You might ask yourself what the difference is between Red Maeng Da and Green Maeng Da, or between Red Bali and Green Malay. Is the Red Bali from Bali and the Green Malay from Malaysia? The simple and somewhat surprising answer is they are all from the same plant, Mitragyna Speciosa, and they are all grown in Borneo Indonesia.
True there is Mitragyna Speciosa trees growing all around South East Asia, in Thailand, Malaysia, Burma, the Philippines, and so on but Indonesia is the sole country that exports the commodity (unless you somehow tap into a black market supplier and smuggle the product across borders with draconian jurisdictions. A foolish endeavor). It’s not unfeasible that there are phenotypic variations between populations of Mitragyna Speciosa. Across geographic expanses, as between Thailand and Borneo these variations might even warrant re-classification. However, there is as of the writing of this text no evidence that supports that there are different strains in Borneo where the good leaf is grown, it’s all kratom, and this is where we all get our leaves from. All of us, the entire market.
Ok, so the Green Maeng Da and the Green Borneo are both from the same trees. What about the various colors then? What about Green Maeng Da and Red Maeng Da? The answer is, it’s the same plant, period. The difference in colors stems from how they are cured, not genetics. Take leaves from the same tree and dry one leaf swiftly in the shade and you get a vivid green color of the end product. Treat the other leaf like you would tobacco, stacked and covered under the sun and a fermentation process sets in breaking down chlorophylls and other compounds to yield a rusty red color of Red Maeng Da. Variations of these processes are in principle responsible for the various kratom colors.
So the question remains, why the hell is there a plethora of different strain names when there are no different strains? Green this, green that? Well, there aren’t any different strains, it’s all Mitragyna Speciosa. But that does not mean that all kratom is equal. Leaves are harvested by farmers, these are aggregated and processed in bulk by various mills. What these “strain names” really represent is different aggregates of leaves. Aggregates from different farmers in different regions, from different mills at different locations with different modus operandi. The art of curing, what parts of the leaf that is used, young or old trees, what season it’s harvested in and the freshness of the finished product all play part in the quality of the end product. The names? Well, I guess that’s a marketing thing. It’s what they are called. It is misleading and should really be called something else but by now people have gotten to know their favorite leaf by these names and it would be confusing to change it.
As an aficionado of the good leaf, you know through experience that there is a difference in quality. It’s true… but it boils down to market knowledge and business ethics what you end up acquiring as an importer. Vendors who industrialize tend to look at the equation from a strict numerical horizon. Essentially they ask themselves; what if we buy our products for this price per kilo, then we get this much revenue. They take that price point, pipe it through their network, and will inevitably find someone who is willing to accommodate them. In order to do that exporters will cut corners, there is no free lunch. It is foolish to expect a Grade A product at rock bottom prices. Often that means old degraded stock and on rare occasions fillers.
We at thomthom.se started our little venture as a response to not being able to acquire good products. Over time we built relationships wide and far, we have probably sampled products from all the mills in all the regions by now, we know the actors on the stage, we know of the plantations and the people who run them and most crucially we pay well for our products. This is to the benefit of everyone. The farmers, Fariz our man on the ground, and the mills that ground the farmer’s leaves are kept happy, and we get the lush leaf powders of high quality you see in our store. And so do you. Sweet huh?
Why kratom strains are bullshit
You might ask yourself what the difference is between Red Maeng Da and Green Maeng Da, or between Red Bali and Green Malay. Is the Red Bali from Bali and the Green Malay from Malaysia? The simple and somewhat surprising answer is they are all from the same plant, Mitragyna Speciosa, and they are all grown in Borneo Indonesia.
True there is Mitragyna Speciosa trees growing all around South East Asia, in Thailand, Malaysia, Burma, the Philippines, and so on but Indonesia is the sole country that exports the commodity (unless you somehow tap into a black market supplier and smuggle the product across borders with draconian jurisdictions. A foolish endeavor). It’s not unfeasible that there are phenotypic variations between populations of Mitragyna Speciosa. Across geographic expanses, as between Thailand and Borneo these variations might even warrant re-classification. However, there is as of the writing of this text no evidence that supports that there are different strains in Borneo where the good leaf is grown, it’s all kratom, and this is where we all get our leaves from. All of us, the entire market.
Ok, so the Green Maeng Da and the Green Borneo are both from the same trees. What about the various colors then? What about Green Maeng Da and Red Maeng Da? The answer is, it’s the same plant, period. The difference in colors stems from how they are cured, not genetics. Take leaves from the same tree and dry one leaf swiftly in the shade and you get a vivid green color of the end product. Treat the other leaf like you would tobacco, stacked and covered under the sun and a fermentation process sets in breaking down chlorophylls and other compounds to yield a rusty red color of Red Maeng Da. Variations of these processes are in principle responsible for the various kratom colors.
So the question remains, why the hell is there a plethora of different strain names when there are no different strains? Green this, green that? Well, there aren’t any different strains, it’s all Mitragyna Speciosa. But that does not mean that all kratom is equal. Leaves are harvested by farmers, these are aggregated and processed in bulk by various mills. What these “strain names” really represent is different aggregates of leaves. Aggregates from different farmers in different regions, from different mills at different locations with different modus operandi. The art of curing, what parts of the leaf that is used, young or old trees, what season it’s harvested in and the freshness of the finished product all play part in the quality of the end product. The names? Well, I guess that’s a marketing thing. It’s what they are called. It is misleading and should really be called something else but by now people have gotten to know their favorite leaf by these names and it would be confusing to change it.
As an aficionado of the good leaf, you know through experience that there is a difference in quality. It’s true… but it boils down to market knowledge and business ethics what you end up acquiring as an importer. Vendors who industrialize tend to look at the equation from a strict numerical horizon. Essentially they ask themselves; what if we buy our products for this price per kilo, then we get this much revenue. They take that price point, pipe it through their network, and will inevitably find someone who is willing to accommodate them. In order to do that exporters will cut corners, there is no free lunch. It is foolish to expect a Grade A product at rock bottom prices. Often that means old degraded stock and on rare occasions fillers.
We at thomthom.se started our little venture as a response to not being able to acquire good products. Over time we built relationships wide and far, we have probably sampled products from all the mills in all the regions by now, we know the actors on the stage, we know of the plantations and the people who run them and most crucially we pay well for our products. This is to the benefit of everyone. The farmers, Fariz our man on the ground, and the mills that ground the farmer’s leaves are kept happy, and we get the lush leaf powders of high quality you see in our store. And so do you. Sweet huh?
Green Malay
Red Dragon
White Elephant