Getting Trippy With It: MrsGingerMunchies LPEU Mushie Bar Review

**DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A REVIEW BASED OFF MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN THIS REVIEW IS WRITTEN FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCES, FROM MY OWN READING & UNDERSTANDING OF THE ENTHEOGENIC DRUGS. THE EFFECTS WILL VARY FROM PERSON TO PERSON. THIS ARTICLE IS TO EDUCATE AND SHARE MY EXPERIENCES **

This article is in 3 parts.

1. My Previous Experience for context: Before I get into the review of the bar, I feel like a brief explanation of my previous experience with psychoactive substances would be beneficial and give the review a little more context? You can have an idea of my ‘experience level’.
2. Substance, Set & Setting: For the newbies reading the article, a few things I wish I knew before my first trips.
3. The Actual Review: For those who just want the Choccie review, skip down to the bottom. 

1. My previous experience with drugs

I was a latecomer to drugs in general I think. I discovered cannabis at 19 and was 100% content with her and what she did for me. Party drugs never had any draw to me. When you see a person ‘rolling’, jaw swinging, eyes wild on a bed at a uni party with people laughing at them because they over done it; coupled with my mothers horror stories it was enough to make me uninterested. As an ADHD/autistic person the idea of ‘uppers’ other than coffee did NOT appeal to me. Peer pressure is laughable. If you need me to take drugs so YOU can have a good time, you need a word with yourself mate. 

My First Trippy Experience

Fair do’s I made it to 28 until I dipped my toe into something more than cannabis..well..dipped my toe definitely isn't the right phrase…I dived head first times the deep end. My first experience was with DMT. Not just a single isolated trip but 7hrs of consistent smoking DMT in spliffs and breakthrough trip.

In 2018, I had split with my husband, I was homeless and about to spend the next 4 months living in different fields around the country at festivals. It seemed to come along at just the right time. Demitri was waiting for me with open arms. I repeatedly broke through and had some truly life changing experiences including what I believe to have been ego death. I was introduced to myself in a whole new way. But this is a story for a different time.

After this initial experience, over the summer I tried Liberty Cap mushies at a festival (1st dose approx 2.75gs dried in caps), I tried LSD at a festival (I cannot remember the dose size but we got trapped in a pizza purgatory waiting room). Over the next year I had a handful more experiences with LSD and my favourites, Welsh Liberty Caps in various settings. Mine and my partner's standard dose became a 3.5g of dried Libs with a nice glass of orange juice to speed up the time it takes to kick in aka Lemon Tekking. Psilocybin is the psychoactive ingredient in mushrooms. When we digest them, our bodies convert that into psilocin. Once it is converted we can trip on it. Using the ‘Lemon Tek’ this does this for you. So you can cut down that wait time from anything up to 2hrs down to 15-20mins. It can make the trip a little more intense too.

 Although it's the citric acid that changes the psilocybin into psilocin, lemons seem to have been the fruit adopted by the majority. I would ‘go under’ for a couple of hours and then the trip would lighten up a bit and I was more ‘awake’, one foot more in our world than where ever it takes me.

In 2021 I had the pleasure of trying out Oh My Glob! Golden Teacher Truffles. The chocolates were exquisite. The trip was mild. I took the same dose as I would with Libs but found it a much much milder trip than I was used to but lovely. 

I’ve realised from my experience and reading that using edibles can lead to getting stuck in a loop. The first two times were a little earth shattering and led me to an existential and identity crisis. But that led to me discovering my autism and reconnecting with my art. The loops in 2021 were anxiety loops and the closest to what could be called a Bad Trip.

2.Substance Set & Setting: A Few Helpful Knowledge Nuggets for the Newbie

The most important things to know about tripping are the 3 S’s. 

Substance: Know your substance, do your homework. What are you taking, when does it kick in, what will it do to you? How long will it be in your system? Sometimes knowing a bit too much can be overwhelming and make you over think the experience but don't go in completely blind. That's probably gonna be a fast track to a freak out.

