Ember Days
We made our own
stars tonight
and sent them
beyond the tops
of trees,
interposing, in the sky's ancient
melodies, our own
garish counterpoint
until those bold
and distant suns
became as grace
notes in a symphony of small fires.
Then, content with
our shifting constellations,
we created a new
cosmology
in mud and ash
and made our
heroes dance
with demons,
writhing like oracles
through the smoke
rings and columns.
Tomorrow, the
flaming chariots will crash
quietly into the
fields and valleys,
and when the moon
goes dark
we will look again
to the old stories
carved stark and
shining into the roof of the world.
But this time,
our young gods
will walk with us
into the shadows
of the tried and true
and out into the
clear light of day.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Lady Grey Limoncello
Limoncello is an Italian liqueur
produced by extracting the oils of lemon zest in alcohol and adding
simple syrup. It has been used in cooking and served chilled as a
dessert or after-dinner digestive aid in Italy, where it has been
reputedly made for centuries by the people of the Sorrentine
Peninsula, south of Naples. I stumbled on recipes for this beverage
a few years ago, when I was trying to find a way to use pounds of
citrus that would have otherwise gone to waste. My initial
experiments with extracting flavorful oils from lemon, orange, and
lime peels met with limited success as additives to mixed drinks, but
they were too harsh to be used otherwise. My first true limoncellos,
where I added simple syrup and sometimes extracted herbs with the
lemon zest, impressed me with their complex aromas, beautiful
presentation, and nuanced production. So when a friend of mine
visited Italy with her family, I asked her to bring me back a sample
of the truly Italian stuff for comparison.
In the regions of Italy that produce limoncello, each family has their own recipes, which they constantly tweak towards their personal ideas of sweet lemony perfection. They take pride in cultivating and processing lemons, and choose fruit for limoncello processing based on rigorous standards. The flavor of limoncello can also differ based on what kind of grain alcohol is used as a base, how much pith remains with the zest after the skins are processed, how long the zest is set in the alcohol, how much simple syrup is used, and even at what temperatures the alcohol and syrup are combined. You can find a simple recipe and description of limoncello here:
http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/italy/limoncello.htm
My friend brought me back a small glass bottle (50ml) of limoncello made in Agropoli by Antiche Fattorie Cilentane, which has a web presence here:
http://www.fattoriecilentane.com/eng_index.htm
Their limoncello was incredibly smooth, with a very fine, whitish-yellow color. The sugars seemed to hang like stars in the liquid. Its aroma tickled my nose, and smelled sweetly of divine citrus florals. When I tasted it, the flavor rocketed immediately to my sinuses and head, and the alcohol spread slowly from my syrupy throat down to my stomach and out from there. They listed the alcohol content as 30% on the label, and I only felt a little buzzed after 25 ml, with most of the effect bubbling through my head at a high, sugary velocity.
Since I sampled this true Italian
limoncello, I have created several herbal blends of my own. My
limoncello tends to be a higher alcohol content than is traditional
in Italy, and of course I shove all kinds of other plant matter into
the extracting alcohol to get various flavors and effects. Some of
my limoncellos, like my Lavender Limoncello and Double Lemon
Limoncello, are simple and refreshing tributes to the Italian
beverage. But some, like my Medicine Maker Limoncello, are more
powerful and complex tinctures designed for specific effects, and are similar in potency to my
other magic potions. I made a batch of Lady Grey Limoncello this
season, which serves as an example of this more potent variety.
Batch 2 contains alcohol, sugar, and water, along with:
Lemon Zest (78g)- In making limoncello, it is important to choose lemons that have not been sprayed with pesticides or other surface additives, since the beverage requires the outermost portion of the skins. I shop around for organic lemons, and if I'm lucky and there is more than one variety of these, I choose based on smell and skin quality. The lemons for this batch came from Ellwood Thompson's grocery here in Richmond, VA.
Black Tea (20g)- I took Carytown Tea's advice and used their Keemun black tea, which has a somewhat fruity and piney aroma. Keemun is grown in China and has been the base tea for English Breakfast blends for quite some time.
Orange Zest (17g)- Again, I needed organic oranges because I'm extracting from the skins. Again, these came from Ellwood Thompson's. Lady Grey tea blends usually contain dried citrus peels from oranges and lemons, though the popular Twinings variety uses the more bitter and flavorful Seville oranges.
Lavender (6g)- I used dried flowerbuds purchased from Carytown Teas. Lavender soothes and relaxes my mind. Even the smell reduces my anxiety immediately. Many people make a tea with it to treat headaches and sleeping disorders such as insomnia. It can be used to treat insect bites and burns, though those with sensitive skin may have an adverse reaction to the concentrated extract. Lavender is an optional additive to Lady Grey tea blends.
Lemongrass (6g)- I purchased some dried and chopped leaves from Carytown Teas for this blend. Lemongrass is popularly used in cooking and drank as an herbal tea. It is high in antioxidants and is said to be an excellent detoxifier. Some people use it to treat anxiety or insomnia as well. Lemongrass is not typically added to Lady Grey blends, but I could not resist its citrus aroma and character.
