How Kanna Is Fermented: The Traditional Method Step by Step

TL;DR: Traditional kanna fermentation is simple: crush the fresh plant, seal it in a bag or container, leave it in the sun for about 8 days, open it and stir a few times, then dry it. The Khoisan called the result kougoed. A 2019 UPLC-MS study found that crushing and incubating the plant at 37°C for 10 days pushed mesembrine from barely detectable up to 7.4 to 20.8 µg/mL while mesembrenone dropped, which is the chemical reason fermented kanna feels different from dried kanna. Here is the method as it was done and as we do it at our farm.

Every kanna extract on our shelf starts with a decision made in a field in South Africa: ferment the plant or dry it straight. We run our own nursery and extraction lab there, so we make that call ourselves. This post walks through the traditional method step by step, then explains what the chemistry says is happening inside the bag.

Why fermentation exists at all

The San and Khoi peoples of the Karoo were chewing and fermenting kanna long before anyone wrote it down. European travelers were writing about it by the 1600s. The name kougoed translates roughly to "chew stuff," and it referred specifically to the fermented, dried product, not the raw plant.

The traditional reasoning was practical. Fermented kanna was said to be stronger and to keep longer. Both claims turned out to have a chemical basis, but that took until the 2010s to confirm.

The traditional method, step by step

This is the version recorded from Namaqualand and still practiced there, with our own notes from doing it at scale.

1. Harvest whole plants. Roots, stems and leaves, ideally in the cooler months when the succulent is plump. The plant is small, so a harvest is a lot of hands and a lot of bending.
2. Crush. Traditionally this was done by pounding between two stones. The point is to bruise every cell so the plant's own enzymes meet its alkaloids. A partial crush ferments unevenly. We use a roller mill now, but the goal is the same.
3. Seal it. The crushed mass goes into a bag. Historically that meant animal skin; today it means food-grade plastic or a sealed drum. Air needs to be mostly kept out.
4. Sun for about 8 days. The bag sits in direct sun. Inside, the temperature climbs and the plant starts to sweat. The traditional timing was 8 days, and the 2019 lab work used 10 days at 37°C, so anywhere in that window is on target.
5. Open and stir every 2 to 3 days. Around day 2 or 3 the bag is opened, the mass is turned over so the wet center meets the drier edges, then it is sealed again. This gets repeated two or three times over the run.
6. Dry it. After the last turn the mass is spread thin in the sun until it is fully dry and crumbly. Once dry it stores for months.

The whole process, harvest to dry product, takes about two weeks. What you get is dark, sticky-smelling and tastes nothing like the fresh plant.

What is happening inside the bag

For years the assumption was that fermentation made kanna stronger because "the alkaloids concentrated." That is not quite it. The plant's total alkaloid load does not change much. What changes is the ratio.

Chen and Viljoen, writing in the South African Journal of Botany in 2019, bruised fresh material, incubated it for 10 days at 37°C and measured four alkaloids before and after with UPLC-MS. The numbers:

• Mesembrine went from undetectable or as low as 1.6 µg/mL up to 7.40 to 20.8 µg/mL after fermentation.
• Mesembrenone fell, from 8.0 to 33.0 µg/mL down to 1.3 to 32.7 µg/mL depending on the sample.
• Mesembrenol and mesembranol barely moved.
• Total alkaloids shifted from 23.3 to 72.4 up to 22.0 to 91.4 µg/mL, a modest rise overall.

The authors wrote that the results support the Khoisan practice of fermenting to increase the plant's effects. That matters because an earlier study had reported the opposite, a mesembrine decline, and the 2019 work with validated methods went the other way.

So fermentation is a conversion, not a concentration. Mesembrenone-type compounds are shifting toward mesembrine, the alkaloid with the strongest serotonin transporter activity. A 2021 review in Molecules describes kougoed the same way: the fermented product carries a different and generally higher active alkaloid profile than the plain dried plant.

Fermented vs unfermented: what people report

The lab numbers line up with what customers tell us. Unfermented, high-mesembrenone material like our V3 extract reads as calm, soft and a little sedating. Fermented, mesembrine-forward material reads as brighter and more social. Neither is better. They are different tools, and the fermentation step is the fork in the road between them.

If you want the traditional experience closest to what a Khoisan herder would have chewed, our fermented kanna leaf is that product. It runs 0.1 to 0.3 percent total alkaloids, which is why a tea uses a few hundred milligrams of leaf while an extract uses a few dozen milligrams of powder.

How we do it at the farm

Our process in South Africa follows the traditional steps with two changes. We control the temperature instead of trusting the weather, holding the sealed mass near 37°C so every batch runs the same, and we pull a sample for alkaloid testing before and after so we can see the mesembrine shift on paper rather than guessing from smell. Fermented material then goes into extraction, and the finished kanna extracts get a batch certificate of analysis before they ship.

Can you ferment kanna at home?

Yes, if you have fresh plant material. Dried leaf will not ferment properly because the enzymes are already inactive. If you grow your own from seed or cuttings, the small-batch version is a zip-top bag, a sunny windowsill or a 37°C spot like the top of a fridge, and the same 8 to 10 day schedule with a stir every couple of days. Dry it fully at the end or it will mold. A few grams of fresh plant makes a very small amount of finished product, so treat it as an experiment rather than a supply.

Common questions

Does fermented kanna smell bad?
It smells strong, earthy and a little sour. That is normal. Actual rot smells different and usually means air got in or the mass never dried.

Is fermented kanna stronger?
Higher in mesembrine, yes. Higher in total alkaloids, only slightly. It feels stronger to most people because mesembrine is the more active compound.

Does extract powder come from fermented plant?
Some does and some does not. The product page should say. Ours do when the profile calls for it.

Keep reading: Mesembrine vs. Mesembrenone Explained and Our Kanna Sourcing.

Disclaimer. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Traditional use of a botanical does not establish that it will produce any particular result. Consult your healthcare provider before use if you take any medication or have a medical condition. For adults 21 and over. Keep out of reach of children.