Disclaimer: Psilocybin is a largely illegal substance, and we do not encourage or condone its use where it is against the law. However, we accept that illicit drug use occurs and believe that offering responsible harm reduction information is imperative to keeping people safe. For that reason, this document is designed to enhance the safety of those who decide to use mushrooms and other psilocybin-containing substances.
This article has been medically reviewed by Katrina Oliveros, MSN-ED, BSN
There are many unique ways to unlock the magic of psilocybin mushrooms, and one of the most enticing, yet least studied, among users today is what’s known as lemon tekking.
While clinical science has yet to weigh in, lemon tekking shrooms has become a word-of-mouth phenomenon anecdotally reported to concentrate the average shrooms’ psychedelic effects for a faster-acting, more intense experience. The secret ingredient?
Citrus juice.
In the video above, founder of Third Wave, Paul F. Austin, covers the basics of lemon tekking along with a step by step guide on how to lemon tek mushrooms.
For more important guidelines, continue reading the article below where we’ll run through 11 important things to know about lemon tekking, including how it works and who it’s for, so you can decide whether or not the lemon tek method makes sense for your psychedelic healing process.
What Is Lemon Tekking with Magic Mushrooms?
Lemon tekking is a method of preparing psilocybin mushrooms for consumption by soaking them in lemon juice or another citrus juice in advance. Reportedly, the citric acids cause a chemical reaction that breaks down and partially digests the dried shrooms for you, resulting in a shorter but more pronounced psychedelic experience once ingested.
1. Does Lemon Tekking Enhance the Psychedelic Experience?
Yes. Though not for everyone, lemon tekking is recommended by many experienced psychonauts as a natural way to both accelerate and concentrate the onset of psilocybin’s consciousness-expanding effects.
With a brief citric acid soak in advance, users can eliminate the one- to two-hour delay between taking magic mushrooms and feeling their impact while also cutting down on nausea that often precedes the experience.
According to user accounts, a lemon tek experience involves less bodily and more heady sensations, such as fractal visuals and spiritual profundity, reducing physical exhaustion in the aftermath.
Most strikingly, it can feel up to two to three times stronger than if you’d taken the same weight of un-tekked mushrooms, with a jarringly abrupt come-up or onset of effects.
2. How Does Lemon Tek Work?
How lemon tekking achieves these results is still subject to debate. We know for sure that lemon and other citrus juices have a pH similar to that of stomach acid – 2 to 2.6 compared to 1.5 to 3.5 – and that dephosphorylation of the shrooms’ enzymes increases under such acidic conditions.
The theory is that these juices break down psychedelic mushrooms so your digestive system doesn’t have to, exposing and then converting the readily-available psilocybin into psilocin, the prodrug responsible for the coveted psychoactive effects. Both these compounds reside naturally in the fungi’s cell walls, which are reinforced with chitin rather than cellulose like plant cells, making them especially difficult for our bodies to break down otherwise.
The mechanical breakdown of dried psilocybin mushrooms into a grounded powder (which mimics chewing) in addition to soaking in lemon juice both aid in breaking down the chitinous cell wall.
One other explanation for lemon tekking’s enhanced effects, advanced by Australian mycologist Caine Barlow, is that the antioxidant properties of vitamin C protect the psilocin from oxidizing, so the juices can essentially release this crucial compound without using it up.
3. What Are the Benefits of Lemon Tekking with Psilocybin?
Besides intensifying the psilocybin experience, the primary advantages of lemon tekking over consuming raw mushrooms include:
- a decrease in nausea associated with consuming mushrooms
- a faster onset of the effects’
- a shorter overall duration of the experience
- less exhaustion during and after the experience because your body has less work to do when breaking down the raw compounds of mushrooms.
However, not everyone may agree that a faster journey is always better. It’s a matter of preference, timing, and experience whether you’d like a more efficient, concentrated experience or one with the more standard, drawn-out come-up and come-down, with waves of varying intensity along the way.
4. How Long Will It Take for Effects to Kick in if I Lemon Tek?
Most people who lemon tek will start to notice the citrus-soaked mushrooms’ medicinal psychedelic effects within 10-45 minutes and have an experience lasting four to six hours total. You can compare that against the extended-release of dried shrooms taking 30-90 minutes to kick in and lasting six to eight hours total. The more immediate effects, shorter duration, and fewer waves of intensity are characteristic of the lemon tek method of shrooming.