Bergamot Oil (6 drops)- An essence of Bergamot oranges (grown traditionally in Italy) is used to flavor Earl Grey and Lady Grey tea blends. The essential oil is also used in perfume and massage blends. I found that it certainly added to the Lady Grey character of my limoncello, though the oil did not mix well with the rest of the liquid. It remained as tiny separate drops, and had more effect through the nose than through the mouth.
On May 24th, I zested the lemons and oranges. When making limoncello, most people try and avoid the pith, the white part of the peel, and try and harvest only the colored, oil-rich part on the outside, known as the zest. Many people I know use a sharp knife to separate the zest from the pith, but I use a carpenter's rasp to scrape off the zest until I meet with the pith. I find that I get more out of each citrus fruit this way, and it is already finely chopped, which aids in the extraction process. I found that citrus has a tendency to remove the oil protecting the rasp. I don't want just any oil in my beverage, so I washed the machine or tool oil off of the rasp when I first bought it and replaced it with food-grade and taste-neutral safflower oil, which I reapply after each zesting to keep my rasp from rusting. I also find that the zest tends to cling to the rasp blades, and I use a toothbrush to brush the harvested zest into a container for mixing.
With no skins, my citrus was sure to rot quickly, so I promptly made delicious lemonade that same day!
On June 8th, I reopened the jar, which was by that point bestowed with a rich reddish-brown hue, and filtered the contents using my french press and a coffee filter. In this way I yielded 400ml of cleanly extracted goodness. I made a quantity of simple syrup by combining equal parts water and sugar in a pot and heating (not boiling) the liquid until the sugar was completely dissolved. Generally, I add simple syrup to my limoncellos in a 2:1 ratio: for every 2 parts alcohol-and-extracted-zest I add 1 part simple syrup. I suspect this ratio adds much less simple syrup than is traditional in Italian limoncello, but I like mine to have more of a kick, and when there are herbals, I like for their effects to be felt strongly as well. But with Lady Grey Limoncello, I use a 3:2 ratio of alcohol-and-extract to simple syrup because the tea extract is very bitter. Thus, I added around 266ml of warm simple syrup to 400ml of room temperature alcohol-and-extract. Finally, I added bergamot oil, drop by drop, until I felt that the aroma and flavor was right, and placed the combined fluid in the refrigerator to chill.
As I pour myself a chilled 30ml dose, I notice how the bottle has become sticky from the brew's sugary residue, and possibly also the bergamot oil. The oil collects in globules near the surface of my liquid, and creates a greenish ring around where the limoncello contacts my serving container. The smell is sweet and citrus-y, and jumps quickly into the sinuses and brain, inducing some pleasant stimulation up there. With the first sip held in my mouth, I can feel the alcohol and tea as distinct sensations, a crowd of gently prodding phenomena on my tongue, gums, and jaw. The liquid feels a bit filmy, and the burn as it goes down comes as a bit of a surprise. After the fluid hits my stomach, I can smell more of the aroma in my nose and sinuses. It is indeed a complicated mixture of citrus, progressing into nuanced lavender and lemongrass notes. The tea flavor lingers in my mouth, seeming to coat my tongue and cheeks with cooling wriggliness. I can already feel the caffeine and sugar working their way into my bloodstream, making me smile and feel a bit lighter, plucked by the top of my brain and lifted bubbling into the aether. Licking my lips, I get strong, sweet notes of lemon and subtly, of orange, not the least of which must be the potent bergamot. Looking into the sigil, I am impressed with its ability to resemble both a face staring, wide-eyed into new light, and its ability to represent a rising sun tempered by pools of darker liquid, dripping into an energetic, citrus core. When I burp, the citrus and sugar rise again to my head, and a buzzing spreads from the topmost point of my skull down around my cranium. I am ready to dance, discuss, run, to engage intelligently and a bit frenetically with the world around me. Minutes after finishing my drink, stimulants are pumping through my system. I find it difficult to stay still, and my vision is finely interwoven with little particles of energetic brightness. This one is certainly here to stay!
In the regions of Italy that produce limoncello, each family has their own recipes, which they constantly tweak towards their personal ideas of sweet lemony perfection. They take pride in cultivating and processing lemons, and choose fruit for limoncello processing based on rigorous standards. The flavor of limoncello can also differ based on what kind of grain alcohol is used as a base, how much pith remains with the zest after the skins are processed, how long the zest is set in the alcohol, how much simple syrup is used, and even at what temperatures the alcohol and syrup are combined. You can find a simple recipe and description of limoncello here:
http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/italy/limoncello.htm
My friend brought me back a small glass bottle (50ml) of limoncello made in Agropoli by Antiche Fattorie Cilentane, which has a web presence here:
http://www.fattoriecilentane.com/eng_index.htm
Their limoncello was incredibly smooth, with a very fine, whitish-yellow color. The sugars seemed to hang like stars in the liquid. Its aroma tickled my nose, and smelled sweetly of divine citrus florals. When I tasted it, the flavor rocketed immediately to my sinuses and head, and the alcohol spread slowly from my syrupy throat down to my stomach and out from there. They listed the alcohol content as 30% on the label, and I only felt a little buzzed after 25 ml, with most of the effect bubbling through my head at a high, sugary velocity.
 |
| Antiche Fattorie Cilentane label from the bottle I drank |
Batch 1 of my Lady Grey Limoncello,
made in August-October 2011, served as an important personal milestone for
several reasons. It was my first attempt at extracting caffeine,
something in which I was interested but was also unsure about.
