For thousands of years the opium poppy has been used to alleviate pain. It is still used to this day to synthesize some of the most effective pain killers known. However, opium alkaloids are also highly addictive, so use of this substance requires careful judgment. Before using opiates or drinking poppy tea, it is important to consider the dangers of addiction and where it could lead. [For more information, see Opiates : Addiction & Habituation in the Experience Vaults - Erowid.]

There are numerous ways to make poppy tea, but this is the easiest and cleanest method that I know of. Remember that the effects of poppies and opiates are much stronger if you are not tolerated to the effects (have not taken it recently and/or have not been addicted before). Depending on the desired strength of dose:

Light dose (stronger for beginners): 1-3 medium pods or 1-1 ½ large pods
Medium dose: 3-7 medium pods or 2-4 large pods
Strong dose: 5-15 medium pods or 3-8 large pods

The stems can be used as well, though they do not contain as much of the extractable opiate alkaloids. Someone with a high tolerance may need approximately 20-25 six inch stems to get a decent opiate buzz. If you don't have a large supply or are doing this once in a while I would use the stems as well.



This can be done in a few different ways, but the easiest and most effective method is to use a coffee bean grinder. This will chop the plant up finely, yielding a large surface area, which allows more opiates to be extracted. Another way is to use a pestle and mortar, though it takes longer – especially with pods that aren't dry enough to crumble. But it does work pretty well. One method that is available to most people is to use a blender. Remove the stems if you like and crack the pod like an egg. Pour out the seeds. Crumble the pod a bit with your hands to make it easier to chop in the blender. Turn it on on the highest setting and give it 1 to 2 minutes to finely chop up the dried plant material. When you're done it should look fluffy like chopped hay or stray.

I have read countless articles on using two liter bottles and t-shirts and all kinds of strange methods to make opium tea, but none of them are worth the time. You commonly see instructions to steep crushed poppies in hot water and then filter – forget it. It is too difficult.

Use a coffee maker and put in just one filter. Then place the poppy mash into the filter, where you would normally add coffee. If you used a blender to grind the poppy pods, be sure to get all the dust that may stick to the bottom by tapping it a few times. Now get your pot and add enough water to brew 2 cups to the coffee maker. If you have the option to choose normal or strong coffee, choose strong. If you have a temperature setting, choose the medium setting, or even medium-low for quick cooling. I haven't found much better results making the water hotter – it doesn't seem to extract any more of the opiate alkaloids than medium temperature water.

Once the brew is done, pour the tea back into the pot and run it through the coffee brewing cycle a second time for a second extraction.

To get all the water you can out of the plant material, push down on it with a ladle. If your coffee maker doesn't allow the necessary access to the filter to do this, remove the filter with all the plant material and place it in a bowl on top of another filter, and let it cool. Gently squeeze all the liquid out like you're squeezing a tea bag. Be careful not to rip the filter and let the mash come through.

I find it easiest to make two batches at once, unless I'm trying to make a strong batch, since 15 medium pods seems to be the most I can fit into a typical coffee maker at one time. When making two batches at once, after the coffee filter is squeezed dry, divide the liquid into the appropriate doses. If you have two cups of liquid, then one cup is your dose. If you have one cup of liquid, then ½ cup is your dose. If you end up with too much liquid to easily consume in a single dose, the easiest way to reduce it is to pour it through the coffee maker again and do another extraction. Each time the liquid goes through the coffee filter it condenses it until there is less to drink. I don't recommend doing this if there is less than a cup of tea left. If you want to boil it down to a shot glass of liquid, put it in a small pot and heat it slowly over medium to medium low heat. Boiling seems to destroy a lot of the opiates, so be careful not to let it come to a boil.

Although the taste is very bitter, it is an acquired taste and the more I use it the less nasty it becomes. There are a number of things that can make it more drinkable. Instead of brewing the tea with plain water, one can brew two cups of coffee or tea and add that to the coffee maker. Adding large amounts of lemon juice seems to enhance the opium effects, and also makes the taste a bit better. Honey and cinnamon are also useful, but should not be added until after the tea has been brewed and put into a drinking mug.

Soda works as a good chaser for the tea. Fruity candies like Starbursts can be used to mask the aftertaste. Some people hold their nose, take a big gulp, and then grab a chaser, which is a great method for a beginner.

Some people throw up from drinking this tea, so its preferable to start with an empty stomach. Eating something small afterwards as a chaser can drastically reduce nausea. Be careful to have plenty of water on hand in case you are one of the many unlucky people who experience nausea.

Morphine, codeine, and thebaine are the three major opium alkaloids in the tea. The best ways to judge the strength of a tea is by smell and taste: the stronger and more bitter the tea, the stronger its effect will be.

Effects: The effects of poppy tea should feel very similar to other opiates: a happy, euphoric high without a care in the world. Once you find your base dose you can alter it for more or less. I have found that a lower dose or using only stems gives more of a Percocet-type buzz, while increasing the amount of poppies gives a strong morphine-like high, with body tightness similar to the rush of an intravenous drug injection.

The seeds you dump out are good for baking or growing new poppies. You can make tea with the seeds, but you need a very large amount, and it is difficult to dose properly because the amount of opiates they contain varies dramatically. [At least one death has been reported from using poppy seed tea - see Poppy Seed Tea Can Kill You for more information - Erowid]. It is also difficult to steep the tea and filter out the seeds. I do not recommend it at all. Buying poppy heads online is as cheap or cheaper than the seeds, and they are much easier to stash away.

Don't forget that everything you use in this preparation method now has a coating of opiate-containing powder, so be sure to clean everything carefully before returning it to normal use. Run clean water or white vinegar through the coffee maker brew cycle a couple of times to flush it out completely.



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