The first thing that you must understand is that not all Kratom leaves from the Mitragyna Speciosa plant are created equal. There are several factors that determine how potent each leaf is. Some of the more important factors are the maturity of the tree, the maturity of the leaf, growing conditions and time of year. We will discuss each of these in more detail as we go along.
Mature Kratom leaves grow and thrive only in Southeast Asia on mature trees. They are found in those Country’s rainforests and jungles. The trees are usually found to be growing on large blocks of non-privately owned land. These trees have been around for hundreds or even thousands of years.
They grow to heights of up to 90 feet tall or 20 to 30 meters. These tropical evergreen trees were first discovered by the Western world, in the rainforests of Southern Thailand by Pieter Korth, a Dutch Botanist/Explorer.
Kratom plants grown in pots by botanical stores or backyard hobby types outside of Southeast Asia DO NOT and will likely NEVER have the maturity to contain the number of active alkaloids that we are looking for. So if you live in North America for example, forget about trying to grow your own. Save your money and spend it on some REAL Kratom.
The Kratom leaves grow to approximately 7 inches long and about 4 inches wide. They are naturally elliptical in shape. The leaves are constantly shedding and being regrown. This process can be increased depending on the time of the year in the country where they are growing, such as the monsoon or rainy season.
After the drying process, they are either processed into crushed Kratom leaves or milled into a fine powder. Some prefer them crushed to be used in a tea. Kratom powder is the most common form and offers many different options for consumption. For example, it can be easily put into a capsule or used in a fruit smoothie.
A mature leaf will contain between 25 and 40 active alkaloids. The number of alkaloids and the percentages of each one can change over time with age and seasonal changes. It is the synergy of all these alkaloids working together which affects the potency and your experience.
A large percentage of the Mitragyna Speciosa on the market comes out of Indonesia. We know that many in their country look at all of those Kratom trees and just see dollar bills hanging on them. As a result, many will gather up inferior quality fallen leaves from the ground which have already started to decompose or literally strip the branches of ALL the leaves instead of selectively picking only the mature ones. They also tend to harvest leaves from the smaller and easier to reach young immature trees. All of this causes you to get a much weaker or “watered down” Kratom with little to no active alkaloids.
The Kratom leaves, in general, can contain different colored veins and stems depending on the growing conditions and age of the leaf. This can also be affected by the region that they come from and the time of the year it is harvested. Remember plants, as well as Kratom trees, are natural and therefore subject to variations in their appearance.
Because of this, the leaves may have green, red, or white stems and veins. For mostly marketing purposes, many vendors have given these differences some rather exotic names like Cherry Bomb, Fire and Ice, Mystic Red, or Ultra Enhanced Indo (enhanced with what?...some kind of synthetic chemical booster?). Assuming that they have not added anything artificial to it, they are ALL Kratom. Unfortunately, there have been very few scientifically proven studies to determine if there are any real differences in these various strains.
Does it really matter to you whether the veins or stems of the leaves are red or green? OR…is it more important that they contain the 25 to 40 active alkaloids and the synergistic effects that they can provide?
Online Kratom vendors like Saveonkratom.com simply maintain the exact same high-quality standards for the Kratom leaves regardless of where it comes from. Please tell us about your own experiences. Do you have a favorite color or strain?