DOSE: T+ 0:00	0.5 nuts	buccal	Betel Nut	(fresh)
T+ 0:30		buccal	Tobacco

BODY WEIGHT:

190 lb

Two years ago, I was first introduced to betel chewing by a friend. That experience was enjoyable - I laughed my ass off from that first experience.

Eager to repeat it, I procured some fresh frozen areca nuts from a local Asian grocer. The package said, “palm nuts,” but the grocer reassured me they were what I was looking for. She kindly pointed me in the direction of some edible lime paste and betel leaves to consume them with. For prep, I rinsed the frozen areca nuts in warm running tap water.

~11:00 pm: Tired and yawning. Not knowing what I was doing, I cut two slices of the outer flesh from the soft inner seed with a serrated kitchen knife. I placed the slices in approximately ˝ of a betel leaf and spread a tiny bit of the edible lime pasted around the nut material (I was careful with the amount of lime - I heard from internet reports that it burns the hell out of your gums and tongue). I wrapped the leaf around the filling in a crude but workable quid.

~11:05 pm: I place the quid in my right cheek and begin to chew. Instantly I start salivating like crazy. Within seconds, I am spitting a brownish liquid into the sink. The taste is bitter but enjoyable. The quid quickly becomes a fibrous, chewy mass of plant material in my mouth.

~11:10 pm: By this time, I’ve grabbed a spitter cup and retreat to the couch. I feel a slight tingling in my extremities, but nothing more. Recognizing this is not the same experience I had previously, I do a little more research on how to prepare the betel quid. I also realize that my spit should be reddish, not brown.

~11:20 pm: I spit out the bunk quid out in the sink. I prepare a new quid using both the outer flesh and ˝ of the soft, moist core. I pop this into my cheek and begin chewing. The taste is much better than before, but the salivation is more intense. I find myself having to spit every 30 sec.

11:22 pm: WOW! My entire body feels tingly! I also feel a flush in my face, along with a rush not unlike a small line of decent quality coke. My spit is the reddish color of areca nut legend. I feel a nice euphoric buzz with a slight pounding in my head.

11:35 pm: Wanting to potentiate the areca, I take a pinch of Red Man, and chew it into the betel quid. It adds a nice flavor and brings back a bit of the tingly buzz. Very enjoyable!

12:30 pm: My areca quid disintegrates over time in my mouth, with much of the fibrous material finding its way into the spit cup. The tingly euphoria smoothes out into a less intense caffeine-like buzz. Alert, but somewhat relaxed.

1:02 pm: Still got the quid in my mouth. Still feeling somewhat alert, but the effects are mostly gone. Time to spit the quid.

Overall, a pleasant experience. One that I will definitely be repeating until my supply of areca nuts is spent (then I might have to get some more)!

Exp Year: 2010	ExpID: 83831
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 30
Published: Sep 5, 2019	Views: 2,077
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Betel Nut (92), Tobacco (47) : Combinations (3), First Times (2), Unknown Context (20)