Having now acquired some fresh clippings of ephedra, I dried the stalks out for ten days and gave them rough grind in a mortar and pestle. The final result was a tablespoon of coarse powder. It smelled reasonably nice so I put the kettle on…
Reading around online, one suggested way to make ephedra tea is to boil the stems until the solution turns dark. That seemed like an unusual approach so I just poured boiling water over the powder and let it steep for ten minutes. I strained it through a coffee filter and the result was a nice greenish-brown tea. Taking a whiff, the same piney fragrance was definitely there but with stronger grass and earth overtones.
Taking a sip however, it proved to be extremely bitter, woody, and astringent. The visual I get is a 2×4 that has been soaked in tannic acid for a year and then abandoned to dry in a dusty vacant lot behind a gas station in Mojave. No way is this stuff winning any taste awards. I thought about sweetening it but decided to just embrace the suck and chug it down. I made it about half way and couldn’t get any further. I added some sweetener and finished the job.
Having now established it tastes like ass, I waited to see if there was any energizing upside to the unpleasantness. At the five minute mark, I detected no buzz at all. At ten minutes I noticed a slight headache but that could be totally unrelated.
After 20 minutes of nothing happening, my options were to drink another cup of the stuff – or call it in. Had the taste had been nicer (or just neutral) I would have gone for it. But I’m after something that is both pleasant to drink and has kick. This ain’t ever gonna be that. It may have other benefits as claimed by the historical accounts but seeing as I am free of venereal diseases (AFAIK) and my respiratory health is decent, this little misadventure has now come to an end.
So, I must sadly report the following: Tea made from Ephedra californica tastes awful and has no significant stimulant effects at a dosage of one cup. YMMV of course.
I’m sticking stick with coffee and chamomile.