Did we get high on this tea?

January 23, 2020 2:19 PM

The parents took a trip to Hawaii. They brought back some kind of white tea in a canvas bag. They brewed it for us and we seemed to legitimately experience a moderate high. What happened? What did we drink?

The tea was reportedly bought in a semi-touristy stall on Hawaii island itself and looked like plain white tea leaves. The canvas bag it came in was unmarked, but had a sticker label on it that had been thrown away before the trip back home. We think it was probably from the Tea Hawaii Company, but we're not sure.

The reason we're trying to track it down is the high it induced. After drinking about 6 ounces of semi-strong tea, we felt a cannabis-like high but much more clear-headed. It came on immediately and lasted around 15 minutes before fading with no further effects, positive or negative.

I am not a regular tea drinker, and I'm reasonably sure I haven't heard of anything similar happening. Does anyone know what happened? Is this something that can be replicated without going back to the island?

posted by FakeFreyja to Food & Drink (9 answers total)

Maybe it had kratom in it?
posted by mekily at 2:24 PM on January 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

It might have been kava, which is very widely consumed in the Pacific Islands, and which has a mild relaxing/hallucinogenic effect.
posted by Dr. Wu at 2:31 PM on January 23, 2020 [14 favorites]

Did it taste absolutely horrible? If so, my vote is for kava.
posted by sacrifix at 3:23 PM on January 23, 2020 [7 favorites]

Kava does indeed taste horrible - like drinking a mud puddle - but it also makes your mouth slightly numb. If OP didn't notice this effect, then it's likely not kava as it is noticeable in even fairly low concentrations.
posted by ninazer0 at 4:15 PM on January 23, 2020 [3 favorites]

Kava wouldn’t be leaves, it’d be powder. I wouldn’t say it tastes terrible — it’s not strongly bitter or anything — but definitely an earthy taste, like drinking dirt.
posted by LizardBreath at 4:33 PM on January 23, 2020 [5 favorites]

If it was kava (which sounds plausible to me), you could probably get some from a health food store for a couple dollars. Look in the misc. spices and herbal teas for kava kava root.
posted by silentbicycle at 7:08 PM on January 23, 2020

You have to drink a hefty portion of kava to feel heady. Maybe 24+ oz. Dose/effect doesn't feel comparable with the tea.
posted by j_curiouser at 7:37 PM on January 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

If you're not a regular tea drinker, do you and your parents normally consume caffeine? Could this be the effects of the caffeine?

Also, I find sitting down with a cup of tea and slowly enjoying it in a peaceful, mindful state to be incredibly soothing and meditative, so maybe it was some good ol' mindfulness?
posted by carrioncomfort at 7:44 AM on January 24, 2020 [3 favorites]

It’s not traditionally Hawaiian, but is there any chance it was mate? I’ve found that it has a pretty distinctive buzz compared to coffee or tea.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 7:52 AM on January 24, 2020 [2 favorites]