Yetis are a strain of Psilocybe cubensis. According to legend, the first Yeit appeared as a spontaneous mutation grown by a now-anonymous mushroom enthusiast who was trying to develop an albino version of Golden Teacher—what’s now known as True Albino Teacher. Yeti is also a true albino, but it isn’t simply an albino version of its parent. It is very distinct. In any case, the mutation was stabilized through careful work, and now here we are.
Yeti is uncommon and not well known, but it is prized, largely because it is extremely potent. Samples consistently test very high within the range typical of cube strains.
Identification and Description
Yetis have a thick, meaty stem and a cap that never entirely opens out—a bit like Penis Envy, but not to the same extent. Stem and cap are white or bluish. Mushrooms from first flushes are generally small, though subsequent flushes usually produce larger fruits.
Look-alikes
Other albino or leucistic cube strains can look vaguely similar, though the Yeti’s shape, midway between that of Penis Envy and typical cubes, is distinctive. In any case, since Yeti does not grow in the wild, it doesn’t need to be searched for, found, and identified, so misidentification isn’t much of an issue.
Effects
Whether different cube strains have different effects is a matter of debate. There may indeed be slight differences caused by strain-specific biochemical variation, but there are so many factors besides the mushroom itself than can influence the course of a trip (set, setting, the user’s personal biochemistry, dose size, and so on) that identifying the specific influence of the strain is probably not possible. But that being said, Yeti is sometimes said to be a bit eerie. It’s not that the experience is bad—though, as with all psilocybin usage, unpleasant experiences are a risk that can be minimized but not eliminated—it’s that it’s a bit cooler, more distant, and just strange compared to must other cubes. Some people say Yeti disagrees with them and won’t use the strain. Others love it. Others insist a cube is a cube regardless of strain.
Potency and Dosage
Potency certainly does vary from strain to strain, though all can vary, and some seem to vary more than others. Yeti has been tested for psilocybin and psilocin content several times and consistently tests high, often about twice that of the average cube.
It’s tempting to think that a highly potent mushroom equals a highly intense trip, and there are people who don’t adjust their dose sizes very carefully and therefore do trip harder on more potent shrooms. However, it’s possible to have an extremely intense trip on weak shrooms or to microdose on something extremely potent, simply by picking the correct dose. The main difference is that with a very potent strain, not only must your dose be smaller to get the same effects, but small variations in dose size can have extreme consequences—it becomes dangerous to just eyeball your dose and take the amount that looks right, since a small error could result it taking much more than you intended to take. Use a scale to be sure.
Taking more than expected might sound like fun, and it can be, but the risk of unpleasant, even dangerous side effects goes up when you take more—and taking more that you are prepared to handle is even more risky. Psilocybin is an extremely dose-dependent drug in that a big dose is not just a more than just a stronger version of a small dose. A very small amount of psilocybin won’t cause hallucinations at all, but is mood-altering. A moderate does does cause hallucination but leaves the thought process more or less intact, if a bit more creative and insightful. A very large dose causes a serious vacation from reality. Handling these various states in a healthy and constructive way requires experience and preparation—getting up into uncharted territory without meaning to can be disturbing and emotionally dangerous. That’s why the oft-repeated caution goes “start low, go slow.”
Growing
There is conflicting information out there about growing Yeti, with some sites saying it is an easy, forgiving strain to grow, with fast colonization and fruiting times that make contamination unlikely, while other sites say is a strain for more advanced growers only, that it is slow and vulnerable to contamination.
The best bet is probably to follow whatever guidelines the people you get the spores from give you. That being said, there doesnt seem to be a consensus on if any method works better than others, so go ahead and try PF Tek, Shoebox, or whatever you are most comfortable doing.
Toxicity, Safety & Side Effects
The most obvious safety concern with any psychoactive mushroom is that psilocybin is illegal in most jurisdictions, and penalties can be extreme.
There are other dangers caused indirectly by prohibition as well. For example, because black-market sales are, by definition, unregulated, if you buy some Yeti mushrooms or other magic shrooms, there is a real possibility that the product could have been laced with something else (possibly dangerous) or that it could be so old as to hardly be active anymore. Or there could be some other issue. You won’t have any recourse. You can’t report the seller to the Better Business Bureau or call a health inspector, you’re simply out of luck.
Even under ideal circumstances, psilocybin itself has side effects. The most common of these (nausea, excessive yawning) are mild, but more serious side effects, such as balance and coordination problems, extreme anxiety, even convulsions, are possible. It’s important to follow the common safety guidelines for psilocybin use to reduce the chance of adverse reactions. It’s also important to take the time to process the experience afterwards and learn from it, otherwise you could suffer some negative psychological consequences, at least from frequent use. The stories of people suffering mental damage from psilocybin use are exaggerated, but not entirely out of line.
References:
Simms, D. (2023). Yeti Shroom Strain: A True Albino Teacher Derivative that Packs a Punch.
(n.d.). Yeti Mushroom Spores. MushLove Genetics