Additionally, I experimented with a kind of sigil that allowed me to
create a bright image while still using the beautiful color of
limoncello to great effect. I wanted to combine the sweet clarity of
limoncello with the citrus florals of Lady Grey Tea blends, which
have long been my favorites. Batch 1 was a great success, very
pleasant and simulating, with a clear buzz that lasted for hours. My
notes stated that “the flavor of [this limoncello] speaks of mind:
the tea extract mixes well with the sugar and lemon to give a
sustainable, comfortable rush.”
 |
| Notes from Batch 1 |
Batch 2 contains alcohol, sugar, and water, along with:
Lemon Zest (78g)- In making limoncello, it is important to choose lemons that have not been sprayed with pesticides or other surface additives, since the beverage requires the outermost portion of the skins. I shop around for organic lemons, and if I'm lucky and there is more than one variety of these, I choose based on smell and skin quality. The lemons for this batch came from Ellwood Thompson's grocery here in Richmond, VA.
Black Tea (20g)- I took Carytown Tea's advice and used their Keemun black tea, which has a somewhat fruity and piney aroma. Keemun is grown in China and has been the base tea for English Breakfast blends for quite some time.
Orange Zest (17g)- Again, I needed organic oranges because I'm extracting from the skins. Again, these came from Ellwood Thompson's. Lady Grey tea blends usually contain dried citrus peels from oranges and lemons, though the popular Twinings variety uses the more bitter and flavorful Seville oranges.
Lavender (6g)- I used dried flowerbuds purchased from Carytown Teas. Lavender soothes and relaxes my mind. Even the smell reduces my anxiety immediately. Many people make a tea with it to treat headaches and sleeping disorders such as insomnia. It can be used to treat insect bites and burns, though those with sensitive skin may have an adverse reaction to the concentrated extract. Lavender is an optional additive to Lady Grey tea blends.
Lemongrass (6g)- I purchased some dried and chopped leaves from Carytown Teas for this blend. Lemongrass is popularly used in cooking and drank as an herbal tea. It is high in antioxidants and is said to be an excellent detoxifier. Some people use it to treat anxiety or insomnia as well. Lemongrass is not typically added to Lady Grey blends, but I could not resist its citrus aroma and character.
Bergamot Oil (6 drops)- An essence of Bergamot oranges (grown traditionally in Italy) is used to flavor Earl Grey and Lady Grey tea blends. The essential oil is also used in perfume and massage blends. I found that it certainly added to the Lady Grey character of my limoncello, though the oil did not mix well with the rest of the liquid. It remained as tiny separate drops, and had more effect through the nose than through the mouth.
On May 24th, I zested the lemons and oranges. When making limoncello, most people try and avoid the pith, the white part of the peel, and try and harvest only the colored, oil-rich part on the outside, known as the zest. Many people I know use a sharp knife to separate the zest from the pith, but I use a carpenter's rasp to scrape off the zest until I meet with the pith. I find that I get more out of each citrus fruit this way, and it is already finely chopped, which aids in the extraction process. I found that citrus has a tendency to remove the oil protecting the rasp. I don't want just any oil in my beverage, so I washed the machine or tool oil off of the rasp when I first bought it and replaced it with food-grade and taste-neutral safflower oil, which I reapply after each zesting to keep my rasp from rusting. I also find that the zest tends to cling to the rasp blades, and I use a toothbrush to brush the harvested zest into a container for mixing.
 |
| Zesting the Lemons |
Then, I added the lavender and
lemongrass to the orange and lemon zest, poured 500ml of 151 proof
grain alcohol over the whole mess and placed the sealed container in
a cabinet to soak. I used a higher proof alcohol for this limoncello
because I wanted the resultant liquid to be a reasonable alcohol
percentage, even after the addition of simple syrup. The resultant
limoncello in this case ends up being 45% alcohol by volume. I have
my father to thank for this particular insight: he makes a very
strong, clear limoncello on occasion that is quite pleasant in the
afternoon or evening.
With no skins, my citrus was sure to rot quickly, so I promptly made delicious lemonade that same day!
On June 8th, I reopened the jar, which was by that point bestowed with a rich reddish-brown hue, and filtered the contents using my french press and a coffee filter. In this way I yielded 400ml of cleanly extracted goodness. I made a quantity of simple syrup by combining equal parts water and sugar in a pot and heating (not boiling) the liquid until the sugar was completely dissolved. Generally, I add simple syrup to my limoncellos in a 2:1 ratio: for every 2 parts alcohol-and-extracted-zest I add 1 part simple syrup. I suspect this ratio adds much less simple syrup than is traditional in Italian limoncello, but I like mine to have more of a kick, and when there are herbals, I like for their effects to be felt strongly as well. But with Lady Grey Limoncello, I use a 3:2 ratio of alcohol-and-extract to simple syrup because the tea extract is very bitter. Thus, I added around 266ml of warm simple syrup to 400ml of room temperature alcohol-and-extract. Finally, I added bergamot oil, drop by drop, until I felt that the aroma and flavor was right, and placed the combined fluid in the refrigerator to chill.
 |
| Filtered Limoncello with Simple Syrup Added |
Limoncello blends over time, and is
generally left to sit for several weeks after simple syrup is added.