5. Which Shrooms Are Best for Lemon Tekking?
Of course, how pronounced and persistent these effects are will depend on the type and amount of psilocybin mushrooms used. As one of the most widely circulated indoor strains, Psilocybin cubensis is probably the most common magic mushroom species to lemon tek. However, the magic truffles of other species like Psilocybe tampensis and Psilocybe mexicana are also readily available to find and work just as well.
On the other hand, lemon tekking mushrooms is not recommended for use with the more potent shroom varieties, including both fresh mushrooms found outdoors in the wild, like P. azurescens, and those cultivated indoors, like the Penis Envy strain of P. cubensis. Most importantly, you should have a good idea of how strong the magic mushrooms are under normal conditions before lemon tekking, and start with roughly half to one-third of what you’d usually ingest.
Not sure where to source your shrooms? You could always take it personally with Third Wave’s Mushroom Grow Kit, which provides all the tools and guidance one needs to cultivate your own medicine without going through the trouble of becoming an expert mycologist.
6. Is Lemon Tekking for Everyone?
No. Lemon tekking mushrooms is mainly recommended for those with some psilocybin experiences behind them, who’d like a more economical, quicker, and stronger mushroom trip. The more intense experience may be too abrupt for first-timers, or even relatively new users, to adjust to and integrate successfully.
It could also be helpful for psychonauts with sensitive stomachs, as it tends to eliminate or at least reduce nausea that typically accompanies the shroom experience’s outset. Some people even have a genetic mutation causing them to lack chitinase, the enzyme responsible for breaking down chitin in the fungi’s cell walls, making lemon tekking potentially essential to have a comfortable psilocybin experience.
7. Can I Lemon Tek When Microdosing Psilocybin?
It’s not recommended. Whereas lemon tekking is supposed to concentrate the psilocybin experience, microdosing draws it out, extracting benefits from a near-subconscious dose, so trying to combine these methods would put you at cross-purposes.
Generally, if a faster or more intense experience isn’t what you’re looking for, lemon tekking is probably the wrong way to go, at least right now. Instead, try our Microdosing Course and learn how psychedelics can help level up your life without a full-scale, macrodose journey. We’ll help you develop a customized, step-by-step process to change habits, enhance creativity, and optimize performance using the latest research from cutting-edge scientists and doctors.
8. What Dosage Levels Should I Consume?
For lemon tekking you’ll want to consume about half of your usual dose.
Note from point 7 above, lemon tekking is not recommended if you intend to microdose.
Explore the different dosage levels for the safe use of psilocybin mushrooms, including a mini-dose, museum dose, moderate dose, and macrodose in the video below:
How To Safely Dose Psilocybin Mushrooms from Third Wave on Vimeo.
9. Lemon Tek Instructions: Here’s How to Lemon Tek
If, after reading all that, you’ve decided lemon tekking is for you, let’s run through the practical instructions, like how to prepare and how long to soak your mushrooms.
To lemon tek, you will need these supplies:
- Psilocybin mushrooms, approximately half your usual dose
- 1-2 lemons, or the equivalent of fresh lemon juice
- A clean cannabis or coffee grinder
- Cheesecloth or a coffee filter (optional)
- A shot glass or cocktail shaker
- Scale
Then follow these steps:
- Grind the mushrooms into a fine powder, then carefully pour into the shot glass or cocktail shaker.
- Weigh the mushroom powder on a scale to ensure your dose is correct.
- Squeeze the lemon or other citrus juice over the powder until completely covered.
- Let the mushroom powder and lemon juice concoction sit for 15-20 minutes, stirring or shaking intermittently.
- Optional: strain to remove bits of dried mushroom material and squeeze out all their juice through a cheesecloth or coffee filter. This step may help reduce nausea.
- Drink the concoction as a shot.
10. Can I Use Other Citrus Fruits, or Should It Only Be Lemon Juice?
Yes, but not all other citrus fruits will suffice.
Lime juice will achieve basically the same effects as lemons, having a similar pH level in the 2-2.6 range. The juice of oranges or pineapples, on the other hand, won’t work as well because their pH in the 3.2-4.3 range exceeds that of stomach acid, which tops out at around 3.5.
