The Sacred Lotus Flower

The next ingredient I have chosen is the Sacred Lotus flower. This flower has been known by the Chinese for thousands of years to produce a sense of euphoria, making it a very important ingredient in our blend. The plant is important in the religions of both Buddhists and Hindus. We will use the dried petals from the flower of the plant, which is the most potent part of the plant. The scientific name of Sacred Lotus is nelumbo nucifera. There is a good article about it here. This plant is more expensive than the other ingredients in our blend, but is still priced reasonably in quantity. This is the last ingredient I have chosen for our blend. Stay tuned for the next post, when we order the ingredients.

The Blue Lotus Flower

Blue lotus is the next ingredient I have chosen. It was highly revered by the ancient Egyptians as a symbol for the origin of life. The petals of the blue lotus (nymphaea caerulea)flower act as an intoxicant, which should help give our blend a relaxing effect as well as a sense of well-being. Blue lotus is also respected in Buddhism and often the dried flowers are steeped in water or wine to make a tea. It is also used in making martinis. We're getting close to having the recipe complete, so check back tomorrow for the next ingredient. If you want to know more about Blue Lotus, check this article on wikipedia.

Ingredient 3 - Passion Flower

I have chosen passion flower as the next ingredient for our blend. This beautiful flowering plant has long been known mainly for its sedative properties. It has been used to control anxiety, epilepsy and as a sedative for treating insomnia. The Native Americans were aware of the plant's properties, and the Europeans have used it for controlling anxiety. The flower of the plant is thought to be the most potent part of the plant, but the leaves possess all of these properties as well. Since we are making a smoking blend, we will use dried leaves (foliage) rather than the powder that is usually made from the flower. Given its known properties, passion flower should make a good addition to our blend. If you want to know more about passion flower, here is a good article. Be sure and check back tomorrow for the next ingredient.

Damiana - The Next Ingredient

Damiana (turnera diffusa) is the next ingredient I have chosen. Damiana has two properties which are important to us. One is that is it sometimes used as in treating depression, which should make it a good mood enhancer. Damiana is also an aphrodisiac - women in Mexico drink a tea made from damiana before sexual intercourse. The plant is also known to help male sexual function. From my research, I have found that damiana is a popular ingredient in herbal smoking blends, so I believe it should help produce a good effect for our smoking blend. For more information, see this article. Check back tomorrow for the next ingredient, passion flower.

The First Ingredient - Mullein Leaf

The first ingredient I have chosen is mullein leaf. Its scientific name is verbascum thaspus. From my research, I have found that mullein is often used as a filler for smoking blends. The plant has been used since ancient times, primarily for the treatment of coughs and congestion. It is supposed to be good for the lungs, which is a good thing since we are going to smoke this. It has also been known to be used to treat skin ailments, such as sores, infections and rashes. Mullein leaf is also a mild sedative, which should help give our smoking mixture a relaxing effect. It is inexpensive, which makes it ideal as a filler. I could not find a description of what mullein tastes like, but this should not matter since I plan to use natural ingredients for flavoring the finished mixture. If you want to know more about mullein leaf, here is a good article. Check back tomorrow for the next ingredient.

Searching for Ingredients

Searching for the right ingredients is the first step in our adventure. There are literally hundreds or thousands of herbs with known effects out there. How to narrow this down to a manageable list is the first question. Fortunately, the web has plenty of good sites to help with this. Search terms such as "herbal products" and "herbal incense" brings up plenty of good results on Google. I found several sites that have descriptions of a variety of herbs, with details about where they are found, what they look and taste like, and what effect they have. Several of these sites also have ready-made recipes to produce desired effects, including medicinal, mood, preventative, healthful and the more esoteric. The only problem is, many of these recipes do not include proportions, so some experimentation is going to be in order. I have selected several sites/recipes as a starting point, so my next several posts will be a discussion of these, including the ingredients and the effects they are supposed to produce. Check back often, as I plan to try to write one post a day until I achieve my goal.

In Search of the Best Herbal Smoking Blend

Since the latest Federal ban on certain herbal incense products, many of the best herbal blends have been removed from the market. My wife and I both enjoy smoking herbal blends, and there were some available legally before the ban that were really good - I mean really good. But now, none of the head shops and related businesses in our area have anything good. So I started doing some research. I started researching various herbs and discovered that there are many legal, 100% natural herbs that produce pleasing effects. My wife and I plan to experiment with these herbs, and come up with a smoking blend that will be at least as good as some of the better products that were banned. You can follow our adventure here. I plan to write about the ingredients we use and the effects they produce, and to publish the ingredients and proportions when we come up with a suitable recipe. And then we will tweak it to make it even better, or come up with blends that produce differing effects. So check back soon.