I find that keeping the brew chilled helps my limoncellos to get to a
smoother mixture. And then, when I want to taste some, it is already
cold, which is how I like to present my limoncello for tasting
anyway. On June 14th, I placed a label and sigil on the
already chilled bottle, knowing that the taste of the brew would
continue to mature as I slowly drank or shared the contents of the
bottle, keeping it chilled as much as possible. For this style of sigil, I use white out to create shapes
on the glass that I can then color with markers. Each color corresponds to an
ingredient, but the color of the brew itself lends a special
character to the magic of limoncello, so I generally try and feature
the color of the liquid as part of the ritual magic on each bottle.
 |
| Sigil and Bottle for Batch 2 |
I took this bottle to the inaugural
Free From Festival in New Jersey this past June, shared it at my home
in Richmond, VA, and carried it to Transformus in July. I used it
sometimes to keep me awake during the long festival nights, and
sometimes as a pleasant afternoon beverage for sipping. Most found
the flavor impressive in its complexity, and its effects
overwhelmingly positive and uplifting. Now, in August, but a finger
remains at the bottom of the bottle.
As I pour myself a chilled 30ml dose, I notice how the bottle has become sticky from the brew's sugary residue, and possibly also the bergamot oil. The oil collects in globules near the surface of my liquid, and creates a greenish ring around where the limoncello contacts my serving container. The smell is sweet and citrus-y, and jumps quickly into the sinuses and brain, inducing some pleasant stimulation up there. With the first sip held in my mouth, I can feel the alcohol and tea as distinct sensations, a crowd of gently prodding phenomena on my tongue, gums, and jaw. The liquid feels a bit filmy, and the burn as it goes down comes as a bit of a surprise. After the fluid hits my stomach, I can smell more of the aroma in my nose and sinuses. It is indeed a complicated mixture of citrus, progressing into nuanced lavender and lemongrass notes. The tea flavor lingers in my mouth, seeming to coat my tongue and cheeks with cooling wriggliness. I can already feel the caffeine and sugar working their way into my bloodstream, making me smile and feel a bit lighter, plucked by the top of my brain and lifted bubbling into the aether. Licking my lips, I get strong, sweet notes of lemon and subtly, of orange, not the least of which must be the potent bergamot. Looking into the sigil, I am impressed with its ability to resemble both a face staring, wide-eyed into new light, and its ability to represent a rising sun tempered by pools of darker liquid, dripping into an energetic, citrus core. When I burp, the citrus and sugar rise again to my head, and a buzzing spreads from the topmost point of my skull down around my cranium. I am ready to dance, discuss, run, to engage intelligently and a bit frenetically with the world around me. Minutes after finishing my drink, stimulants are pumping through my system. I find it difficult to stay still, and my vision is finely interwoven with little particles of energetic brightness. This one is certainly here to stay!
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Monday, June 25, 2012
The Watcher
I look too much to the past.
shouting in the park
surrounded by ghosts.
They keep their distance,
locked on dazed trajectory,
and they will not be touched,
disappearing angrily
at unwelcome contact.
Yes, they rocket through my world,
surprised that it is not theirs only,
This wry face knows what they are,
though some still pretend to live and breathe,
the death confined to the eyes
and to the pallor
of flying feet.
I am the watcher: the wincing reminder
that pain cannot always be hidden
with the luxury of
a mask.
my stubborn existence pulls at their knotted hearts,
all bitter ends unruly tangled,
nerves firing incoherent
in the scar tissue surrounding.
I look too much to the past.
all my actions seem
too late or mad,
shouting in the park
surrounded by ghosts.
They keep their distance,
locked on dazed trajectory,
and they will not be touched,
disappearing angrily
at unwelcome contact.
Yes, they rocket through my world,
surprised that it is not theirs only,
embarrassed at my
shining gaze and
broken grin.This wry face knows what they are,
though some still pretend to live and breathe,
the death confined to the eyes
and to the pallor
of flying feet.
I am the watcher: the wincing reminder
that pain cannot always be hidden
with the luxury of
a mask.
Knives in their
backs, hot pokers in their eyes,
my stubborn existence pulls at their knotted hearts,
all bitter ends unruly tangled,
nerves firing incoherent
in the scar tissue surrounding.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Riding North
on I-95
Their hot black tongues lie folded
and twisted across the earth,
Seething snapshots on every atlas page.
Saliva glistens on the spent branches,
slides down to the poison the roots.
Some boils away, becoming rain,
soaking the earth in slippery spit,
Each ditch a pestilent runnel of ropy sputum.
Dirt bulges and spills
where they cut and cross.
Our history: these rocky scars like fallen monuments.
Black blood rises, but we can only
vomit this petroleum pus,
Our cities an infection carved into struggling flesh.
Who can tell with so much pressing flesh
and so many open jaws,
Rows of white teeth rotting in the graveyard hills.
A crowd of
monstrous giraffes
strips leaves off
the World Tree.Their hot black tongues lie folded
and twisted across the earth,
Seething snapshots on every atlas page.
Saliva glistens on the spent branches,
slides down to the poison the roots.
