Philosopher’s StonesChap. IV
Chap. IV
How strong philosopher’s stones are compared with other truffles
The argument. What laboratories measured in Tampanensis and other sclerotia, how shops rank it against Mexicana, Pajaritos and Hollandia, and what that means in grams.
Revised
Tampanensis truffles are sold as a mild to medium-strength truffle, stronger than Mexicana and weaker than the newer “strong” strains, and shops suggest 5 to 9 grams for a mild trip and 10 to 15 grams for a strong one. Laboratory data are thin. The few published measurements show that the amount of psilocybin varies widely between batches, often more than the difference between two neighbouring strains on a shop’s list.
What has been measured
The most useful study for buyers was done in Rome. Researchers at the Istituto Superiore di Sanità bought truffles online and measured them with liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (Pellegrini and others, 2013). They found only psilocybin, no psilocin, at 59.3 to 167.8 µg per 100 mg of fresh sclerotia. Per gram that is 0.6 to 1.7 mg. The abstract does not break the results down by species.
Older figures concern dried material. In one analysis cited in the species literature, sclerotia of P. tampanensis contained 0.31% to 0.68% psilocybin by dry weight, depending on what they were grown on. Dried mushrooms of the species may reach up to 1% psilocybin and psilocin combined, according to the mycologist Michael Beug. Mushrooms of the species seized in Germany around 2000 held much less, from undetectable to 0.19% psilocybin (Musshoff and others, 2000).
Fresh against dried
Fresh truffles are mostly water, which makes it hard to compare figures. Pollock’s patent gives two real examples: a sclerotium of 22.5 g dried to 7.4 g, and one of 44.6 g dried to 8.3 g. They lost between two thirds and four fifths of their weight.
Applied to the dry-weight figures above, that suggests roughly 0.6 to 2.2 mg of psilocybin per gram of fresh Tampanensis. This is our own rough conversion, built from two different sources, and should be read as an order of magnitude. It does fit the range that the Rome laboratory measured in fresh truffles.
| Material | Measured | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh truffles bought online | 0.6 to 1.7 mg psilocybin per g | Pellegrini 2013, fresh weight |
| Tampanensis sclerotia, grown in culture | 3.1 to 6.8 mg psilocybin per g | dry weight, cited in the species literature |
| Same, converted to fresh weight | roughly 0.6 to 2.2 mg per g | our estimate, using the patent’s drying losses |
| Tampanensis mushrooms, dried | up to 10 mg psilocybin and psilocin per g | Beug 2011, dry weight |
How shops rank Tampanensis
Without lab data on every batch, shops rank their strains by grower information and customer feedback. These are the descriptions in the product texts of Avalon Magic Plants, the shop behind this site:
| Strain | Species | How the shop describes its strength |
|---|---|---|
| Mexicana A | P. mexicana | “mild to medium-strength” |
| Pajaritos | P. mexicana line | “between Mexicana and Tampanensis” |
| Tampanensis | P. tampanensis | “medium-strength”; 5 to 9 g mild, 10 to 15 g strong |
| Atlantis | P. atlantis | “mid-range”; “Mexicana and Tampanensis are milder”; same 5 to 9 g and 10 to 15 g advice |
| Hollandia | house strain | “approximately twice as much psilocybin as standard truffles” |
These are the shop’s own descriptions, based on grower information and customer feedback rather than a published lab report; the claim that Hollandia contains twice as much psilocybin is likewise the shop’s estimate. The rough order is clear: Tampanensis sits in the lower middle, above Mexicana and below the house strains.
What this means in practice
A 15 gram pack of Tampanensis at the Rome laboratory’s range would hold somewhere between 9 and 25 mg of psilocybin. That spread is why one pack can feel mild and the next much stronger, even within one strain.
- First time: stay at the bottom of the shop’s mild range, 5 to 7 grams, and wait a full 90 minutes before deciding anything.
- Some experience: the shop’s mild range, 5 to 9 grams, is where most people learn how a new batch behaves.
- Experienced users: the shop calls 10 to 15 grams a strong trip. That is the top of its range; do not go beyond it with a new batch.
Freshness matters as well. Truffles slowly lose strength after packing, and blue or dark patches are a sign of oxidation. The shop advises storing them in the fridge at 4 to 8 °C and using them within a month.
If you are new to truffles, a milder strain is a reasonable first choice:
These products are for adults in the Netherlands, where fresh truffles are legal. Check the legal chapter before you order from anywhere else. Read the effects chapter before your first session.