High Quality Kratom
In this post, we’ll be examining some of the finer details of high quality kratom, from the soil to the warehouse.
While there are credible kratom vendors who care about the quality and safety of their kratom, many will attempt to cut corners in search of profit. To the untrained (or simply unaware) kratom buyer, cheap kratom may be an attractive offer. Hey, everybody likes a good deal, right?
Well, not so fast fellow kratom aficionados! That deal you’re getting may come at a price.
A Note on Kratom Health Impacts:
There are numerous precautions you should take when consuming kratom. Rare instances of liver toxicity and other health issues have been reported as a result of kratom use. In some cases, there were no contaminants found in the products that were taken, and the products were taken according to package directions.
If you are experiencing any negative side effects from consuming kratom, discontinue your use immediately and reach out to a medical professional. We want to reiterate that nothing on our site constitutes medical advice. Kratom has not yet been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] if you ever have questions or concerns. You can also find information at kratomanswers.org.
With that said, let’s take a look at what constitutes “high quality kratom.” We’ll cover some potential concerns for kratom consumers who opt for non-certified kratom, and how to ensure the products you are buying are contaminant-free.
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What Does “High Quality Kratom” Mean?
So what is high quality kratom?
Well, there are actually quite a few aspects of kratom that can help determine quality. Simply put, quality kratom will come exclusively from the Mitragyna speciosa kratom tree. Obviously, you can’t really have quality kratom if it’s not real kratom in the first place.
Beyond that, here are a few things to look for:
- Lab Testing. Check to make sure that your vendor has their kratom independently lab tested. This will ensure various safety and quality standards such as contamination levels and alkaloid content.
- Proper Labeling. In general, reputable kratom vendors will have clear labeling on their packaging. This can include alkaloid content, any added ingredients, and suggested serving size for brewing.
- Vendor Source Info. It’s never a bad idea to know where your kratom vendor actually gets their kratom from. You may have to contact your vendor directly if the information is not readily available on their site.
- Proper Packaging. Quality kratom should come with quality packaging. For example, there should be no rips or tears in the packaging itself, and the package should be sealed properly to prevent any contamination or degradation.
- AKA Vendor Certification. The AKA GMP Standards Program was created “in an effort to enhance the safety of kratom products offered to consumers.” All of our kratom is sourced from AKA cGMP suppliers, and then lab checked again by our friends at Sante labs!
While there are a few other measures you could take to ensure the authenticity of your kratom, this is a great checklist to keep handy. Stick to these five tips, and you’re likely to get your hands on some true high quality kratom!
What to do With High Quality Kratom
Now that you have verified the authenticity and content of your kratom, what do you actually do with it? Well, we’ve got some suggestions.
For starters, as a kratom tea company, we’re (obviously) huge proponents of kratom tea. We double down on high quality: the kratom leaves themselves, and the way you use them.
Imagine buying a pound of premium, locally sourced and roasted coffee beans, and then popping them like pills to consume them! Far too often, this is the same thing that is happening with kratom!
Kratom is meant to be an enjoyable experience. Much like your morning cup of Joe, it’s always a little bit more enjoyable when you have time to savor your brew, especially if its premium quality stuff. This is why we recommend brewing your high quality traditional kratom into a tea.
If you’re not sure how, you’re in luck. We are “The Better Brewing Blog,” after all!
How to Brew a Traditional Kratom Tea
Long ago, in Southeast Asia, farmers would actually chew the leaves of the Mitrgyna speciosa kratom trees during their work. When chewing these leaves, they felt that their spirit was lifted and they were given a much needed boost of energy. This would help farmers get through the long and grueling hours of their work.
Eventually, kratom was brought from the fields of work into homes. Kratom has been enjoyed as a tea in social settings for centuries throughout regions in Southeast Asia.
We here at Top Tree believe that sometimes, you really can’t beat the old ways. We’ve developed some modern tricks for improving your extraction of alkaloids from the kratom leaves when making tea, but generally, we don’t think there’s much need for reinventing the wheel. So… How do you brew a high quality and traditional kratom tea?
