psilocin, and other compounds in magic mushrooms more bioavailable. This increased bioavailability means that when the compounds reach your stomach, you feel the effects more quickly. When eating dried mushrooms as they are, on the other hand, your body will take more time to chemically digest the compounds in the mushroom.

Psilocybin and psilocin are held in the cell walls of a mushroom. These cell walls are made out of chitin, which is harder for the body to digest than the cellulose which makes up plants’ cell walls. What the acids in lemons and limes do is break down the chitin before the mushroom material enters your digestive system.

In addition, it is possible that the vitamin C in lemons and limes, which has antioxidant effects, protects the psilocin from oxidizing. The result is that you get more psilocin from your shrooms dosage than you would if you ate them without lemon tekking.

Limes work as just as well as lemons because their pH is basically the same. Other citrus fruits (e.g. oranges and pineapples) won’t work as well because their pH is higher, potentially crossing the threshold of stomach acid.

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The Benefits Of Lemon Tek

Now that we’ve looked at how lemon tek works, you might have an idea of what some of the benefits are and why this method of consuming shrooms is a popular option. But it will be useful to outline and describe all these benefits in greater detail.

Faster Onset And Come Up

Some people prefer to come up quicker on shrooms, rather than wait for their bodies to digest the mushroom material. If you want the effects of psilocybin mushrooms to manifest as quickly as possible, then lemon tek is the way to go.

If mushrooms usually take between 30 and 90 minutes to take effect, lemon tek could shorten this timeframe to 10-45 minutes.

A More Concentrated Trip

A faster onset and come up means a shorter mushroom trip experience. However, lemon tekking can also shorten the comedown and overall trip in general. The peak of a mushroom trip is normally at the three-hour mark. But with lemon tekking, the peak will come on a lot sooner. In terms of the total duration of the experience, lemon tek will lead to a 4-6 hour journey, instead of the typical 6-8 hours.

The duration difference can be likened to extended-release medication. A normal mushroom trip is like an extended-release trip.

The shorter duration can be useful if you don’t have as much time to dedicate to a psychedelic experience. A shorter trip can also allow you to sleep at a reasonable hour if you dose in the evening.

A Stronger Experience

Many people report that lemon tek leads to a more intense experience, although others don’t find this to be true. For those who find that lemon tekking intensifies the trip, less than the usual dose of mushrooms is necessary to achieve the effects you desire.

Dr. Emily Biesmans adds, “It is also believed to increase the mind side of the trip, making it more visual and spiritually profound. However, there is no strong support for these claims besides anecdotal reports. Yet many people actually enjoy this way of consumption.”

Making A Small Amount Go Further

Related to the last point, lemon tek can be a more economical way of consuming magic mushrooms. If you don’t need to take as much to achieve psychedelic effects, then you can make your supply of mushrooms last longer, as well as save money.

Reducing Nausea And Body Load

One of the main reasons why lemon tek has grown in popularity is due to people wanting to reduce nausea from shrooms. Nausea is a common side effect of psychedelic mushrooms, showing up mainly during the come up but potentially persisting during the trip as well.

Some people are happy to accept nausea as part of the mushroom experience. For others, however, it can feel unpleasant and distract from the experience. There are certain techniques for reducing nausea, including eating the mushrooms on an empty stomach or eating ginger beforehand. But lemon tek can be an effective nausea-reducing strategy as well.

Lemon tek allows people to have a more comfortable come up, with less body load. This is because you’re skipping the element that causes the most stomach upset: Your body needing to digest raw mushrooms. With lemon tekking, your stomach has less work to do.

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