UPDATE 10-15-13:
I have new information that changes a few things about the article below. It comes from a knowledgeable source, so is probably true. It appears that the original Maeng Da may not actually be a horned leaf strain. While there are horned leaf varietals out there, and they do tend to be potent, it seems that calling them Maeng Da is actually a later addition.
You've all probably seen companies selling something called "Maeng Da" kratom. Supposedly translated to mean "Pimps grade", it's often marketed as the top of the line kratom strain. So is the hype accurate? Is the Maeng Da sold by various companies all the same? It turns out to be an interesting story.
Bear in mind that everything I'm about to say is based on conversations with growers and suppliers and is the truth as far as I know. Having said that, if anyone has any additional information that they wish to share, please let me know and I'll update the post.
So here's the skinny: Maeng Da, that is real Maeng Da, the original Maeng Da, all comes from one place. There is a plantation in Indonesia that claims to be the "World's first legal kratom plantation" (which is kind of silly but I'll save that for later). This plantation supplies a few proprietary strains of kratom, the two most famous being Maeng Da and Bali.
Real Maeng Da is often marketed as "Genetically grown", which is a weird thing to say. Having a good understanding of the subject of biotech, I know for a fact that nobody is genetically engineering kratom, so it definitely isn't "Genetically engineered" kratom, but what does "Genetically grown" mean then?
I spoke to a kratom farmer about what makes Maeng Da different. There are a few pieces to the puzzle. First off, I'm told Maeng Da originates as a Thai strain of kratom (Mitragyna speciosa), from mature green vein trees.
Now comes the "genetically grown" part. What is this mysterious high tech process? Well, it turns out to be the ancient art of grafting. Apparently, there is something magical in this grafting process that creates an exceptionally potent plant, perhaps combining traits from two different strains, or perhaps speeding the maturation process and increasing the alkaloids. From what I've been told, if you try and plant seeds from this grafted plant, it will only retain the partial genetics, and so it's necessary to graft a new tree for every true Maeng Da tree.
So what about all these other Maeng Da strains? As you can imagine, some companies just copied the name Maeng Da haphazardly, but reputable companies usually are referring to a horned leaf variety. For instance, Mu Synergetics sells 3 types of Maeng Da. There is the True Maeng Da (aka genetically grown / grafted), and then two others which are other rare horned leaf varietals, the wild Malaysian and the Deveined red vein Maeng Da.
The most recent batch of True Maeng Da that I purchased from Mu Synergetics boasted a mitragynine content of about 2.6 percent - which is literally the highest I've ever seen, so although the strain is expensive, it is really something unique and different. Both energizing and euphoric, often described as being very "clean", True Maeng Da is truly unique. Although the horned vein kratom also tends to be potent, the "genetically grown" original stuff is still something special and unique (and is relatively scarce on the market).
I have new information that changes a few things about the article below. It comes from a knowledgeable source, so is probably true. It appears that the original Maeng Da may not actually be a horned leaf strain. While there are horned leaf varietals out there, and they do tend to be potent, it seems that calling them Maeng Da is actually a later addition.
You've all probably seen companies selling something called "Maeng Da" kratom. Supposedly translated to mean "Pimps grade", it's often marketed as the top of the line kratom strain. So is the hype accurate? Is the Maeng Da sold by various companies all the same? It turns out to be an interesting story.
Bear in mind that everything I'm about to say is based on conversations with growers and suppliers and is the truth as far as I know. Having said that, if anyone has any additional information that they wish to share, please let me know and I'll update the post.
So here's the skinny: Maeng Da, that is real Maeng Da, the original Maeng Da, all comes from one place. There is a plantation in Indonesia that claims to be the "World's first legal kratom plantation" (which is kind of silly but I'll save that for later). This plantation supplies a few proprietary strains of kratom, the two most famous being Maeng Da and Bali.
Real Maeng Da is often marketed as "Genetically grown", which is a weird thing to say. Having a good understanding of the subject of biotech, I know for a fact that nobody is genetically engineering kratom, so it definitely isn't "Genetically engineered" kratom, but what does "Genetically grown" mean then?
I spoke to a kratom farmer about what makes Maeng Da different. There are a few pieces to the puzzle. First off, I'm told Maeng Da originates as a Thai strain of kratom (Mitragyna speciosa), from mature green vein trees.
Now comes the "genetically grown" part. What is this mysterious high tech process? Well, it turns out to be the ancient art of grafting. Apparently, there is something magical in this grafting process that creates an exceptionally potent plant, perhaps combining traits from two different strains, or perhaps speeding the maturation process and increasing the alkaloids. From what I've been told, if you try and plant seeds from this grafted plant, it will only retain the partial genetics, and so it's necessary to graft a new tree for every true Maeng Da tree.
So what about all these other Maeng Da strains? As you can imagine, some companies just copied the name Maeng Da haphazardly, but reputable companies usually are referring to a horned leaf variety. For instance, Mu Synergetics sells 3 types of Maeng Da. There is the True Maeng Da (aka genetically grown / grafted), and then two others which are other rare horned leaf varietals, the wild Malaysian and the Deveined red vein Maeng Da.
The most recent batch of True Maeng Da that I purchased from Mu Synergetics boasted a mitragynine content of about 2.6 percent - which is literally the highest I've ever seen, so although the strain is expensive, it is really something unique and different. Both energizing and euphoric, often described as being very "clean", True Maeng Da is truly unique. Although the horned vein kratom also tends to be potent, the "genetically grown" original stuff is still something special and unique (and is relatively scarce on the market).
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