How much psilocybin is too much? How do you know if Golden Teacher or Albino Penis Envy is right for your journey? In this episode, April Pride tackles one of the most common—and misunderstood—questions in the psychedelic space: “What dose should I take?” Drawing from lived experiences, expert advice, and a clear-eyed look at mushroom potency, this episode is a smart, irreverent guide to navigating your dose based on intention, strain, and context. Whether you're microdosing for creativity, planning a weekend trip, or exploring ego dissolution, April helps listeners calibrate safely and intentionally—without getting kicked out of a museum.
🔵 Key Takeaways
There’s no “right” dose—only the right dose for your intention. A microdose, museum dose, and ego-dissolving macrodose all serve different purposes.
Strain matters. Golden Teacher is a great entry point; Albino Penis Envy is up to 4x more potent and better for seasoned trippers.
Body weight doesn’t determine dose. Fixed doses deliver consistent results across body types, according to new research.
Psilocybin potency peaks in the first 90 minutes. Use timers to dose smartly and avoid underwhelming or overwhelming experiences.
Methods matter. Lemon tekking and tea each change the onset and intensity—choose based on how fast or slow you want to go.
🔵 Timestamps
[00:01] Why mushroom dosing isn’t one-size-fits-all
[03:17] Low doses, deep impact: why some people trip on 0.25g
[03:42] The hunt for good mushrooms: sourcing tips and decriminalized cities
[06:00] Strain breakdown: Golden Teacher vs. Albino Penis Envy
[11:14] Lived experiences from the Sister Trippers
[13:54] Adelia on using psilocybin for depression
[14:31] Maria’s mindset reset journey
[15:06] Capsule vs. fruiting body: why form matters
[16:34] Why Natasha recommends fixed doses over weight-based ones
[20:00] The power of solo trips and internal focus
[22:12] How lemon tek boosts potency (and how to make it a cocktail)
[23:33] Timing is everything: why 90 minutes is your sweet spot
🔵 Featured Guest
Natasha Lannerd | @breathe_with_natasha
🔵 Additional Resources
SetSet Blog: “The Science and Safety of Microdosing Mushrooms for Women”
SetSet Blog: “Golden Teacher Mushroom”
SetSet Blog: “Albino Penis Envy”
🎙️SetSet Podcast: Ep. 75 “Psilocybe Cubensis Effects and Strains”
🎙️SetSet Podcast: Ep. 63 “What is a Museum Dose of Psilocybin?”
🎙️SetSet Podcast: Ep. 43 “Psilocybin Mushroom Dosage: A Beginner’s Guide”
🎙️SetSet Podcast: Ep. 40 “Psilocybin Mushrooms 101: Effects, Dosing, and Tips”
🎙️SetSet Podcast: Ep. 33 “Tea, Lemon Tek, and Healing”
How do you dose for different types of experiences—solo trips, social settings, or creative flow?👇 Let’s talk about it in the comments after the transcript below.
