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5 meters of Banisteriopsis caapi stems are pounded with a wooden club, this is layered into a large pot with 170 Psychotria viridis leaves and cooked for 2 hours; serves 10 people ingesting it over the course of several hours. -- Russo et al. 1996-1997. (According to Shepard 1998, the Matsigenka cook Psychotria leaves for 3-6 hours.)

Beginning in the morning, boil forty liters of water, add a pile of bark scrapings to the boiling water, and stuff the pot full of cagrupanga [Diplopterys cabrerana] leaves. At noon, throw out both the scrapings and the leaves and add the same amounts of fresh scrapings and leaves, continue to boil for another three or four hours. Again remove the scrapings and leaves, but this time, add only 12 pairs of cagrupanga (24 leaves), boiling them for two additional hours. When they are taken out, the pot is cooled and the biaxíi readied for use."

Late in the afternoon [a fire was started]. A cauldron with several liters of water was set to boil, and twenty-four cagrupanga leaves were added. This was left…" [while the cook went to eat]

"About 7:00 P.M. [he returned with] two liters of biaxíi left from a previous occasion. Behind the hut, he dug up `four pairs' (eight sections about 4 X 25 cm.) of the biaxíi liana. These had been buried for three weeks, to keep them fresher, he said. The sections were carefully scraped to remove all dirt from the bark [taking ~ 25 minutes] During this time the fire subsided but, when the cleaning was finished, he revived it to continue the boiling…" [for 45 min.]

Now [he] began scraping the bark from the sections of liana with a knife. This tiring process lasted about half an hour, during which time six sections were scraped down to wood. [The other two were not used nor was the wood pounded as intended prior to starting] [Around 1.5 liters of bark was obtained] "…bark scrapings were pounded…with a …stone…and appeared to be reduced to one liter…" These were placed into a bowl.

The two bottles of previously prepared biaxíi were …shaken…[and] "emptied into the bowl of fresh bark scrapings, and about half of the simmering infusion also added…" The scrapings were kneaded, rubbed and squeezed for several minutes and then thrown into the cauldron with the remaining leaf infusion. The cauldron was taken off the fire and the contents saved. The liquid in the bowl was ready for consumption as soon as cool. -- Bristol 1966

(taken from an audiotape)
Using cv. Cielo [Plowman 6041], Clone raised by Terence.

• 500 grams of fresh Banisteriopsis vine
• 85 fresh Psychotria viridis leaves


• Boil the total volume in large nonaluminum pot (intereferes w/ effective).
• Layer the crushed (vigoruously smashed) hoasca with the leaves.
• Boil at rolling boil for 4 hours.
• Pour off deep yellow liquid.
• Replace with more water.
• Boil 4 hours more.
• Discard solid material.
• Combine the 10-15 gallons and reduce to the number of doses (12-15 dose).
• 100 ml per dose.
• Don't boil too fast or will carmelize and get thick which makes it hard to swallow.
• Should remain thin.

The following recipes are taken from the Gnostic Garden's website (now defunct). They are compiled from practising Peruvian ayahuasceros

Road Iquitos-Nauta, Peru. 25 years an ayahuasquero

12 pieces of Banisteriopsis caapi,
200 leaves of Diplopterys cabrerana "Chagropanga".

The ingredients are boiled together in water for around 12 hours resulting in 750 ml of Ayahuasca brew.

Requena, Peru. 12 years an ayahuasquero

8 pieces of Banisteriopsis caapi vine "ayahuasca" approximately 30 cm long and 10 cm in diameter ,
1 1/2 leaves of Psychotria viridis "Chacruna",
12 leaves of Brunfelsia grandiflora "Chiric sanango".

All the ingredients are boiled together in 40 liters of water for the duration of the day. The resulting liquid is reduced down to 1 1/2 liters of Ayahuasca drink.

Iquitos, Peru. 52 years an ayahuasquero

1 Kg (fresh weight) of Banisteriopsis caapi vine,
50 leaves of Psychotria viridis.

The ingredients are boiled in 25-30 liters of water for 2 hours, the extract is then poured into another container and more water is added to the original herbs for another decoction lasting 2 1/2 hours. This process is repeated one more time before all the extracts are then combined and evaporated on a low fire until 1 1/2 liters of Ayahuasca drink remain. In all the entire process takes 12 hours.

Manacamari, Nanay river, Peru. 20 years an ayahuasquero

3 Kg of Banisteriopsis caapi vine,
1 Kg of Psychotria viridis leaves,
(both fresh weight),
200 grams of fresh bark of Tabebuia sp. "tahuari".

The plants are boiled together for approximately 8 hours and then the resulting concoction is reduced to obtain 1 liter of Ayahuasca drink.

Iquitos, Peru. 38 years an ayahuasquero

3 1/2 Kg (fresh weight) of Banisteriopsis caapi vine "ayahuasca",
1/2 Kg of Psychotria viridis leaves "chacruna",
3 leaves of Brugmansia suaveolens "Toe",
4 flowers of Calliandra angustifolia "Bobinzana",
10-20 leaves of Nicotiana tabacum "tabaco",
Also added are 5-10 drops of perfume.

The mixture is boiled for a total of 12 hours during preparation.

Road Iquitos-Nauta, Peru. 35 years an ayahuasquero

12 pieces of Banisteriopsis caapi,
200 leaves of Diplopterys cabrerana "huambisa",
4-5 leaves of Jatropha curcas "Piñon colorado",
3 leaves of Dieffenbachia spp. "Patiquina".

The ingredients are decocted together for 12 hours and reduced down to 1 bottle (750 ml) of Ayahuasca brew.

Iquitos, Peru. 50 years an ayahuasquero

30-40 pieces of Banisteriopsis caapi vine,
200-300 of Psychotria viridis leaves,
some Mansoa alliasea "Ajos sacha",
Petiveria alliacea "Mucura",
Piper sp. "Guayusa".

Three separate extractions are performed on the herb material, which are then combined and reduced to leave 1 1/2 liters of Ayahuasca drink.