Some boils away, becoming rain,
soaking the earth in slippery spit,
Each ditch a pestilent runnel of ropy sputum.
The hills groan
beneath their weight,
too many wrapped
too tight.Dirt bulges and spills
where they cut and cross.
Our history: these rocky scars like fallen monuments.
We live on the
rat-king knot-nexus,
plague fleas
sucking at open sores.Black blood rises, but we can only
vomit this petroleum pus,
Our cities an infection carved into struggling flesh.
Which open throat
do we face,
toxic cud
belching from below?Who can tell with so much pressing flesh
and so many open jaws,
Rows of white teeth rotting in the graveyard hills.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Feelin' Groovy, Batch 3
I have a habit of appropriating words like “tincture” or
“sigil” and allowing their meanings to evolve from what most
people know into what I want them to be. Over time, and among
strangers, it sometimes feels like I'm barely speaking English. A
tincture for most people is an antiquated term referring to a single
substance concentrated through alcohol extraction. When you go to
the hippie grocery or nutrition store for tincture, you get a single
concentrated substance designed to be added to water or tea. But my
tinctures are magical mixtures of substances, and can often be drank
straight, because I use vodka instead of the more efficient and
powerful alcohols in higher proportion. And then there's all this
talk about sigils and magical process, which for me even differs
somewhat from the chaos magic theory that inspired much of it. So
oftentimes, when I'm offering someone one of my tinctures, it is
difficult to explain quite what it is I want them to drink.
Especially if I'm offering a recreational brew, dressed in a
ridiculous costume, or there's a line of interested weirdos waiting
to try a sample, I start referring to my herbal-alcohol-extractions
as magic potions, to save time. With something like the tincture I
finished yesterday, the third batch of a tincture I first created in
2011 called Feelin' Groovy, the phrase “magic potion” makes
perfect sense.
Most of my tinctures, Feelin' Groovy among them, are designed to augment a few hours of experience, not as medicine. The line is blurry, because each of these magic potions contains powerful herbal extracts that can do wonderful things when applied medicinally. There is very little chance that they will harm you, and they may even help something. And some of my “recreational” brews act quite medicinal. One, called “Peace Within, Peace Without,” can be administered to calm and purify the body and mind, especially if the user is having a bit too much fun and wants to relax for a bit. But even Peace Within, Peace Without is mostly designed for a good time. I'm not a doctor, or even a specialist in herbal medicine, so I don't like to act like one. Whatever successes I've had with brews like my Sinus Tincture, which is applied medicinally, I am always aware that what works for me may not work for someone else. I AM confident in my ability to make awesome legal drugs to put in your face, however. And Feelin' Groovy is a great example of that skill.
Feelin' Groovy based on a recipe I found on the website for the Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine. Check out their “combinations” here: http://www.blueridgeschool.org/combinations.htm . They suggest that their collection of herbs, including St. John's Wort, Lemon Balm, Kava Kava, Spikenard Berries, and Lavender “elevates mood without affecting clarity of thought.” I have found that my Feelin' Groovy tincture does tend to elevate mood, creating a warm tingly feeling throughout the body that is quite pleasant, and lifting a somewhat leveled mind to explore the world around it with new openness. But my brew does not leave clarity unaffected. In fact, it can increase clarity where cloudiness persists. When given to a new friend who had been enjoying himself so much (with a non-alcoholic substance) that he could no longer speak or focus well, Feelin' Groovy cleared his addled brain in a way that allowed him to communicate effectively, but did not nullify or reduce his altered thought processes. Several users, myself included, have even experienced mild visual hallucinations (lines wiggling, closed-eye patterns) after taking just Feelin' Groovy. The general reaction, after recovering from the experience of drinking this surprisingly bitter liquid, is all smiles and swaying and wiggling. Groovy indeed.
Feelin' Groovy contains alcohol and water, plus:
St. John's Wort (60g)- I used a powder derived from the flowers and leaves, purchased from Carytown Teas. This herb has been widely recognized as an antidepressant comparable with pharmaceutical varieties, though according to Wikipedia, studies have shown that St. John's Wort generally has less side effects than the pharmaceuticals. I find that it provides a stabilizing effect on my mood, leveling me out somewhere in the “smiling gently” range. But for some people St. John's Wort backfires, increasing anxiety. Care must be taken when combining St. John's Wort with MAOIs, psychadellic drugs (including MDMA), opiods, triptans, amphetamines and 5HT agonists. Combinations could release more serotonin than you want released, which can cause big problems (and sometimes death!). St. John's Wort also reacts with some other medicines, including oral contraceptives and cholesterol-reducers, making these drugs less effective.
Lavender (30g)- I used dried flowerbuds purchased from Carytown Teas. Lavender soothes and relaxes my mind. Even the smell reduces my anxiety immediately. Many people make a tea with it to treat headaches and sleeping disorders such as insomnia. It can be used to treat insect bites and burns, though those with sensitive skin may have an adverse reaction to the concentrated extract.
Kava Kava (30g)- Carytown Teas provided me with a high-quality powder from the lateral root of this plant. Kava is used socially in many Polynesian traditions for its relaxing and mildly euphoric effects. I find that it sedates me a bit while increasing my amicability. I also find that Kava makes playing music extra satisfying, in part because I am relaxed and it is easier for me to slip into a trance-like focus. Avoid drinking heavily and taking Kava Kava, because this herbal can increase liver problems damage caused by alcohol.