Set/ Mindset: If you're having a really bad day, if you've got some nasty shit on your mind, the chances are this is going to affect your trip. If you’re feeling fearful or super anxious it's another way to get a fast track ticket to bad trips. On the other hand, there are many studies showing the positive effects on depression/anxiety and other mental disorders. There've been a few occasions I was planning on tripping but thought myself into a funk so decided against it.

Setting: This is one of the most important things while tripping when you're new to it. Festivals can be great places to experiment as they are adult playgrounds but they can also be overwhelming. If they are large events could you get lost? Don’t trip with strangers or assholes. Don’t trip with someone who's guna try and fuck with you on your trip. That's NOT FUCKING COOL. That is not the kind of person you want in your life period. Make sure you're going to be comfortable.

I like to make sure I have some blankets for when my temperature perception changes. Make sure you have something yummy to drink, a nice glass of water. I love to have fruit prepared for when I am on a trip. The flavours of nature are a true gift. If you fasted beforehand to avoid the possible nausea make sure you have something yummy in for dinner later, something easy to prepare or that's already prepared.

Know where the toilet is beforehand (i.e if you're tripping at a friend's house and the directions to the toilet are full instructions or a festival).

Prepare a playlist of music you'd like to enjoy, queue up your favourite documentaries, get your art supplies out.

Make your space ready. 

Recommended Watching/Reading

Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics is a brilliant documentary on Netflix featuring comedians and scientists talking about psychedelics and their experiences.

Fantastic Fungi is another very very interesting documentary as narrated from the point of view of the mushrooms on Mushrooms in general but obviously covers magic ones.

Getting Higher: The Manual of Psychedelic Ceremony by Julian Vayne was a very helpful tool to me during my early experiences. I didn't purchase the book until after my DMT night, and my first mushie and LSD experiences. It helped me understand my trips and helped me get the most out of my experiences. It is only a small book but it is one I have recommended countless times to newbies and received nothing but good feedback from the recommendation. Click here

3. Mrs Ginger Munchies LEPU Dark Orange Chocolate Bar Review. 

Fuck the Jubliee, lets trip! I think it was a great use of the mid week Bank Holiday so ta Queenie! This was the 2nd time using Mrs Gingers Chocolate bar. We won the bar in one of the Gingers fun IG Live Game nights in Winter, the bar arrived at Christmas but it sat in its vac packed bag until May. Because it had been left a while the chocolate had bloomed so I will not be able to comment on the flavour of the chocolate I am afraid. This is a review purely on the effects.

The First time we blended 8 pieces (approx 1.3g LEPU: Leucistic Penis Envy Uncut) into a milkshake with some sexy chocolate ice cream. This was delicious, I didn't taste the earthiness of the mushrooms. They can be very earthy and gritty to eat in their true form.

This was delicious initially but it was a hot afternoon and the milkshake started to feel a little like a lead weight in my tummy. Maybe a smaller sized shake next time!

Mushrooms can have a slightly nauseating effet as they start to change the chemistry in the body. Julian Vayne explains this can be due to certain hormonal glands located next to the stomach, as the hormone is released it can trigger some nausea. (I say hormone as I cannot remember the exact hormone and do not want to include incorrect information. I will include a link to this book at the end of the article.) He goes on to suggest fasting before a trip so the stomach is empty and less likely to cause nausea. I am autistic and have sensory sensitivity so I can find the early effects of a trip physically uncomfortable. This is why knowing & prepping your Setting can be so important.

It took approx an hour to an hour and a half to really kick in. After an hour I started to notice the tell tale signs of the start, such as trees ‘breathing’ in my peripherals. 

The Second Time I had had a fruity smoothie for lunch with orange juice as the body of liquid so I was full up of citric acid. We didn't have any ice cream and I was too skint & lazy to go get some. I tried to nobble the bar but due to the chocolate having bloomed, it was quite difficult to eat so blitz it up into a small small cut of milk. Because of the citric acid, I started to feel the initial effects within 20mins. I didn't think it would still have such a fast effect as there may have been 30-45mins between the smoothie and the chocolate. 