Brewing Instructions
For a traditional kratom tea, you really only need three ingredients and a thermos. These three ingredients are a kratom tea bag (or two +) of your choosing, boiling water, and a few drops of lemon (or lime) juice. Once you have your ingredients, simply follow these easy steps:
- Begin by placing your kratom tea bag(s) in the bottom of a thermos. (Check out our kratom tea thermoses designed specifically for this purpose!)
- Next, go ahead and add a splash of lemon or lime juice to your kratom tea bags. Many people don’t know that acidic liquids like lemon juice actually help with the extraction of kratom’s active alkaloids, thus maximizing the effectiveness of your brew.
- Finally, add your boiling water to the mixture, cap your thermos, and let it steep for 20 minutes. This is an optimal amount of time for all of kratom’s flavor and active alkaloids to be released within your brew. Pour a cup and enjoy!
Additionally, after you’re done brewing, you may want to keep your used kratom tea bags. They can be used to make a second, albeit weaker, round of kratom tea. Simply repeat the aforementioned steps above and enjoy your second brew!
For complete brewing instructions and tips, we recommend checking out our updated 2022 Kratom Brewing Guide.
Why You Shouldn’t Buy “Cheap” Kratom
As we previously mentioned, there are numerous reason you should avoid buying “cheap” kratom from a (potentially) unscrupulous source.
Cutting corners can have some serious quality and safety implications. For instance, a vendor’s failure to subject their kratom to lab testing means that do not know the quality of their own products, as well as their alkaloid profiles. (There is still a lot of research to be done to determine how different alkaloids and combinations of alkaloids affect the body — in fact, over 40 unique alkaloids have been discovered in various kratom strains so far!) At Top Tree, we strive for transparency with our loyal consumers. Potential contaminants that your kratom should be tested for include:
- Heavy metals: arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury
- Microbiological organisms: yeast & mold, coliforms, E. coli, and salmonella
The price point of the kratom itself is a huge red flag. This is not to say that kratom has to break the bank for it to be legit. At Top Tree, we’re all about a great deal when it comes to kratom! (Check out some of our amazing deals for our high quality kratom tea bags here!)
We are simply suggesting that an unusually low kratom price can directly reflect quality of kratom. The low cost suggests that a vendor may have cut some corners in the processing phase of kratom production. After all, the reduction in price has to come from somewhere. If a kratom price is well below standard market value, it’s best to at least remain skeptical and do your research.
Cheap Kratom is Potentially Dangerous
Buying from a kratom vendor that forgoes crucial safeguards such as testing, storing/packaging their products properly, and proper labeling may lead to the consumer receiving a contaminated product. Contamination can occur at numerous steps in the growing and production processes. Runoff from mines can contaminate soils with heavy metals. Improper washing and drying of leaves can lead to growth of microorganisms. One study found unsafe levels of heavy metals like lead and nickel in several “gas station kratom” brands. Vendors may also add other, more nefarious, substances to their kratom in order to create a more “potent” kratom strain.
Our advice: never sacrifice quality just to save a few bucks. Better safe than sorry!
Final Word
Let’s review some of the main takeaways for selecting high quality kratom.
High Quality Kratom…
- Will have undergone several quality control and safety measures. It’s always a great idea to double-check your kratom vendor’s safety standards to ensure that their kratom has been independently lab tested. If your vendor doesn’t know what’s in their kratom, how can you hope to?
- Will come from a reputable vendor. A reputable vendor (more often than not) will provide quality kratom, as they know quality directly affects their brand’s name and reputation. You can check reviews/facts on their site.
- Is generally not “cheap”. Again, we are not saying that affordable kratom is bad. We’ve got some great deals and sales going on ourselves! We are simply saying to use your better judgement. If the price you are paying for your kratom seems too good to be true (by industry standards), it very well might be. At some point, you should be wondering what corners were cut to achieve a suspiciously low price.
These three simple guidelines, and the more thorough information above, will help improve your kratom buying experience to a significant degree. Simply put, always make sure you know what you’re (actually) buying! If a vendor can’t authenticate their own product, it’s not worth buying.
Well, that’s it for this post. If you have any questions about quality standards in the kratom industry or kratom in general, feel free to contact us! Additionally, you can let us know your thoughts on high quality kratom in the comments.
Have a great week and as always… Cheers to better brewing!