🔵 Transcript
[00:01] April Pride:
Hey, this is April, and this show, Set Set Show, discusses cannabis, psychedelics, and altered states of consciousness generally. It's intended for audiences 21 and over. Also, I am not a medical expert. If you are looking to engage with psychedelic substances, please consult your physician before doing so. Hey, it's April Pride, your host here on the High Guide podcast. I'd like to take a moment to remind you that we do discuss cannabis and psychedelics, and this podcast is intended for audiences 21 and over. Also, I am not a medical expert. We do discuss interventions and protocols, and you should consult your medical professional before moving forward with anything that we may discuss here on the show. Before we begin, I'd like to thank our show sponsor, Of Like Minds. Check out oflikeminds.co, that's of like minds, M-I-N-D-S dot C-O, to learn more about Seattle's trusted source for [psilocybin mushrooms]. Hi everyone, today we're going to talk about a perennial question when it comes to taking psychedelics, getting the correct dose. We're focusing on [psilocybin mushrooms] today, and in addition to some dose talk, we're also going to get into strain selection. The variety is to equip you with all the knowledge you need to embark on a safe and enlightening mushroom journey tailored exactly to you. The answer to the question, what's the correct dose, isn't a number of grams. The right answer is it depends. What you're looking to get out of the experience is going to be the most important driver. Are you hoping to experience ego death? Are you looking for a museum dose? Or are you experimenting with a workday [microdosing psilocybin]? Because that's going to be a very different dose for each of those three scenarios. And strain potency is another factor in deciding on your dose. On this podcast, when we've talked about the most common magic mushroom species, Psilocybe cubensis, at some point, I think I always end up saying the phrase, a cube is a cube, unless it's penis envy. If you're new to the show, penis envy is the name of a Psilocybe cubensis strain, a variety of by the way. The point is, if you're eating a mushroom within the [psilocybin mushrooms] family, all the potency levels are pretty much the same except for penis envy, which boasts three to four times the potency, which means it could be a good idea to reduce your dose by at least two-thirds if you're trying to match past [psilocybin dosing] experiences with different [psilocybin strains]. The rest of the episode has tons more good info to help you decide on a dose but stick around until the end when I'll share one more tip I just learned about [psilocybin mushrooms] dosing that really changed my thinking about how I dose my mushrooms. And a quick heads up for our listeners, the recording you're about to listen to has a different sound quality.
[03:17] Speaker 1:
For me personally, like I could have a deep experience off of like a quarter of a gram at this point in my life, just because I'm so experienced with what it means to go on that inward journey.
[03:42] April Pride:
Do you ever struggle with the first step in your psychedelic journey? Finding psychedelics. Today we'll review how to source [psilocybin mushrooms] specifically, including choosing the right shroom strain and dose. We start every episode with our word of the week and end every episode with trip tips. And after I sign off, keep listening because we'll close out each episode this season with a 10 minute excerpt from the High Guide’s Psyched Audio Series last season. Produced in partnership with Patchworks, these exclusive soundscapes are 30 to 60 minute guided psychedelic audio journeys. The sounds throughout the episode you're about to hear are sampled from the High Guide’s Journey number one, episode 22 of this podcast. If there are two words that I've heard the most in the last year, whenever I tell anyone that I work in weed, one is gummies and the second is Delta-8. So put them together and what have you got? I would suggest you check out Donkey Super's Blood Orange 2 to 1 gummies. They contain 30 milligrams of Delta-8, which gets you high like THC, but it's derived from CBD. If you don't live in a legal state, you can order these and you can still get high. The effects for me were after 45 minutes, there was a tightening around my temples, like when I smoke headband, which is a strain of cannabis. And I also was heavy behind my eyes as if I had smoked an indica-leaning hybrid, which headband is not. So it was a really, really cool high effect and allowed both my body and my mind to relax. I would suggest this gummy on Friday night if you want to forget the week, but you don't want to wake up with anxiety the next morning because you had too much to drink. Go to donkeysuper.co and check out their gummies, their Delta 8 gummies or D8 gummies, and enter code GUIDE at checkout for 20% off your purchase. If you haven't listened to our 10-minute episode number 40 on [psilocybin mushrooms], please go back and check it out. In that