In my experience, faster approaching trip can feel a bit like the ‘rush’ feeling you can have on MDMA

The Trip

On both trips I think the main body of it lasted approx the same amount of time. Around 4-6hours. After the 6hrs I was left feeling content beyond, calm, relaxed, sleeping.

It is exceptionally hard to explain a trip. Especially to those who have not experienced it before and especially when the trip itself for more of a feeling.

Both times I felt like the mushies made me want to nap HARD. I tend to get ‘the yawnies’ when mushies are kicking in. They make me want to lay down, be cosy, rather than go for wanders in nature. I like to lay somewhere comfy, warm and beautiful. Both trips on this bar were in my Hammock in one of my favourite spots in our large garden. Suspended between an apple & a pear tree. With a canopy of leaves above me but partially in the sun.

The 2 naps I experienced on these mushies were brief but maybe my way of avoiding the initial discomfort as my internal chemistry changed. Either way, they were deep but short. I woke up feeling peaceful and with a feeling of slight euphoria, a deep love for the land I was sitting on, the trees I was surrounded by, the body of water I could see. I tend to go mute when I trip as worms are wind, actions, thoughts are more powerful to me. I won't ramble on about the things I thought about both trips as I feel they would be irrelevant, weightless and dull without experiencing them yourself. 

How I describe both trips would be like this; The mushie spirit sat on me and made me fall asleep. Made me pause, switch off, rest. Something I find very difficult with ADHD. When I awoke, Me and the Mushies had a good word with myself. About myself, about life, about, about past experiences, about the future, harsh truths and beautiful realisations.

My partner brought me a little bowl of Granita (Basil & Lemon Ice)....OH MY FUCKING GOD. It reminded me of the first time eating something on mushrooms. It was an elderflower slushie. The initial taste was like a firework of flavour on my tongue. It was already terpy as fuck but under the influence blew my mind. If it wasn't so hot and it wouldn't have melted, I would have nursed that all afternoon. I highly recommend fruit and terpy good foods when you're tripping. A sensory snap can blow your mind. 

The experience wasn't a threatening or intimidating or scary one. I experienced peace, love and gratitude. I felt a little bit healed and a bit stronger to heal myself after a few dark months. The feeling of peace and gratitude has stayed with me since the first use of the bar on the 19th May, 2 weeks ago. It is the day after the 2nd use and I feel great. I have that same feeling of gratitude and peace. I feel a bit stronger than I did yesterday mentally. 

After both trips, I felt the sleep I had that night was a VERY peaceful, very restful sleep. As a small business owner and someone with ADHD and autism, burnout and sensory overload as a constant in my life. I find it very very hard to switch off. I felt both these trips were reminding me of the importance of the little things, the importance of rest. The importance of doing absolutely FUCK ALL. It's ok to want to do nothing but it's still something, its all wellness baby. 

Conclusion

I would recommend this bar to newbies and experienced psychonauts alike. The back of the packet has a recommended dosage chart so if you're wanting to micro dose or wanting to go the Full Hunter Thompson you know how much to consume. Both trips were with 8 pieces, which falls under the ‘Therapeutic Dose’ category and I feel like that is exactly the right way to describe both experiences. It certainly felt like a bit of a therapy session. I have felt I was able to have a spiritual de-gop and heal from some of the pain we have experienced over the past couple of months/years. It also helped to make me feel more comfortable using tryptamines after the last few anxiety loops. They put me off using mushrooms for around a year and a half. 

I feel like the 1.3g dose would be a really great starter dose for someone who is a bit scared of trying them but still wants to take a whack at them. You still enjoy the lovely trippiness but you're not out of control but can still enjoy the spirit of the mushie and the love, peace, eurphoria and twinkliness it brings. 

Remember, everything in this article is based from my own experiences, the books I have read and referenced. This is a completely unique experience had by myself.