Verveinne (Verbena) (15g)- I used dried leaves purchased from Carytown Teas. Verveinne imparts a wonderful flavor when added to just about anything. It contains high levels of anti-oxidants, and has many uses specific to women (for example, it has been known to increase lactation).
Lemon Balm (15g)- I used a tincture extract purchased from Ellwood Thompson's grocery. Lemon Balm calms me and creates an uplifting feeling when consumed in tea or tincture form. It has a beautiful aroma and flavor. The fluid from freshly crushed leaves can be used as a mosquito repellant. It is high in anti-oxidants, and is reputedly anti-bacterial and anti-viral. I try not to use herbals that are already in extractions, the idea being that the herbs can mix and extract together in the alcohol, but the herbal suppliers in Richmond have a hard time getting fresh or dried lemon balm. This year I planted some in my garden, which I will eventually use in Feelin' Groovy Batch 4!
On May 1st, I combined these ingredients in a jar and poured alcohol over them. I wanted to yield close to a liter of tincture, so I needed to use two jars for this. I put equal quantities of the dry herbals into each jar, and mixed them. Then I added the lemon balm tincture and poured in 900 ml of 40% alcohol (Wolfschmidt Vodka), again split between the two jars. I mixed the two jars heavily, making sure that the powders became saturated in the alcohol, and placed them in my cabinet.
The two jars were shaken regularly over the course of a month. On June 4th, I opened the jars and began the filtering process.
Because of the powdery nature of Kava Kava and St. John's Wort, the solid waste in Feelin' Groovy compacts easily and I cannot force very much liquid through my french press. Thus, I poured the brew carefully through cheesecloth. When around 3 tablespoons of herbal matter collected on the surface of the cheesecloth, I would carefully create a bundle and squeeze this small amount of solids over a coffee-filtered beaker before discarding the chaff. The finer particles that passed through the cheesecloth occasionally gummed up my coffee filters as well. When this happened, I would carefully remove the old filter, bundle it and its solid herb matter, and squeeze it gently over a new coffee filter.
In this fashion I used three coffee filters and was able to yield 600ml of fine liquid extract over a 3 hour period.
Feelin' Groovy is an extremely bitter extract. I found that around a quarter of the people who tried the brew at the Fall 2011 Playa del Fuego festival were put off severely by the taste or could not drink it without heavily watering it down. So to allow the user to better appreciate the flavor of this tincture, I water it down a bit from the get-go. This time, I added 250 ml of water, meaning that the end product is around 28% alcohol by volume.
The label for this smaller bottle proved to be a bit of a challenge, given the complex nature of Feelin' Groovy's sigil and the size and shape of the bottle. But I think it worked out quite well. Feelin' Groovy's sigil is indicative of those that appear on most of my tinctures. Batch 1, created in May 2010, was among the first of my tinctures to be sigiled in this fashion. From the notes to Batch 1: “Each color represents an ingredient. [The] sigil explores and evokes ingredients interacting with each other and communicates intentions to” whomever drinks this magic potion.
Notice that in Batch 2, I added Verveinne for the first time, and so I added a new color to the evolved design.
Pouring myself a two-tablespoon dose of Feelin' Groovy, I can already smell the Lavender, Verveinne, and Lemon Balm. Upon deeper smelling, there is also a grainy and astringent scent poking up through the alcohol. I take a sip and the kava kava immediately begins to numb my lips and tongue. Bitter! I swallow the first mouthful, which drops into my stomach as I make a face. The bitter flavor lingers, but after the liquid goes down I can notice the floral flavors again. A slight tingling spreads slowly from my mouth, esophagus and stomach. I find myself already starting to sway a little bit. My muscles and mind relax a bit, and I feel lighter already. A second sip. No faces this time: I'm ready for the taste (and a bit numbed, I'm sure!). I can feel the alcohol burn as I swallow. My head begins to tingle, right behind the hairline on my forehead. More tingles spread from the base of my neck and over the top of my skull. My attention drifts to the periphery, where the force of my typing is creating ripples in the Feelin' Groovy still inside the bottle. As I type, I am accutely aware of how the force of pounding out each word bounces around inside the glass. I can almost hear it: a visual form of audio reverb.
I burp. It tastes very flowery, and I relax even more into the chair. I feel a bit heavier as my muscles relax and settle. I close my eyes for a moment, slow shivers emanating from the space between my shoulder blades. Today I was feeling a bit low, what with the cloudiness and my being a bit sick, but I feel very calm and clear now. I am aware of the things that have made me anxious of late, but they are not affecting my mental or physical posture right now. Right now I feel, well, groovy. After downing the last swallow, I stop to regard the sigil in detail again. I can see how the flower-like shapes represent the growing, slow-bubbling nature of this brew, how ideas bleed slowly into each other and exist in a bright and wiggly space. I smile. The spaces between or outlined by different shades hold my attention longer than the shapes themselves. Colors are brighter everywhere I look, and I am more attuned to the way the light hits a wall, and to a sound that has all of a sudden stopped, revealing more and more of those little things that fill the airspace and for the most part, go unnoticed.