episode, we learned that [psilocybin mushrooms] is a naturally occurring compound found in hundreds of species of psilocybin cubensis, or shrooms, around the world. What we didn't mention is that there's another naturally occurring compound found in hundreds of species of psilocybin cubensis around the world, psilocin, and that is our word of the week. We're about to get kind of science-y, but it's kind of fun to know what's behind our high, right? Psilocin is what the body converts psilocybin into once we ingest magic mushrooms. Because psilocybin is inactive, it's not what gets you high, psilocin is. The chemical conversion is analogous to what happens in cannabis with THCA, which, like psilocybin in mushrooms, is the most abundant, non-psychoactive cannabinoid in cannabis. Similar to heating THCA to create THC, the body's metabolic process converts psilocybin into psilocin. So if psilocin is the stuff that gets you high, and we take mushrooms to get high, then why do we call them [psilocybin mushrooms]? Perhaps because there's simply more psilocybin present in mushrooms, roughly 3 to 1 ratio of psilocybin to psilocin. Since we're going all in on [psilocybin mushrooms] this season, let's take a moment and review the effects and benefits of this truly natural wonder. Psilocybin's chemical structure resembles serotonin and binds to serotonin receptors in the brain. Serotonin is associated with mood, feelings of well-being, which is why [psilocybin mushrooms] can increase an overall sense of connection... Although feelings of connection and elation are likely, these mushrooms can also invoke fear, sadness, and anxiety. Here's the good news. Physiological changes that occur in the brain as a result of [psilocybin mushrooms] are permanent as they carve out new neural pathways, which is why many people are finding success in overcoming treatment-resistant depression. In some cases, for like ever... Similarly, those afflicted with alcohol use disorder and substance use disorder have been able to abstain from these life-plaguing choices. Obviously, the most important decision you can make when preparing for your psychedelic journey is choosing the right medicine at the right dose to support the intention you've set for the experience. So what does that mean? Okay, let's start with sourcing mushrooms. How to do this. Firstly... Did you know that mushrooms are either decriminalized or legal in certain parts of the U.S.? Like right here in Seattle, home of the High Guide, it's the largest U.S. city to decriminalize [psilocybin mushrooms], as well as ayahuasca, ibogaine and non-peyote-derived mescaline. Similarly, Denver, Colorado, Santa Cruz and Oakland in California, Washington, D.C., as well as Ann Arbor, Michigan and Somerville, Cambridge and Northampton, Massachusetts have all decriminalized possession and deprioritized enforcement and or prosecution of offenses related to [psilocybin mushrooms]. Oregon as a state has both legalized and decriminalized psychedelics collectively. Go Oregon or go to Oregon. So can you walk into a store and buy mushrooms in any of these jurisdictions? Not exactly. Kind of. In Oakland, for instance, to stay within the law, private organizations labeled as churches require a paid membership to have access to their private mushroom dispensaries. Your girl is a member of Zydor. You can check out our show notes for this episode for more information on sourcing mushrooms, including where to find Zydor in Oakland. Now you have a better idea to finding psychedelic mushrooms. There's more. Like cannabis, psilocybe cubensis have hundreds of strains from which to choose. When choosing a strain of magic mushrooms, the most important factor is strength or potency. Some strains are considered stronger than others, but overall the effects are more or less the same in these species. There is an expression, a cube is a cube is a cube, meaning, with few exceptions, the various strains of psilocybe cubensis have very little differences in their potency and effect. On this episode, we're going to discuss only two strains, golden teacher and albino penis envy. Just because I wanted to say the last one. No, I'm just kidding. It's also called ape, which is what I'm going to refer to it pretty much for the rest of the show. So why did I choose these two? Golden teacher is, as I like to say, Fisher-Price, my first mushroom trip type of strain. And ape at three to four times golden teacher or GT's potency is favored by well-traveled trippers. And I see you out there in the audience, those of you who like to get high AF and will make sure you're just as taken care of as our listeners who are just setting out on their psychedelic journey. Obviously, the most direct way to intensify a mushroom trip is to choose one of the most potent mushroom strains, like albino penis envy. But before we go there, Natasha shares her thoughts on Golden Teacher.
[11:14] Natasha Lannerd:
I feel like the Golden Teachers are like the tried and true. They can have more of like a visual, feeling euphoric, spiritually in tune.
