Our second mix is complete. The results were somewhat disappointing. We added the skullcap and doubled the sacred lotus. The blend had a slightly more calming effect (from the skullcap), but that was about it. I am going to take a step back and do some more research. We already have 6 ingredients, and we are trying to keep the cost down, so we do not really want to keep adding ingredients. There are literally hundreds of herbs out there that have been used in smoking mixtures by the Native Americans and other societies, so I have plenty of ingredients to choose from. So check back soon for an update on our progress.

We completed our first mix today by using equal portions of each ingredient. The results were a little disappointing, with a pleasing, somewhat relaxing effect and a mild taste, but something is missing. The overall sense of well-being is not there, which is supposed to be the effect of the sacred lotus. I believe we will double the amount of sacred lotus for the next mix. Also, I did a little more research and found that skullcap, an herb that was widely used by Native Americans, would be a good addition overall. I believe we will try to obtain some skullcap locally and try it in tomorrow's mix as well. There is a local herb shop near where I live that has it. So check back tomorrow and see what progress we have made.

We received the remaining three ingredients for the Best Herbal Smoking Blend today. The mullein leaf is soft with hairs like velvet. It has a light spice smell to it. The damiana is light green and finely ground. It has a slightly minty aroma. The sacred lotus is short stems, some are actually woody. I believe we will have to get dried petals rather than the stamens, which is what we ordered. The sacred lotus has no noticeable smell. Check back tomorrow, when we should have our first mix. I'm sure we will have some adjustments to make, but we are a lot closer than we were. See you soon.

While waiting on the ingredients, I thought I would digress a little and talk about the medicinal uses of some of the ingredients in our herbal smoking blend. Passion flower, passiflora, has since ancient times been used to treat anxiety, hysteria and seizures. It is still used to treat anxiety today, and is said to better than kava, another herb used to treat anxiety. Damiana has also long been known for its relaxing qualities, and Mexican and South Americans make a tea from the leaves. As mentioned before, damiana is good for the libido and is and aphrodisiac. Blue lotus has a mild sedative property, and has since ancient times been drank as a tea or the petals of the flower were simply eaten. Blue lotus is also used today to make martinis. In addition, blue lotus has a pleasing smell and is popular in aromatherapy. Mullein leaf has many medicinal uses. It is useful as an astringent, emollient, and is also known to contain anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal properties. It has been used since ancient times as treatment for burns, fungal infections, bacterial infections and for pain relief. Check back soon, we should have the other ingredients tomorrow.

We received the Sacred Lotus and Blue Lotus from Bouncing Bear Botanicals today. Both have a not unpleasant smell, and a soft, velvety consistency. The 1 oz. bags are larger than I expected, about 4in. x 4in. So stay tuned, when we get the rest of the ingredients we will start mixing!

Ordering the Ingredients - The Vendors

I've spent the last two days researching herbal companies on the internet, and have found two that between them have all of the ingredients we need. Just to refresh your memory, the ingredients we've chosen are: Mullein Leaf Damiana Passion Flower Blue Lotus Sacred Lotus The first site I ordered from is Bouncing Bear Botanicals. They have a large site with a good selection of herbs, and a good description of each one in its listing. They tend to deal in larger quantities, but I was able to find the Blue Lotus and Sacred Lotus in a 1 oz. (28 grams) size. The search engine on the site is very good, so use it to look for the ingredients you want. The next site I ordered from is Azure Green. They have what they call 1618 Gold 1 oz. packs of a huge variety of herbs. Their search engine also works well. I ordered the rest of the ingredients from this site in 1 oz. packs. Well, you can order the ingredients now, and go along as we experiment with proportions, or you can wait until we have a final mix. Stay tuned for an update when we receive our ingredients.

Ordering the Ingredients

Now that all of our ingredients have been selected, what's next? Well, we here need to get the ingredients ordered. You can order them, but may want to wait until we've experimented with proportions before buying them - this could save you quite a bit of money. As for us, I've spent the last day or so researching sources for ingredients and will probably decide on vendors and place an order today. I'll keep you posted tommorrow where to find the vendors and what to order.