I drank the 'psychedelic water' going viral on TikTok, and I felt my anxiety melt away
I was feeling burnt out from the work week and figured I could use any extra euphoria I could legally get my hands on.
Enter Psychedelic Water, a lightly carbonated herbal drink that's advertised as "the first legal psychedelic for mild mood-boosting, hangover-free fun."
The drink contains kava root, damiana leaf, and green tea leaf extracts — not magic mushrooms, LSD, ayahuasca, or any of the other substances most commonly known as "psychedelic."
Kava has been used in southern Pacific cultures for centuries for its relaxing effects, and damiana leaf can help ease stress (and boost libido). The green tea adds a kick of caffeine to balance out the blend.
After trying the drink, I understood why the holographic cans have gone viral on TikTok. I nicknamed it "influencer juice" because I couldn't stop telling my friends how much I loved it.
I wasn't sure how the herbal blend would translate into a psychedelic experience. But I felt comforted after speaking with founder Keith Stein, who told me I wasn't in for a "face-melting" trip.
"Psychedelic is not just about mushrooms and tripping out. Psychedelic is a state of mind," Stein said when I asked him what to expect. "It's a way of thinking, and we want people to embrace that."
Stein said the team is currently focused on offering products branded as "psychedelic" that can legally be sold in a 7/11 or Whole Foods (or on Amazon, which is how I got it). The flavored water is their first venture, but coffees and teas blended with adaptogenic mushrooms could be next.
Even if the drinks won't induce a hallucinogenic trip, the creators are hoping they can be a gateway to a psychedelic future.
Psychedelic Water comes in two flavors: blackberry yuzu and hibiscus lime.
I cracked open a blackberry yuzu and was surprised at how good it tasted. The drink was sweet and sparkling, with some herbal notes that hinted at the all-natural blend.
I've tried a few different naturally flavored seltzers lately, and I prefer most of them over the artificial taste of White Claw. Psychedelic Water is sweetened with monkfruit, which is 150-200 times sweeter than sugar without the added calories.
I honestly started smiling after just a couple of sips. (Kava typically takes about 10 to 15 minues to kick in, so I was more likely excited about the taste and the experience to come.)
Either way, it felt good to grin for the first time all day.
I decided to take a shower, and I drank a little more than half of my can while composing a Spotify playlist.
As I added mood-boosting songs to my queue, I was waiting to feel my tongue start tingling, which is an early effect of kava. I didn't notice any odd sensations beyond the light carbonation of the drink.
I definitely felt some euphoria creeping up on me. I couldn't wipe the stupid smile off my face, and there may have been some spontaneous dancing.
I've taken a lot of showers after consuming cannabis or drinking alcohol, but this was different.
Like alcohol and Xanax, kava is a depressant. I definitely noticed a slowed-down feeling after the initial euphoria wore off. I felt happy, but not in an over-the-top way. I was relaxed without the fogginess that often comes with smoking weed.
The anxious thoughts that had been racing through my mind all day simply melted away and washed down the shower drain.
After paying $33 for a six-pack of Psychedelic Water, I was really hoping the product wasn't a scam.
"This is not just water and bullsh--," Stein told me earlier. And despite my initial skepticism, I have to agree that the drink did have some psychedelic effect.
That's the only way I can explain why I was dancing around my room after a couple of sips and smiling for the rest of the night. Some of my euphoria may have been a placebo effect, but at the end of the day, I didn't care.
Maybe psychedelic is a state of mind after all.