[11:24] April Pride:
Golden Teacher, also known as Golden Emperor, is perhaps the most well-known psilocybe cubensis strain. Consistently in the top five of most recommended desired strains, Golden Teacher, again, or GT, was first classified in the 1980s, but the specifics around its discovery are shrouded in mystery. Some believe a specimen of Golden Teacher was found growing in the wild in Florida, Often referred to as GT, this strain's golden moniker is inspired by its bell-shaped caps that resemble tanned, leather-like skin atop medium to large-sized fruiting bodies. That's what we call these whole mushrooms. They are whole fruit bodies. Although golden teachers have average potency, it produces trips that are very calm and relaxing with mild visuals and strong body sensations. GT trips are often shorter than average, only two to four hours, which is an advantage for beginners. In line with the expected effects of a standard trip dose, two to three and a half grams, and what many consider to be a classic psychedelic trip dose of [psilocybin mushrooms], golden teachers produce a high characterized by visual distortions, enhanced colors, lightness or giddiness, powerful emotions, including feelings of euphoria and enhanced spiritual connection. Macrodosing, which is not microdosing, can both be done with strong and weaker strains. But you might want to consider a mushroom like Golden Teacher for microdosing. Feedback among those who microdose with Golden Teacher include the following results. Introspection, reflection, grounding, awareness, lightness, emotional clearing, and happy cries. Although not by design, Natasha prescribed two grams of Golden Teacher for each of the Sister Trippers. And while Natasha doesn't always start with this dosage, this was the right strain and the right potency for these women to support their stated intention, which we'll discover in next week's episode when we get to know our Sister Trippers better as well. But today, let's learn more about their experience with shrooms. While this is the first time they've each taken a solo journey, each woman has had experience tripping on shrooms. Sister tripper Adelia Carrillo began microdosing mushrooms during lockdown when her chronic depression re-emerged.
[13:54] Adelia Carrillo:
When COVID happened, I started researching psychedelics and then I ended up treating myself for about a year on and off. I was doing either two times a week or three times a week. I made my own tea and I was just tracking everything down, like not even just how it made me feel, but would kind of try to process certain things in my life, whether it was past trauma or bring up certain things that, you know, I want to do. dive into and just kind of change my way of thinking. Like I called it my mindset reset journey.
[14:25] April Pride:
Sister tripper Maria Prieto has also been experimenting with mushrooms in the recent past.
[14:31] Maria Prieto:
Yeah, I would say it's been about a year since I started the process of experimenting with them. And it has been extremely pleasant. The experience overall has always been positive. It really has felt like opening doors within myself and seeing myself in a different light. So yeah, overall, the experience has been really, I've been really grateful for it. When I take it for recreational purposes, I take very, very, very small doses.
[15:06] April Pride:
The number two question, though, is, hey, April, how much should I take so that I can feel it, but I don't feel too much? Well, of like minds, museum dose capsule is three quarters of a gram. And let me tell you, the reviews are in. It's the perfect way and the perfect dose to enjoy [psilocybin mushrooms] in public and definitely with friends. But do not confuse the Of Like Minds Museum dose capsule with any other [psilocybin mushrooms] capsule you may find. Because our capsules, they contain not whole fruit bodies that have been ground and put into a gel cap, but concentrated, water-soluble, extracted [psilocybin]. This matters because it means the capsules are smaller and all of the stuff that could upset your stomach that's been taken out. So now that you know it's easy to swallow, no stomach upset, now what do you do once you've consumed an Of Like Minds museum dose capsule? Well, check out our website where you can purchase Guide to [psilocybin mushrooms] on the museum dose. It's a PDF download that comes if you live in Seattle with Gift Of Like Minds, which is six museum dose capsules. Stock up now for all of your dark day activities. Like Maria, Sister Tripper, Lalin St. Juste keeps her dose manageable.
[16:34] Lalin St. Juste:
I've done [psilocybin mushrooms] a few times, quite a few times, but I don't tend to usually go beyond maybe two grams.
