How to Make Kratom Tea: My 3 Favorite Recipes

Over the past few years, I have prepared many kratom teas, some as hot infusions, others as cold infusions, and even the rare sun tea. Additionally, you can add a wide variety of sweeteners and potentiators to any type of tea to enhance the overall experience regarding taste and/or strength. The possibilities are nearly limitless.

In this post, I’m going to show you step-by-step how to prepare the three types of kratom teas mentioned above (cold infusion, hot infusion, and sun tea) based on the advice from true professionals and authors. I’ll also provide you with various sweeteners and potentiators to improve your tea’s taste. By the end of the post, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a professional yourself. 

If you already use kratom powder via the toss and wash, you’ll want double the quantity for kratom tea. The same goes for crushed leaves. For example, if you normally use 4 grams of powder via the toss and wash, use 8 grams of powder or crushed leaves for kratom tea.

By the way, you might prefer using kratom via the toss and wash method (taking raw powder) vs preparing a tea, as it's more convenient and cost effective. Check out this post I wrote called, "Is Kratom Tea Stronger Than Powder? A Clear & Direct Answer" to learn more.

If you’ve never used kratom before, and you want to make kratom tea, my suggested starting dose is 4 grams of powder or crushed leaves, and work your way up from there until you obtain your desired results.

Just remember, don’t take kratom twice in the same day if you’re a new user, as doing so significantly increases your chances of experiencing side effects like nausea. 

When you think of a regular kratom tea, the picture that comes to mind of a steamy hot beverage is known as a hot infusion. The heat in the water helps extract kratom’s alkaloids from the powder into the water. Hence, kratom teas are a type of kratom extraction, but I digress.

According to Thomas Easley and Steven Horne in their book The Modern Herbal Dispensatory, hot infusions are “best for leaves and flowers whose properties, including vitamins and volatile oils, are easily released into water.” Kratom happens to be such an herb.

What you’ll need:

1. Food scale
2. Pot to boil water
3. Container to steep kratom
4. Strainer
5. Kratom powder or crushed leaves
6. Optional: coffee filter, potentiator, & sweetener

To make a kratom hot infusion beverage, follow the instructions below.

1. Bring 2 cups of the most purified water you can get to a boiling point. Do not boil kratom.

There is much debate online regarding the topic of boiling kratom, as extreme heat is said to destroy the alkaloids. However, I would rather play it safe and not boil kratom. Plus, I follow the instructions provided by professional herbalists.

2. Pour the boiling water into a container with kratom powder or crushed leaves.

The steeping time is going to depend on what form the kratom is in, and how potent you want the end result to be.

3. Steep kratom powder for 15 minutes and crushed kratom leaves for 30 minutes. However, the longer you steep the tea, the more potent it will be.

4. Use a strainer to filter the powder or crushed leaves. (coffee filters help to filter kratom powder).

5. Optional: Add a sweetener or potentiator and enjoy.

Now that you’ve officially learned how to make a steamy hot kratom tea, the next step is to learn how to store it correctly, as failing to properly store kratom tea for later use can have negative consequences on your health.

Check out this post I wrote called, “How Long Does Kratom Tea Last In The Fridge: Safety First,” to protect your health. 

Cold infusions are best for herbs and plants with volatile constituents, or constituents which are easily damaged by heat. Kratom alkaloids are only damaged when they are boiled. However, cold infusions are another great way to make kratom tea.

A cold infusion is basically the same thing as a hot infusion, but with the exclusion of heat. Since we're not using heat for this extraction process, kratom will have to be steeped for a much longer period.

Tip: Make your cold infusion tea at night so it will be ready to go in the morning, as the process of steeping is much longer than a hot infusion.

What you’ll need:

• Food scale
• Container to steep kratom
• Strainer
• Kratom powder or crushed leaves
• Optional: coffee filter, potentiator, sweetener, or ice

The steps are as follows:

1. Pour 2 cups of the most purified water you can get into a container with kratom powder or crushed leaves. No lid is necessary.
2. Let the powder steep for 8-12 hours, and crushed leaves for 16-20.
3. Filter the powder or crushed leaves (coffee filters help to filter kratom powder).
4. Optional: Add a sweetener, potentiator, and/or ice and enjoy

A solar infusion is very similar to a cold infusion. The only difference is the steeping process and its duration. Also, as the name implies, a solar infusion must be steeped in the sun, as sunlight breaks down the alkaloids in the powder or crushed leaves and releases them into the water.

