Harvest & Drying process

Harvest & Drying

The harvest and drying methods vary, depending on the different techniques individual farmers use. Some do not take enough time to let the leaves grow to a certain age and therefore the leaves cannot produce enough alkaloid concentration. Also, great care must be taken when drying the leaves.

We prefer inhouse drying to avoid contamination from humans and birds. We make sure that our product stays on the tree long enough to produce the wanted alkaloids and that the drying process is handled with a focus on clean production.

If the Kratom leaf is picked too early, the alkaloid content will be less than if you picked a mature leaf

A major problem for our industry is that often the Kratom leaves are harvested too early. The ideal time for a Kratom leaf to grow is around 8 months, for wild trees even up to 12 months. Some farmers don’t want to wait that long, especially if they have orders they have to fulfill on time.

If the Kratom leaf is picked too early, the alkaloid content will be less than if you picked a mature leaf. This strongly affects the quality and leads to a substandard quality of the product.

To us there is only one way to dry the leaf that is sufficient in our understanding of product safety and that is inside on shelfs.

Among Kratom producers there are different approaches to the process of drying the leaf before it gets crushed and milled. Here is an overview of the different ways:

Outside on the ground
Outside on shelves
Inside on shelves
Inside on the floor
Wet leaf in plastic bags

To us there is only one way to dry the leaf that is sufficient in our understanding of product safety: treatment inside on shelves. The reason is that the probability of contamination when the leaves are placed on the ground for drying is much higher than in shelves. Having the leaves dried outside on shelves you risk to have it contaminated by birds or other animals and even by humans who walk over it. In our perception the worst method of fermenting/rotting the leaves is to put wet leaves in a plastic bag and put it outside in the sun for a few days. This method is used to produce the so-called Bentuangie Kratom. By using this approach, we feel that this is heaven for all kinds of bacteria and fungi to grow in and therefore causes a high risk for the consumer. With our suppliers we make sure that the leaves are dried inside on a shelf with no direct sunlight. This is the best and safest way to conduct this process.

Harvest & Drying

From leaf to product

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