[16:45] April Pride:
It's important to note that the women are different heights and presumably vary in weight, yet Natasha kept the dosage consistent. So do you need to factor body weight to determine mushroom dosage? Based on a 2021 report published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, the answer is no. Optible mushroom dosage doesn't require body weight adjusted dosing. The simpler fixed dose yields consistent results among a range of body weights. Experts like Natasha agree that golden teacher is the strain to begin with when stepping into [psilocybin mushrooms] for the first time. The more experienced psychonauts turn to the strain albino penis envy, which is on the order of three to four times stronger than the other strains, including golden teacher. Aside from the guaranteed blast-off, choosing a super potent strain of medicinal [psilocybin mushrooms] is also good for those who [microdose psilocybin] and may develop a mushroom tolerance. Yes, you can develop a tolerance to [psilocybin mushrooms], so keeping a consistent dosage with a higher potency strain may prove helpful as your regimen plays out. Another benefit to a high potency mushroom taken at 100 to 500 milligrams in a single microdose, it's perfect for day tripping. I've heard this described as a museum dose. One capsule is great for being social, going to the museum, to be lost in the art, going outside to embrace nature. Again, if you're [microdosing psilocybin] at a dosage that supports a high-functioning workweek and want to tap into a more creative weekend experience, take an Ape microdose as an alternative to your weekday golden teacher microdose. And for anyone looking to go there with Ape, Remember, the effects are amplified three to four times, so a dose of one gram or more will produce vivid visual stimulation, intense feelings of intense euphoria, uncontrollable laughter, joy, cosmic visuals, along with periods of deep introspective and philosophical thoughts. Please do not get kicked out of a museum. Okay, so we know-ish where to source [psilocybin mushrooms]. We know what strain we could start with-ish. Before we get into dosing, let's be catty and talk about the look of these natural freaks. Starting with why are some mushrooms covered with more blue than others? The blue found on the whole fruit bodies are essentially bruises that result from the degradation of [psilocybin mushrooms] and psilocin, among other compounds found in the mushrooms. One hypothesis is that the blue might be a repellent against predators. I guess we're not predators because we eat it blue and all. And a fun fact is that the color, the blue color, is the physical form of the same compounds responsible for the color indigo, which we use to dye our blue jeans. For real. But why the blue? What does it mean? I have several friends who always go for the bluest stems in the bag, believing that they're the most potent. But it's not true. It is true that the presence of blue is an indication that psilocin and or [psilocybin mushrooms] is or at least was at one time present in the mushroom. Here's the conundrum. The more blue, the more psilocin has degraded, and that means there is less of the psychoactive compound that will be ingested, less of the shit that gets you high. The more blue means that at one time, these whole fruit bodies contained a super high amount of psychoactive compounds, but the presence of blue can indicate the absence of the stuff that gets you high. Handle your mushrooms with care and trust that you'll get what you get and trust you'll get the trip that you need. It's also important to note that bluing is different from blackening, which along with an unpleasant smell can indicate your shrooms are no longer safe for consumption. Remember, fungi are inherently a poison, so don't mess with poisonous poison. Now that the High Guide has effectively saved your life, we also want to save your ass by getting you properly dosed. As I mentioned earlier, a classic trip dose is two to three and a half grams. If you are, like our sister trippers, taking a solo trip, then Natasha recommends steering clear of a heroic dose, or over five grams by weight of whole fruit body medicinal [psilocybin mushrooms]. Natasha reminds us that solo tripping also amplifies the effects of your trip, no matter which psychedelic substance you choose.
[21:20] Natasha Lannerd:
When you take the sensory out, like you're not in a group, you're not talking, you're not trying to keep your shit together, right? When you're like out and about doing whatever it is in this instance, when you take that attention and you turn it inwards... The dose becomes a lot more potent because all there is, is you.
[21:44] April Pride:
This is an important point. When choosing to journey on your own, the dose itself may feel more potent because there are no distractions. Yet another way to intensify a mushroom trip, remove stimuli. Although I would not forgo an audio experience to complement the medicine... Not into going it alone, but into intensifying your mushroom trip. Natasha instructs Zalyn on lemon tekking.
