Quitting Tobacco with “Tea”
It actually works quite well, you know?
Having recently tried to do everything I can go give up smoking tobacco, I wanted to see if I could find a less damaging alternative. I’m not going to lie — it’s been tough. Shaking the evil weed has been a lifelong obsession, and the tokers out there know just what I’m talking about. So there I was. At a loose end and with some free time last Sunday, I headed down to the local shops in my home town of Ljubljana. My mission? To find myself something non-tobacco based to smoke legally (and without getting high). Friends of mine had recommended that I should actually look for some good “tea” if I wanted to find an innovative smoke. Yes, you heard that right. Some of the best smokes out there are actually now being marketed as something you’d normally leave seep for 3–5 minutes in boiling water. Intrigued, I decided to see if there was any truth to this tea-tattle.
Mornarska
My experiment began with the very first herbal tea I could find on the supermarket shelves. That honor went to the fabulously named “Mornarska Herbal Tea from Adria” made by Fino Isolana. At the ripe old size of 40g, I purchased it for the very reasonable price of 4 euros. Their “tea” contains a selection of herbs: lavender, mint, olive leaf, St. John’s Wort, heather, common mallow and laurel (bay leaf). First thing I did was check that these herbs could all be smoked, and I found the answers to my questions here. All seemed fine to me, but always check these things out for yourself. The medicinal effects referred to in my research were an added bonus.
Although tricky to roll quickly without a grinder (and of course my rolling under time pressure could be improved), it was an absolutely wonderful smoke. Not only did it burn well and evenly, with little encouragement, the aromas were fragrant and rich. You know what it made me think of? Lying on the beach, smelling pine trees, with zephyrs of citrus and Mediterranean herbs wafting around me. It felt regal, in all honesty, but one was more than enough for a day.
Lemon Haze
Keen to find more of this incredible, er, tea, I nipped into my local Petrol petrol station to see if I could find any other “beverages” to smoke and savour. This time I opted for Lemon Haze by Vutra. With the company name actually Serbian slang for “weed”, it could not really be any clearer as to what this really is. Nicely packaged, each sachet features a transparent section, helping visibility and promoting an open and positive approach. Not sure how that works with deterioration in sunlight, but that’s a balancing act. With a great aroma, I found it to be a very nice smoke indeed. It states on the packet that CBD levels are less than 10%, which indicates that it’s a natural level (which should be encouraged).
Be Hempy
I decided to keep on going. My adventures took me to LeClerc in Rudnik, south Ljubljana, where I chanced upon a packet of “Konplijin caj” by a company called Be Hempy. Another cannabis product, I asked the sales assistant if there was any THC in there. She said the level was 0.2% but my Slovene wasn’t good enough to understand why that wasn’t stated on the packet. I guess it is such a small amount, it barely matters. As soon as I opened the bag, I was hit by an invigorating fresh blast of greenery. Low quality buds, there were quite a few more seeds in this tea than in the Vutra. The taste was quite different, but nevertheless an extremely pleasant smoke. It tasted a bit like weed, but perhaps something you’d find growing accidentally somewhere not particularly suitable. Know what I mean? Very filling though — like the Mornarska, I think I would only be able to smoke one of these “teas” a day as it is very rich and flavorsome.
So there you have it. That’s all the teas I’ve smoked so far, but there are many more available in Slovenia and other countries throughout the world. I’ll continue to add them here as I find them. I still don’t feel like smoking tobacco, which is good. If anything, those days are even further behind me than ever.
While I’m busy trying to find other teas to sample, I’d be interested to hear your views on what’s available in Slovenia and the surrounding countries to smoke/vape (under whatever legal classification applies). Let me know your feedback in the comments below.
