Kratom (White)

The tree

African soil, which is the rare part

Kratom is Mitragyna speciosa, a tropical tree in the Rubiaceae — the coffee family. It grows large glossy leaves in opposite pairs along woody stems, and those leaves are the entire product.

Almost all of it comes out of Southeast Asia, where the tree is native and where it has the longest history of traditional and ceremonial use. This does not. We buy from one organic farm in Uganda and import from them directly, and African-grown kratom is rare enough to be the most unusual thing about the jar.

The powder

What happens between tree and jar

Drying happens in moving air rather than under heat, and the dried leaf is then milled fine. Nothing is added to it: no fillers, no blend, nothing to make the jar go further.

Each batch goes through a lab before any of it is sold: salmonella, E. coli, heavy metals and other foreign contaminants. There is nothing about a milled leaf a buyer can judge by eye, which is why that panel counts for more here than the colour in the name.

A dose stirs into a small amount of warm water or a smoothie. It is bitter enough to want chasing with something else, and we suggest taking it 30 to 60 minutes before food. Our bands: 1–2g mild, 3–4g moderate, 5–8g strong.

Use it sparingly — our own advice, out in the open rather than in small type. And we would rather you had come to this leaf after other plants than before them.