What is Betel leaf?

[driveout]

I saw this leaf at a shop and they told me its good for many things and i was wondering if anyone has try it and what is the feeling or experience, do you get high?

[still kicking]

3 minutes ago, driveout said:

I saw this leaf at a shop and they told me its good for many things and i was wondering if anyone has try it and what is the feeling or experience, do you get high?

[still kicking]

4 minutes ago, driveout said:

I saw this leaf at a shop and they told me its good for many things and i was wondering if anyone has try it and what is the feeling or experience, do you get high?

Start watching MasterChef

[redwood1]

1 hour ago, driveout said:

I saw this leaf at a shop and they told me its good for many things and i was wondering if anyone has try it and what is the feeling or experience, do you get high?

Sir let me say this  clear.....If a inexpericed farang swallows a bit of this juice when they are chewing Betel Nut leaf....There is a good chance they will spend the next 30 minutes puking their guts out....This is what happend to me....

[still kicking]

Betel leaf is used in Cooking you can't get high on that 

Betel leaves are a popular medicinal herb that have been used for centuries in Traditional Vietnam Medicine and Chinese Medicine. They are thought to offer a range of health benefits, including relief from arthritis, asthma and headaches. Additionally, betel leaves may help improve digestion and protect against cancer.

Edited July 13, 2023 by still kicking

[JackGats]

Leaf used to chew areca nuts (aka "betel nuts"). From what I understand it's the leaves that are "betel", not the nuts. The leaves do not come from the tree on which the areca nuts grow. Why those leaves are used and not any similar leaves I don't know. If you experiment with areca nuts go slowly and be careful not to burn your mouth with the lime. It's a dirty drug in all senses of the word. It can ruins you teeth in no time. Gives a buzz like a line of coke but lasting only 5 to 10 minutes. Definitely not worth it as a habit but worth trying once because of its cultural and historical significance.

[still kicking]

Betel - Wikipedia

[GammaGlobulin]

Typical betel nut beauties in Taiwan sell mostly to truckers.

I have tried betel nut a few times.

Tastes sort of like...Swiss Chocolate, only more refined.

My Taiwan friends love to see a farang chewing on betel nut.

 

Hardcore betel nut eaters don't even bother spitting out the juice.

 

Very JUICY, for sure, these betel nut girls.

 

I hope you will recall Bloody Mary.  As I recall, Bloody Mary first appeared in James Michener’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Tales of the South Pacific (written 1944–1946, published 1947). She loved betel nuts.  All betel nuts she sold cost Fo Dolla'.

 

[still kicking]

6 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Typical betel nut beauties in Taiwan sell mostly to truckers.

I have tried betel nut a few times.

Tastes sort of like...Swiss Chocolate, only more refined.

My Taiwan friends love to see a farang chewing on betel nut.

 

Hardcore betel nut eaters don't even bother spitting out the juice.

 

Very JUICY, for sure, these betel nut girls.

 

I hope you will recall Bloody Mary.  As I recall, Bloody Mary first appeared in James Michener’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Tales of the South Pacific (written 1944–1946, published 1947). She loved betel nuts.  All betel nuts she sold cost Fo Dolla'.

 

Again you are talking nonsense. The OP asks about betel leaves which are completely different 

[GammaGlobulin]

24 minutes ago, still kicking said:

Again you are talking nonsense. The OP asks about betel leaves which are completely different 

Sorry, but from my experience, and according to Wikipedia, "Betel nut chewing, also called betel quid chewing or areca nut chewing, is a practice in which areca nuts (also called "betel nuts") are chewed together with slaked lime and BETEL LEAVES".

 

So, are these betel leaves a different variety than the betel leaves that everybody first thinks about when mentioning the betel leaf?

 

I think not, but still not sure.

 

 

[still kicking]

???? Betel Leaves: 20 Medicinal Health Benefits, Uses And Side Effects - The Health Talks

[bluebluewater]

It used to be very popular in Thailand until Rama V (mostly) put a stop to it because of the health concerns.  The people addicted to it were called the "bloody mouth".  I used to live a couple of doors down from an old woman who sat outside on the stoop and did nothing all day long but grind up another dip.  She had the "bloody mouth" to go with it.  Over in Myanmar there are little shops on every corner that will make you your very own favorite mix.  There is spittle all over the sidewalks.  IMO it is disgusting.

