Avery’s Albino[i] is a cultivated strain of Psilocybe cubensis. It is either a true albino version of the A-Strain (whereas Albino A+ is actually not albino but leucistic) or it is an albino version of Cambodian, which it closely resembles. Either way, it’s a relatively new strain that’s becoming popular in some areas (especially in Canada), both for its ghostly white beauty and for its reportedly mellow and creative high.
Identification
Avery’s Albino is a true albino—no pigment at all—unlike many cube strains that carry the word “albino” in their names and are merely very pale. Otherwise, this strain does not stand out physically very much. It is said to closely resemble the Columbian strain in shape and size.
Look-Alikes
Being entirely white makes Avery’s stand out from many other cube strains and from the other species. Psilocybe cubensis resembles. It does look like some other albino cubes and even some leucistic cubes, but not not like the well-known APE or its similarly odd-looking kin.
Effects
Avery’s Albino is said to have a mellow, creative high, at least in some sources. Others may describe it differently, though, since the fact is that there are so many different factors that can influence how a trip goes (set and setting, the user’s biochemistry, does size, and more) that if the particular choice of strain also makes a difference, that difference must be effectively camouflaged.
What we know is that Avery’s contains psilocybin (and other psychoactive substances), the effect of which is to intensify whatever mood the user brings to the experience, foster new and often insightful patterns of thought, and to cause hallucinations—though the hallucinations will be absent at very low doses and will usually be subtle (walls breathing, colors brightening) except at very high doses.
Potency and Dosage
Avery’s potency is about average for a cube. There’s a tendency to get all excited about high-potency strains, as though that’s the way to get more intense trips, but really it’s possible to get any degree of intensity from any cube just by choosing the right dose.
The important thing about potency is not to find the most potent shroom around and eat it, but rather to understand what the potency is, high, average, or low, so as to be able to calculate the dose you want, large, medium, or small, properly. Perhaps the most important risk factor for dangerous side-effects of psilocybin is taking too large a dose, especially an unexpectedly large dose—and yet many users are understandably reluctant to risk taking to little and having a lackluster time. Understanding potency is the way to get the perhaps challenging trip you want, but without the side-effects that you don’t want.
There is no one right dose of psilocybin. It depends on the kind of experience you want to have. Many people conceptualize the range of possibilities as having five levels: small, medium, and large, of course, but also microdoses and heroic doses. Microdoses are those so small that they don’t cause hallucinations or other over symptoms. It’s possible to go about ordinary daily life while on a microdose. But the mood will be elevated, the heart more open and welcoming, the mind more creative and insightful. Microdosing is often used in therapy and to foster personal growth, often as part of protocol of scheduled use.
Growing
Avery’s Albino is recommended for intermediate-level growers, though it’s not especially picky about substrate or growing method—any common grain-based substrate will do, and PF Tek or any of several other methods will work fine. The problem is that Avery’s is seldom available as a spore solution—growers must usually buy swabs, that is, cotton balls rubbed against the mushroom’s gills to pick up spores. Inevitably, the cotton ball also picks up mold spores and bacteria and whatever else may have stuck to the gills’ surface. None of that can harm a mature mushroom, but it means the spores arrive contaminated, and if they are introduced to a growth substrate directly, the contaminants will take over and the grow will fail.
The trick is to use the swab to germinate the spores (and everything else) on agar. All sorts of things will grow on the agar, but just take some of the Psilocybe mycelium and move it to a different agar plate. Leave the other things behind. Let the mycelium grow on the new agar, and if some contamination came with it, once again move a clean-looking patch to another agar plate—repeat until the mycelium is truly clean and THEN introduce it to a grain medium for colonization. The whole procedure requires very careful sterile technique, and it’s not a job for a novice, but a more experienced grower won’t find it difficult.
Toxicity, Safety, & Side Effects
Avery’s Albino doesn’t have any known safety issues besides those of psilocybin in general.
Psilocybin does have side-effects, but the common ones are mild (nausea) and the severe ones (convulsions) are very rare. Anxiety, which can be debilitating, stands in the middle of the scale. It’s important to follow basic safety precautions, such as not tripping alone, erring on the side of too little rather than too much, preparing mentally and emotionally for the experience, and setting up a safe and mellow environment in which to trip. Also, it’s important to take the time to integrate the experience afterwards or it won’t really do anything for personal development and health.
And yet perhaps the greatest risk associated with psilocybin is that of arrest and prosecution, as use and possession are illegal in most jurisdictions. Know what the law is and don’t leave yourself open to arrest.
References:
[i] McElroy, C. (2023). Avery’s Albino Strain: A Stunning White Mushroom. Tripsitter
