You may have noticed that several of our “strains” (we prefer to call them varieties) are out of stock. In an effort to streamline our operations and improve our GMP processes in accordance with the AKA’s GMP standards program, we have removed these varieties from our catalog.
It’s possible they may return in the future, but for now please take the time to read the information below to understand why we made this decision and why we think the other products that are in stock right now would be suitable replacements for what you are looking for.
There is a lot of bad information floating around about strains. The idea of strains has been promoted online in forums and by word of mouth so much such that strains have become a staple of kratom culture. But the truth is pretty simple: kratom is kratom.
The kratom that comes to the United States is from Borneo and there are no genetically different “strains” being cultivated for their distinct properties. Any material that you read about strains and their various effects are based on myths, although many kratom users refuse to accept that this is true.
Many vendors will offer 20 or 30 different “strains” and make claims about each one doing something special or being unique in some way. However, there is no science behind any of these claims. After years of conducting our own research, we are trying to better educate our customers and the public about strains.
You may be thinking you’ve experienced differences between strains yourself. Those differences are not likely due to the strains. Rather, they are probably due to natural variances between batches of kratom. For example, kratom leaves in one batch are not harvested from the same trees as kratom leaves from another batch.
Some trees may produce leaves that have higher levels of mitragynine (the most abundant alkaloid in kratom leaf). Mitragynine content in natural kratom can vary significantly. Our testing data shows some batches test around 0.5% whereas others test around 1.5%. This may not seem like a lot at first glance, but a batch that measures 1.5% has 3x more alkaloids than one that measures at 0.5%. Considering that, you can appreciate how varying levels of mitragynine can make a difference.
The other reason we are no longer stocking some of our varieties is that we have increased our quality controls even more over the past year. We are now an American Kratom Association GMP Qualified Vendor.
It’s operationally challenging to stock a large number of “strains” (we’ll refer to them as batches to make our point, a more appropriate term). Tests for every batch of each “strain” must be performed by vendors that are following GMP and performing lab tests. It also doesn’t make sense to spend the time and money testing a small batch of product (some “strains” do not sell very well).
So, for the vendor it would only be practical to batch large amounts of kratom. If the vendor truly has a proper batch of each “strain,” they would need a vast inventory of kratom that becomes more and more difficult to manage. It’s not impossible to do, but many kratom vendors are not very sophisticated and have limited resources.
So, to sum it all up, if you’re looking for a “strain” that is not currently in stock, we suggest that you go with a different variety that is the same color. For example, if you’re looking for Super Green Borneo, we recommend selecting the Premium Bali, Green Maeng Da, or Super Speciosa. They are all green kratom powders just like the Super Green Borneo.
If you would like to learn more about kratom strains we highly recommend this guide:
It’s important to note that as a result of recent changes, our kratom is also “graded” by alkaloid content. You’ll find the alkaloid content on the label of each package. This information is supported by third-party lab testing accessible by scanning the QR code on the product’s label.
Using testing data we grade each batch. Mitragynine content usually ranges from 0.5% to 1.5% – it’s possible some batches may test a little above or below this. The most potent batches (with the highest mitragynine content) are reserved as our signature Super Speciosa variety products.
Super Speciosa variety products always test at least 1.4% mitragynine. The next tier is the Maeng Da which is typically higher than 1.0%. The Bali and Thai varieties are the third tier and are usually over 1.0% but may be less than 1.0%.