[bunnydrops]

My wife's mother 87, chews it and her teeth are in great shape, not black. The woman at the market that she buys from has the black teeth and her chin is always stained red. I believe a image of a betel nut container is still printed on the back of Vietnam bills.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betel_nut_chewing

Vietnam

In Vietnam, the areca nut and the betel leaf are such important symbols of love and marriage that in Vietnamese the phrase "matters of betel and areca" (chuyện trầu cau) were historically synonymous with marriage. Areca nut chewing starts the talk between the groom's parents and the bride's parents about the young couple's marriage. Therefore, the leaves and juices are used ceremonially in Vietnamese weddings.[49]

[driveout]

Can't i just chew on the betel nut without the leaf and lime to get high? Or make tea of the nut or consume it like powder form to get the buzz?

[redwood1]

5 minutes ago, driveout said:

Can't i just chew on the betel nut without the leaf and lime to get high? Or make tea of the nut or consume it like powder form to get the buzz?

Forget it......This stuff is not for green farangs......Just smoke a cigarette or cigar for a much more pleasant buzz..

[Tropposurfer]

I have seen the nut and the leaves of the Betel eaten in many countries, both Pacific and Asian. Identified by the trademark orange to reddish stain in the mouth, gums, lips, and teeth.

 

From what I was told by doctors and nurses I was working alongside in those places the practice of the combination of nut, leaves, and the lime or crushed limestone rock (coral in Pacific nations) thats eaten with the nut to aid in digestion and stop the reflex of vomiting destroys the teeth.

The teeth simply corrode and then from food contact daily just rot, mainly because of the the abrasive and corrosive impact of the lime.

 

It has a mild narcotic effect and in those who chew a lot ... they literally chew it all day, having a wad in the cheek from waking till sleep which they move and chew then replace as desired. 

 

 

[driveout]

8 minutes ago, redwood1 said:

Forget it......This stuff is not for green farangs......Just smoke a cigarette or cigar for a much more pleasant buzz..

You mean forget it, it dont work? I like to try it but i rather do it without chemicals. 

[driveout]

2 minutes ago, Tropposurfer said:

I have seen the nut and the leaves of the Betel eaten in many countries, both Pacific and Asian. Identified by the trademark orange to reddish stain in the mouth, gums, lips, and teeth.

 

From what I was told by doctors and nurses I was working alongside in those places the practice of the combination of nut, leaves, and the lime or crushed limestone rock (coral in Pacific nations) thats eaten with the nut to aid in digestion and stop the reflex of vomiting destroys the teeth.

The teeth simply corrode and then from food contact daily just rot, mainly because of the the abrasive and corrosive impact of the lime.

 

It has a mild narcotic effect and in those who chew a lot ... they literally chew it all day, having a wad in the cheek from waking till sleep which they move and chew then replace as desired. 

 

 

So the lime is the bad stuff not so much the nut or leaf?

Edited July 14, 2023 by driveout

[bradiston]

I used to live on Betel Nut Island (Koh Maak/เกาะหมาก). The nuts grow in great profusion on a tall slender palm. But the leaves used to wrap them in are from a completely different plant. Very few people on the island chewed betel. The trees threw out beautiful sprays. Not liquid, but delicate green fronds.

 

 

[JackGats]

55 minutes ago, driveout said:

So the lime is the bad stuff not so much the nut or leaf?

Yes.

[DJ54]

Visited Taiwan for many years long ago… if you got a taxi driver with red slobber on their chin be prepared for a wild ride..

[cowellandrew]

Been eating this leaf for 30 + years, 

You take a leaf make a small origami fold, then place usually a small cube of lime,ginger a dried prawn, some fried oinon & and a spot of honey,

Packs can be found in most supermarkets in Thailand,

No drug like effects, but never tried the nuts,

[kingstonkid]

19 hours ago, driveout said:

I saw this leaf at a shop and they told me its good for many things and i was wondering if anyone has try it and what is the feeling or experience, do you get high?

EX GF grandmother loved 2 things and could never get enough  Chang beer and betel leaves if she was not drinking she was chewing LOL

[geisha]

21 hours ago, JackGats said:

Leaf used to chew areca nuts (aka "betel nuts"). From what I understand it's the leaves that are "betel", not the nuts. The leaves do not come from the tree on which the areca nuts grow. Why those leaves are used and not any similar leaves I don't know. If you experiment with areca nuts go slowly and be careful not to burn your mouth with the lime. It's a dirty drug in all senses of the word. It can ruins you teeth in no time. Gives a buzz like a line of coke but lasting only 5 to 10 minutes. Definitely not worth it as a habit but worth trying once because of its cultural and historical significance.

It also stains the pavement !! after chewing it ( they roll it up and the vendor adds other herbs) and your teeth turn a lovely ruby color , when finished they spit it out everywhere. I thought it was blood when I first saw it in Myanmar. They say it stops hunger pans so might be a reason for poor people to chew it. Ladies do too.