What you’ll need:

• Food scale
• Glass container to steep kratom
• Strainer
• Kratom powder or crushed leaves
• Optional: coffee filter, sweetener, potentiator, or ice

Here is the step-by-step process.

1. Pour 2 cups of the most purified water you can get into a transparent glass container with kratom powder or crushed leaves.
2. Place the container with powder in the sun for 5-6 hours, or 10-12 hours if you’re using crushed leaves.
3. Filter the powder or crushed leaves (coffee filters help to filter kratom powder).
4. Optional: Add a sweetener, potentiator, and/or ice and enjoy

It’s very possible to make kratom tea with crushed leaves. The primary difference is the steeping time.

Crushed leaves are going to require a longer steeping time than kratom powder, as powder will release alkaloids faster during the extraction process. However, did you know you can use a coffee grinder to ground crushed leaves into powder? Now, why in the world would you want to do that? I’m glad you asked.

Crushed leaves have less surface area exposed to elements like heat, sunlight, oxygen, and humidity. Therefore, they retain their potency better than kratom powder. It’s not a huge difference, but it’s noticeable.

Hence, by grinding crushed leaves into powder, you can produce a slightly more potent tea. If you don’t want to go through the hassle, then don’t sweat it. As I mentioned before, it’s not a huge difference. Regular crushed leaves will do just fine.

Here are the steeping times for crushed leaves regarding the different types of teas (assuming you didn’t grind the crushed leaves into a powder):

• Hot infusions: 30 minutes
• Cold Infusions: 16-20 hours (for cold infusions I do recommend grinding the leaves into a powder
• Sun Tea: 10-12 hours

You can use various natural substances to potentiate and get the most out of your kratom tea. The most common of these potentiators includes:

• Magnesium
• Cayenne Pepper
• Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)

Feel free to use one or more of these potentiators with your tea. However, you must learn to use them correctly. Allow me to enlighten you. 

Magnesium only functions properly if you use it consistently. Don’t expect to feel a difference when using it for the first time. It must be used on a daily basis. Magnesium helps to reduce your kratom tolerance. Therefore, you need less kratom to obtain the same results. 

Keep in mind magnesium is a laxative! So, plan accordingly. 

ACV helps your body absorb kratom’s alkaloids, thus producing a more potent result. ACV’s flavor is even more harsh than kratom. Therefore, a sweetener is highly encouraged.

Add 1 teaspoon (at most) to your already prepared tea.

Cayenne Pepper, like ACV, helps your body with alkaloids absorption, thus producing stronger results.

For the best outcome, add one teaspoon of cayenne pepper to your already prepared tea and stir well. 

Let’s be honest. Kratom tea isn’t the best tasting tea out there, which is why you should add sweeteners to improve its taste. The sweetener is completely optional, and is added once the kratom powder or crushed leaves are filtered.

My two favorite sweeteners are honey, specifically Sandt’s Buckwheat Honey as it compliments kratom’s earthy taste very well, and raw sugar, like Wholesome Organic Raw Cane Turbinado Sugar. You can find both on Amazon.

Keep in mind, no sweetener will completely mask the taste of kratom. Both honey and sugar will only reduce its bitter flavor. 

Honey packs more calories per gram than raw sugar. However, it also contains more antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. It’s also sweeter than sugar! Hence, expect it to mask kratom’s bitter flavor better than sugar.

Sandt’s Buckwheat Honey is a bit more on the pricey side, but it’s well worth it! I use it for all types of teas, and it lasts me a while, as it comes in a two pound bottle, which you can find here. I am not affiliated with Sandt’s Honey.  

Raw sugar is not unprocessed and contains the same amount of calories as white sugar. However, compared to white granulated sugar, raw sugar retains some of its molasses and a wide range of minerals. You can find Wholesome Raw Sugar on Amazon by clicking the link here. Once again, I am not affiliated with this product.

Do you think it’s too much work to prepare kratom tea everyday? I don’t blame you. You might be better off using pills rather than kratom tea. Check out this post I wrote called, “Kratom Tea vs Pills: The Final Verdict,” to learn whether pills are right for you.