Most of my tinctures, Feelin' Groovy among them, are designed to augment a few hours of experience, not as medicine. The line is blurry, because each of these magic potions contains powerful herbal extracts that can do wonderful things when applied medicinally. There is very little chance that they will harm you, and they may even help something. And some of my “recreational” brews act quite medicinal. One, called “Peace Within, Peace Without,” can be administered to calm and purify the body and mind, especially if the user is having a bit too much fun and wants to relax for a bit. But even Peace Within, Peace Without is mostly designed for a good time. I'm not a doctor, or even a specialist in herbal medicine, so I don't like to act like one. Whatever successes I've had with brews like my Sinus Tincture, which is applied medicinally, I am always aware that what works for me may not work for someone else. I AM confident in my ability to make awesome legal drugs to put in your face, however. And Feelin' Groovy is a great example of that skill.
Feelin' Groovy based on a recipe I found on the website for the Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine. Check out their “combinations” here: http://www.blueridgeschool.org/combinations.htm . They suggest that their collection of herbs, including St. John's Wort, Lemon Balm, Kava Kava, Spikenard Berries, and Lavender “elevates mood without affecting clarity of thought.” I have found that my Feelin' Groovy tincture does tend to elevate mood, creating a warm tingly feeling throughout the body that is quite pleasant, and lifting a somewhat leveled mind to explore the world around it with new openness. But my brew does not leave clarity unaffected. In fact, it can increase clarity where cloudiness persists. When given to a new friend who had been enjoying himself so much (with a non-alcoholic substance) that he could no longer speak or focus well, Feelin' Groovy cleared his addled brain in a way that allowed him to communicate effectively, but did not nullify or reduce his altered thought processes. Several users, myself included, have even experienced mild visual hallucinations (lines wiggling, closed-eye patterns) after taking just Feelin' Groovy. The general reaction, after recovering from the experience of drinking this surprisingly bitter liquid, is all smiles and swaying and wiggling. Groovy indeed.
Feelin' Groovy contains alcohol and water, plus:
St. John's Wort (60g)- I used a powder derived from the flowers and leaves, purchased from Carytown Teas. This herb has been widely recognized as an antidepressant comparable with pharmaceutical varieties, though according to Wikipedia, studies have shown that St. John's Wort generally has less side effects than the pharmaceuticals. I find that it provides a stabilizing effect on my mood, leveling me out somewhere in the “smiling gently” range. But for some people St. John's Wort backfires, increasing anxiety. Care must be taken when combining St. John's Wort with MAOIs, psychadellic drugs (including MDMA), opiods, triptans, amphetamines and 5HT agonists. Combinations could release more serotonin than you want released, which can cause big problems (and sometimes death!). St. John's Wort also reacts with some other medicines, including oral contraceptives and cholesterol-reducers, making these drugs less effective.
Lavender (30g)- I used dried flowerbuds purchased from Carytown Teas. Lavender soothes and relaxes my mind. Even the smell reduces my anxiety immediately. Many people make a tea with it to treat headaches and sleeping disorders such as insomnia. It can be used to treat insect bites and burns, though those with sensitive skin may have an adverse reaction to the concentrated extract.
Kava Kava (30g)- Carytown Teas provided me with a high-quality powder from the lateral root of this plant. Kava is used socially in many Polynesian traditions for its relaxing and mildly euphoric effects. I find that it sedates me a bit while increasing my amicability. I also find that Kava makes playing music extra satisfying, in part because I am relaxed and it is easier for me to slip into a trance-like focus. Avoid drinking heavily and taking Kava Kava, because this herbal can increase liver problems damage caused by alcohol.
Verveinne (Verbena) (15g)- I used dried leaves purchased from Carytown Teas. Verveinne imparts a wonderful flavor when added to just about anything. It contains high levels of anti-oxidants, and has many uses specific to women (for example, it has been known to increase lactation).
Lemon Balm (15g)- I used a tincture extract purchased from Ellwood Thompson's grocery. Lemon Balm calms me and creates an uplifting feeling when consumed in tea or tincture form. It has a beautiful aroma and flavor. The fluid from freshly crushed leaves can be used as a mosquito repellant. It is high in anti-oxidants, and is reputedly anti-bacterial and anti-viral. I try not to use herbals that are already in extractions, the idea being that the herbs can mix and extract together in the alcohol, but the herbal suppliers in Richmond have a hard time getting fresh or dried lemon balm. This year I planted some in my garden, which I will eventually use in Feelin' Groovy Batch 4!
On May 1st, I combined these ingredients in a jar and poured alcohol over them. I wanted to yield close to a liter of tincture, so I needed to use two jars for this. I put equal quantities of the dry herbals into each jar, and mixed them. Then I added the lemon balm tincture and poured in 900 ml of 40% alcohol (Wolfschmidt Vodka), again split between the two jars. I mixed the two jars heavily, making sure that the powders became saturated in the alcohol, and placed them in my cabinet.
The two jars were shaken regularly over the course of a month. On June 4th, I opened the jars and began the filtering process.