As a rule, the liquid component must have a pH less than this to work reliably for lemon tekking. Thus, there are user reports of successfully employing other alternatives for the solution like pomegranate juice, balsamic vinegar, and cheap red wine.
11. Can I Lemon Tek and Drink the Mushrooms as a Tea or Other Concoction?
Yes. Making mushroom tea is another popular way of ingesting magic mushrooms that’s completely compatible with lemon tekking. Best of all, both tend to reduce nausea, so pairing them up can only bode well for your constitution.
To pair these preparations, repeat steps one through four as outlined above, then add the strained lemon tek to the hot tea of your choice. If you’d prefer iced, you can add cold water and a sweetener like honey to mix your own psilocybin lemonade.
Lemon Tek Testimonials: Here’s What People Are Saying
Co-author of The Psilocybin Mushroom Bible Dr. K Mandrake sums up how little we really conclusively know about lemon tekking:
“All of the knowledge on lemon tek is purely theoretical, based on the knowledge that psilocybin dephosphorylation is increased under acidic conditions combined with users generally reporting a quicker onset when using the Tek. It’s a fairly reasonable hypothesis, but hasn’t really been tested properly as far as I’m aware.”
So the scientific jury is still out on this one, as long as the current legal restrictions on psilocybin’s use and study persist. Therefore, to have the last word, here are some relevant firsthand quotes excerpted from this thread about lemon tekking on the Shroomery message boards, separated by username.
Bigfeely123:
“In my experience, the lemon tek makes the trip a lot more intense. It hits you waaaay faster and a lot harder but doesn’t last quite as long…I don’t know by how much it will multiply the dosage but it definitely makes it a lot stronger. If your normal dose is one gram of pan cyans then I really wouldn’t recommend lemon tekking one gram. Cut the dosage in half or even thirds if you want to play it safe. Better safe than sorry!”
Feelthejourney666:
“Personally i like lemon tek, I think it’s more economical because you can get more out of less, but I have also had very bad times lemon tekking a full 3.5 grams, the peak of it felt like I was stuck in dmt hyperspace essentially, parallel realities spawning randomly every time I had a new thought.”
P.Zappatecorum:
“I do lemon tea every time, the peak is indeed a little more intense, and the trip is shorter. Mostly it’s just a matter of adjustment to the very rapid onset of psychedelia. I personally don’t see any reason to reduce the dose from what you normally take, just make sure you’re lying down and listening to some good tunes because when it hits you, you will be tripping balls and you won’t have any time to ease into it. I suppose if you’re wanting to walk around and be social then lemon tek is a bad idea, but it’s actually great for really intense but shorter and more manageable shamanic sessions and once you master your fear the intense come on can give you a nice rush of euphoria. High doses with lemon tek can almost feel like a roll in terms of euphoria.”
Triple Helix:
“I lemon tekd 2.5 grams of cubensis for my first time and was catapulted into an insane reality. Like feelthejourney said, I was humbled by the mushrooms to say the least. One second everything seemed a little off…. next second I have no concept of time, space, or who I am. It was incomprehensible, but for that reason, also incredible.”
LogicaL Chaos:
“My new preference is a pseudo-lemon tek, i.e. i use a tropical fruit juice blend, put it in a shot glass, add some powdered shrooms, let soak for a couple minutes then shoot the shot back, repeat until my shroom powder is used up.”
I am Interested in being a Coach/ Facilitator for assisting others in the Psychedelic experience as the Second Phase of My Healing Career! 30 years of Patient Lab Work and Registered Nursing in the Clinical setting left me Eager to Bring together Mind and Body Healing as Western Medicine is a Failed and Crude Tool in Regards to Mental health and wholeness in today’s setting.
There I mix the mushroom powder with the lemon juice and have it ready how long can it be stored does it continue to decompose till there’s nothing left soon or can it be stored for a little while?
Great question Lonnie. I researched this a bit and found a potential answer from Shroomery.org.
” I would say a batch of lemon tek would last overnight at room temp or a week in the fridge. Maybe it would be possible to freeze it in an ice cube tray. You could also add preservatives to the lemon juice (ascorbic acid or tocopherol). Or use a different infusion liquid that would be more robust; maybe citric acid mixed into distilled water.”
https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/25408734
Hope this helps!
