I can't tell the differences between varities

[The_Molly_Lama]

Hello everyone.

I'm still new to using kratom. it's been less than 3 weeks now, but I have tried 7 different varieties and have taken notes on each one. How much I ingested, how long it took to feel something, whether it relieved my pain, etc.

And I just cannot tell the nuances that everyone is talking about. Some vendors list some strains as 'sparkling' or 'invigorating', etc. I just don't get it. Is everyone that sensitive that they can claim a variety is 'sparkling'?? Why can't I notice??

FWIW, I'm taking 3 packed tsp in the a.m. and this dose I can feel it sometimes hit me like I just took 2 15mg oxy's. I'd been on pain mgmt for many years, but got off of everything last fall, after a round of Suboxone... I just happened to be reading one day, somewhere online, and someone mentioned 'kratom' and I decided to investigate and give it a go....

[BallzDeep9]

Hi The_Molly_Lama, welcome to MM Forum! OK one thing, is your "honeymoon phase" with kratom. Most people feel it pretty strong at first and the finer points of different strains, will come with more experience.

So it sounds like it's working for you? Great. After 3 weeks you should know if you wanna enjoy kratom long-term or not .. I knew after about the 3rd day. I then noticed there's like 100's of vendors who all appear to be selling the same thing at different prices ? obviously a Kilo is your best deal BUT - look to buy Split Kilos. 4 different strains. Do that ten times - collect a few samples - pretty soon you got a nice selection of leaf ... and you'll get to know it better.

Of course... there's always The Hype from vendors and their friends trying to SELL stuff!! Most IS good average kratom. Some is a little better than others.

[Azrael]

I always chuckle when I read descriptions like "sparkling" etc. There are invigorating strains. But I've yet to have a sparkling one. A salesman is a salesman, regardless of whether they're trying to sell cars or trying to sell kratom. It's all about grabbing some one's attn long enough to make them wonder... Hmmm Do "I" like sparkling kratom? Hmmm, Yes, I think I do like "sparkling" kratom. Look for the customer reviews, use google, search on youtube, reddit, mewe, discord, ask around, buy samples, and find what works for you. This plant effects everybody differently. You could have 5 people take the same dose of the same variety and get 5 different answers about how it effected them.

[g-otis]

Hi Molly. I’m fairly new to this botanical too. When I started I felt like you, and even a little misled because I was never getting the f/x that were advertised. After searching Reddit, reading info posted by seemingly experienced users, I learned a lot more of which strain that I was looking for. The past couple months I’ve been sampling and experimenting to find what I liked and disliked. Trial and error. The differences are subtle to me, but every now and then I’ll find a strain that knocks my socks off (or a bad dysphoric strain) and make a note. Lately, I’m experimenting with blends, which is actually kind of cool. I prefer reds for the analgesic and sedative properties, mixed with a a little bit of an energetic green strain like Green Malay. I make tea and have several bottles of my mad science projects in the fridge.
Anyway, good luck finding your perfect leaf. I’m getting there.

[e_poison]

Hey Molly, it will take a while to start being able to figure out the nuances of each strain, but this will come with experience. Sometimes the effects go unnoticed because you're not quite sure what you're expecting to feel yet. It's definitely not like taking a prescription painkiller or drinking alcohol where the effects are very pronounced. Kratom is normally very subtle, however, there are some very euphoric/relaxing strains which are very pronounced in their effects. Finding these kind of strains and what works for you will take some trial and error.

Sometimes you'll just be sitting there 30 minutes after ingesting and be like, "Oh, I feel GREAT" or "Wow, I'm really relaxed" or "Oh hey, I'm not in pain anymore". That's the kratom at work, handling it's business under the radar. Somebody told me this when I first started, and I didn't quite understand what he meant by subtle at first, but it all makes perfect sense now.

[l5s1bgon]

For me the most noticeable differences are on the energy spectrum and they can vary hugely in that regard. Some feel like strong coffee/caffeine, whereas others don't affect my energy status at all. I'm weird though, because strains that can make other people "sleepy" or "sedated" don't seem to do that to me even if I take a bigger dose. But I'm super sensitive to the faster strains and I have to dose them much lower or mix them with slower strains. Also balance, when you find that perfect balance it's like hallelujah lol. I take the leaf for pain, and it can differ a lot in analgesic qualities too. It's actually amazing how much one batch or "strain" can differ from the next to me, this is what keeps it really interesting and keeps me buying it regularly and visiting these forums as much as I can lol.

[The_Molly_Lama]

Thanks for all of the replies, everyone! Sorry it took me a few days to get back here.

I'm still a little confused about one thing: I read that there is no red vein, no white vein, no green vein, etc., but that these are just labels used to differentiate how/when/where a batch was dried. If this is so, how can people say the 'red' ones are better for pain? Is it all just a matter of opinion?

I sure wish kratom wasn't so darn elusive when it comes to batches / colors / names / effects. I just wish they didn't affect each person differently. This makes it so darn hard to buy a batch and know what it can do for me! Does that make sense?

On a side note, I bought some capsules I could fill, and this turned out to be a long drawn out messy affair. I don't have one of those neat capsule filling trays. So I was doing it by hand. :::YAWN::: I found it's much easier to toss n' wash. I don't know if I will, but I'm still considering getting one of those capsule filling trays from ebay since I have over 200 empty capsules now. It took 4 capsules, (size 00) to make 1 tsp, and I took 16 of them this a.m. and felt awesome for about 5 hours!! That was NICE! Felt like I'd taken 2 15mg oxys. Got that nice warm body feeling, that buzz... that is what I'm after, after all. This was the first time I EVER consumed 4 tsp at one time. I'm going back down to 3 tomorrow.

[Stimie]

I think one of the best things you can do is to try different varieties and see what works best for you.

I use it for pain and after some experimentation have decided to stick with reds because they have worked the best for me.

[WotAnAtti2d]

I can remember when there were like, eight different strains that you could order. Now there's about a zillion. Did that many new strains pop up over several years? Probably not, but vendors love creative marketing, especially when it sells more kratom.