Because of the powdery nature of Kava Kava and St. John's Wort, the solid waste in Feelin' Groovy compacts easily and I cannot force very much liquid through my french press. Thus, I poured the brew carefully through cheesecloth. When around 3 tablespoons of herbal matter collected on the surface of the cheesecloth, I would carefully create a bundle and squeeze this small amount of solids over a coffee-filtered beaker before discarding the chaff. The finer particles that passed through the cheesecloth occasionally gummed up my coffee filters as well. When this happened, I would carefully remove the old filter, bundle it and its solid herb matter, and squeeze it gently over a new coffee filter.
In this fashion I used three coffee filters and was able to yield 600ml of fine liquid extract over a 3 hour period.
Feelin' Groovy is an extremely bitter extract. I found that around a quarter of the people who tried the brew at the Fall 2011 Playa del Fuego festival were put off severely by the taste or could not drink it without heavily watering it down. So to allow the user to better appreciate the flavor of this tincture, I water it down a bit from the get-go. This time, I added 250 ml of water, meaning that the end product is around 28% alcohol by volume.
I wanted to give a small bottle as a
gift to a friend who provides me with bottles from time to time, and
who is generally very interested in my tinctures. So in addition to
the large corked bottle which once contained Batch 2, I poured the
completed tincture into a smaller corked bottle with a rounded face.
The label for this smaller bottle proved to be a bit of a challenge, given the complex nature of Feelin' Groovy's sigil and the size and shape of the bottle. But I think it worked out quite well. Feelin' Groovy's sigil is indicative of those that appear on most of my tinctures. Batch 1, created in May 2010, was among the first of my tinctures to be sigiled in this fashion. From the notes to Batch 1: “Each color represents an ingredient. [The] sigil explores and evokes ingredients interacting with each other and communicates intentions to” whomever drinks this magic potion.
Notice that in Batch 2, I added Verveinne for the first time, and so I added a new color to the evolved design.
The final sigil for Batch 3 is a
slightly different manifestation of the design and colors, mediated
by time, place, and the individuality inherent in this batch of
herbs. I tasted the batch before settling down to sigil the fresh
labels. I used the sigil for Batch 2 as a guide, though I never look
directly at an old sigil while I decorate a new one. A sigil on a
new batch is not a copy of a sigil on an old batch. I listened to
Jimmy Cousins' “Jazz June,” to Kenny Rogers and the First
Edition's first album and to Fern Knight's album while ritually
decorating each bottle. I started with brown (St. John's Wort),
decorating both bottles with each color before moving onto the next
so that the design and sigils were finished at around the same time.
This process took about 90 minutes.
Pouring myself a two-tablespoon dose of Feelin' Groovy, I can already smell the Lavender, Verveinne, and Lemon Balm. Upon deeper smelling, there is also a grainy and astringent scent poking up through the alcohol. I take a sip and the kava kava immediately begins to numb my lips and tongue. Bitter! I swallow the first mouthful, which drops into my stomach as I make a face. The bitter flavor lingers, but after the liquid goes down I can notice the floral flavors again. A slight tingling spreads slowly from my mouth, esophagus and stomach. I find myself already starting to sway a little bit. My muscles and mind relax a bit, and I feel lighter already. A second sip. No faces this time: I'm ready for the taste (and a bit numbed, I'm sure!). I can feel the alcohol burn as I swallow. My head begins to tingle, right behind the hairline on my forehead. More tingles spread from the base of my neck and over the top of my skull. My attention drifts to the periphery, where the force of my typing is creating ripples in the Feelin' Groovy still inside the bottle. As I type, I am accutely aware of how the force of pounding out each word bounces around inside the glass. I can almost hear it: a visual form of audio reverb.
I burp. It tastes very flowery, and I relax even more into the chair. I feel a bit heavier as my muscles relax and settle. I close my eyes for a moment, slow shivers emanating from the space between my shoulder blades. Today I was feeling a bit low, what with the cloudiness and my being a bit sick, but I feel very calm and clear now. I am aware of the things that have made me anxious of late, but they are not affecting my mental or physical posture right now. Right now I feel, well, groovy. After downing the last swallow, I stop to regard the sigil in detail again. I can see how the flower-like shapes represent the growing, slow-bubbling nature of this brew, how ideas bleed slowly into each other and exist in a bright and wiggly space. I smile. The spaces between or outlined by different shades hold my attention longer than the shapes themselves. Colors are brighter everywhere I look, and I am more attuned to the way the light hits a wall, and to a sound that has all of a sudden stopped, revealing more and more of those little things that fill the airspace and for the most part, go unnoticed.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Dogwood in Bloom
Some cold January night
The park must have had a stroke,
For this tree has grown back white,
The shock of blossoms an end decreed,
Stunted and quiet,
Still in spring's riot,
Death amid the towering green see.
But what's this?
There's blood still in this flesh
And what seemed a carrion cloud of flies
Trades life for life in life enmeshed.
Wormy fingers beckon, hanging green
And spin on glittering gilt,
Mad maypoles of silk
To herald tomorrow's white wings.
Some cold January night
The park must have had a stroke,
For this tree has grown back white,
The shock of blossoms an end decreed,
Stunted and quiet,
Still in spring's riot,
Death amid the towering green see.
But what's this?
There's blood still in this flesh
And what seemed a carrion cloud of flies
Trades life for life in life enmeshed.
Wormy fingers beckon, hanging green
And spin on glittering gilt,
Mad maypoles of silk
To herald tomorrow's white wings.
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