Members of the genus Trichocereus have been consumed by indigenous tribes of North and South America for over three thousand years. In a hot 90 degree climate this cactus will easily grow 12 inches or more in a single season and they are prolific branchers so they tend to be abundant in their natural habitat.

When harvesting, one way is to chop a six to twelve inch piece from the top for replanting and then take another cutting about twelve inches long for consumption.

Another option would be to take the top twelve inch cutting and use that to make your brew. After cutting off the growing tip it will put out new growing shoots around the healed callused area which can grow from six to nine inches by the end of summer when grown in ideal conditions. This way of harvesting will leave you with new cuttings that can be re-potted at the end of the season.

Mescaline is most highly concentrated on the outer layer against the skin which is peeled off before processing into an alkaloid rich cactus tea.

Typically, a single dose of the tea is made from a 12 inch section of cactus, which should be taken in two swigs about a half hour apart or all at once if you can.

Once you have your section cut, you can trim off the spines to make handling easier. Be careful these spines are like needles. Then cut into two sections about six inches long. Carefully strip off the skin and then cut vertical slabs of the outer most green to greenish layer and discard the rest. Basically you are keeping the outer most 1/4 inch of the cactus and discarding all the insides. Mescaline is concentrated just beneath the skin in the green tissue and when looking at a cross section that green area fades into the whitish meaty part of the cactus that will upset your stomach.

Put your material into a blender with an equal amount of distilled or RO water and liquefy your material. Next you will put your blended mixture into a pot, add about 32 ounces of distilled or RO water and bring to a light boil before reducing to a simmer (covered) for 6 hours, spooning off any foam in the process. When done you will want to strain your material and keep the liquid which is a bitter tea that can be consumed. I would squeeze a lemon or lime into the brew because the alkaloids make it quite bitter. This process should leave you with about 2 regular glasses of concoction that can be downed all at once or about 30 minutes apart. Effects are often felt within an hour of ingestion but can very depending on the cactus used and what’s in your stomach.