It helped me. Thanks, I wasn’t sure that I can freeze lemon trekked solution. Now I can safely consume my freezed lemon tek tomorrow.
I am an RN working on a busy cardiac telemetry unit. This job has spiraled my depression and anxiety to an unmanageable and miserable level. My drug of choice would be opiates but can’t get them. Mushrooms have been good for me and my husband and I are interested in producing our own. I’m so in need of relief over this depression and anxiety. I’m hoping shrooms might help because antidepressants, bentos, and Aderall are not working.
Hi Laura,
Thank you for sharing 🙏 We hope you find the relief you’re looking for. If you’re interested in growing mushrooms at home, you might consider our Mushroom Grow Kit and course.👉 https://thethirdwave.co/sp/mushroom-grow-kit/
I’m curious whether anyone has prepared the lemon tek mixture multiple days in advance, and whether this affects the psychoactive properties.
That was my question on how long does the women mushroom mixture last stored in the refrigerator I haven’t got an answer yet
If you want the most beneficial method that’s backed by research for depression, please look up the protocol used by Dr. Matt Johnson at Johns Hopkins. Hope that’s helpful.
Just commenting because I found Feelthejourney666’s comment hysterical. This seems pretty accurate. I accidentally took around 4g without even lemon tekking and basically had silent conversations with my friends for about 6 hours. Can’t imagine the DMT hyperspace. Good news is you’re completely fine, and now we know not to lemon tek 3.5g. Thank you for your service.
There I mix the mushroom powder with the lemon juice and have it ready how long can it be stored does it continue to decompose till there’s nothing left soon or can it be stored for a little while?
Could you dehydrate the tekked mushroom powder again and store for future use or to process with cacao?
Thanks for the goof overview. You are right to point out clearly that all this so far is anecdotal.
Two small points, best to get out there before this spreads too far.
1) Chitin is pronounced “ky-tin” in the same way that chemistry is “kem-is-try”. (See Wikipedia. This is a common term in biology.)
2) “The theory is that these juices break… ” This isn’t a theory; this is a HYPOTHESIS.
Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much for your feedback. We’ll update this article with your notes. Much gratitude.
Good! 🙂
Magic mushrooms, also known as psilocybin mushrooms, have been used for thousands of years in rituals and spiritual practices. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in their potential therapeutic benefits. Studies have shown that magic mushrooms can be effective in treating a variety of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, and addiction.
polka dot shroom bar
Is there a way to get an extended journey with the lemon tek? I have had very good experiences with lemon tek, but they seem too short. It seems the last experience was beginning to end before I was able to fully appreciate the unique thoughts and perspectives I was beginning to have. Very soon after the peak I felt like I had been short-changed, and that I wanted/needed more time to absorb the experience. It isn’t the euphoria or escape I’m after, as I use it as plant medicine for processing grief and some issues related to previous trauma. But it felt like I was coming down before I had time to fully let myself go into the effects.
Could I bump after an hour or two? Combine plain ingestion with lemon tek?
I did 3.5g of golden mammoths via lemon tek and was coming down to close to normal 2 – 2.5h after taking the tek.
Typically lemon tekking can expedite the journey. It has to do with how it breaks down the psilocybin mushroom’s “chitin” and therefore makes it more easily digestible (and therefore faster). Every person is different (metabolism, how frequently they consume psilocybin mushrooms, taking it on an empty or full stomach, etc.). It also depends on the type of strain/variety you consumed (some are stronger/weaker than others). We highly recommend joining our community and sharing your question: https://community.thethirdwave.co/spaces/11026424/feed
Does it work if you don’t grind them? I tried it without the grinding and it didn’t seem any different. I don;t have a grinder so I’m wondering how I can do this.
Hi Molly – Ground vs whole mushroom shouldn’t make a difference. Might just need to let it soak in lemon juice a little longer if it’s whole so the citric acid has enough time to break down the chitin (the compound that makes psilocybin mushrooms hard to digest).
Hello!
Question: can you freeze the lemon tekk concoction for storing, or does it kill the psilocybin in the shrooms?
Hi Vincent – It should be okay as long as it’s stored in freezer in an airtight container.