[22:12] Natasha Lannerd:
You want to see what it looks like to keep your dose and increase the potency. Have you ever lemon teched before? No. Essentially what that is, is you grind up the [psilocybin mushrooms] and you add like full lemon juice to it and you let it sit for 15 minutes, it definitely comes on faster. It definitely comes on stronger. It says that it comes down sooner. That has not been my experience. It's just right to the glitter, no putzing around. So if you wanted to have, like, take that dosage and maybe have a deeper experience with that same dosage, when I first did my first initial pilot study with it, I did it with one gram. It upped the ante. I don't know. I think there's still a certain amount of control that I feel, even though it's definitely still an experience. But I think the apprehension comes with going beyond that and just feeling like, oh, wow, I'm really out here. Yeah. My advice to people always is what is the rush, right? Like if you're feeling apprehensive, instead of lemon teching two grams at one time, Break it up and do two. If you're feeling good about it, you feel like you're set up, you're ready to roll, go for it.
[23:33] April Pride:
What about any of you listening? Are you ready to go for it? Remember to dose based on the intention you've set for your journey and which we'll go into in next week's episode. Natasha continues with variations on the lemon tech method as she walks Lawlin through her options to consume the magic mushrooms. I added a little bit of sparkling water to the lemon juice. So it was easier to drink than just the acid in your throat. That can be a little aggressive. So I added a little bit of water and almost made like a little lemon tech cocktail, which turned out really well. And then what I did like about that, too, is. you know, there's kind of this like slower, you know, and now we're there. Right. Like it was like, and blast off. Like I was in it within less than 30 minutes. Like I would say 15 minutes. I was really seeing, seeing the effects. Wow. Okay. And so this means that you're, you're grinding it up super fine to be able to just drink it. Yeah. Yeah. If you have a coffee grinder, great. If you don't, it's not the end of the world. I would find something that's helpful. The opposite of maybe lemon teching would be doing a tea. You can mix it with other herbs if you want to. The reason that I say that's the opposite is because it's a lot easier to titrate your experience, right? Like maybe you have, you know, a mug of it, give yourself a little bit of time, see how you're feeling. And then you can just sip on it versus a lemon tech, which is like a blast off type of thing. Whether you want to blast off or lean back, in this episode, lots of ways to determine your dosage of [psilocybin mushrooms]. For today's trip tips, let's review. Number one, consider the natural potency of your strain selection. Number two, more blue doesn't signify more potency. Number three, up the potency by starting your trip with a tech shot. Number four, slow roll your trip by sipping on tea. Number five, if you have a weekly microdose regimen, keep an eye on your mushroom tolerance. And number six, don't worry about your personal human size. Just consult the High Guide to [psilocybin mushrooms], which includes how to prepare psychedelic mushrooms like making the tech shot and tea. You can visit our website, sign up for our newsletter to receive your free download. Before I send you off in the wild to dose your magic mushrooms, I have one more piece of dosing knowledge to drop. I can't believe I didn't know this one before. The pathway [psilocybin mushrooms] axon will only receive more serotonin in the first 90 minutes after you take your first dose. That means you should dose your shrooms, take everything that you plan to take within 90 minutes. So if you want to take a minimum dose, you're considering wait 45 minutes, set a timer, see how you're feeling when it goes off, decide if you're going to take a boost and then set that timer again to go off after another 45 minutes and determine if you're going to take any more [psilocybin mushrooms] for the rest of your journey to be safe because that 90 minute mark is the last time to dose. Learning that little bit of knowledge really shifted so much for me about being prescriptive with my dose and not just chewing mushrooms all day, right? And gave me some good new practices about being intentional with a timer. There are a lot of things that go into dosing shrooms, but to make it really simple, to get the right dose, decide what outcome you want first. Make sure that potency is aligned with the outcome that you're expecting. Set that timer. Thank you, as always, for listening to the High Guide podcast, and we'll see you next time.
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