Posted by Kratom powder and capsules are common, and so are kratom vendors. That’s why a kratom vendor needs to stand out with their quality control and approach to products as well as their product line.
We’re always on the lookout for more kratom vendors to review. Personally, I’m a fan of unique offerings, cost-effectiveness, and transparent testing. It’s my goal to find out what makes a particular vendor unique and what niche of people they appeal to.
Real Botanicals and Star Kratom are two vendors whose names have been floating around for good reason. Here, we’re doing a comparison of the companies, their practices, products, and more.
Company Backgrounds
Real Botanicals is relatively new compared to other vendors, founded in 2021 in South Carolina. It’s made waves in the world of kratom and other botanicals because of ethical sourcing, strict quality control, and transparent testing and other information. Product-wise, they’re precise in dosage and formulation.
Star Kratom was founded relatively recently in Colorado as of this writing, but there’s no specific date mentioned. The vendor boasts 2 dozen kratom strains. Premium quality, good pricing, and fast shipping are what make it appealing.
Sourcing and Manufacturing Practices
Real Botanicals practices ethical sourcing with Southeast Asian trusted partners and coops. Then, they take care of the processing themselves as a manufacturer-direct vendor. 2 things they have going for them as small-batch botanical pioneers: A private lab and proprietary ChromaPure technology, which they use to both extract and purify the kratom.
Star Kratom makes it a point to go into a little more detail about their sourcing than most vendors do. They state that they source directly from farmers in Southeast Asia, and mention that they reject any samples that have pesticides or preservatives. Also, they reject any kratom that doesn’t meet their minimum potency thresholds. Currently, only 2 Southeast Asian countries can export kratom, although it’s available from several: Indonesia and Thailand.
Quality Control and Product Testing
You can count on transparent information with Real Botanicals. Without even having to buy the product to scan the QR code, instead, you can easily see each Certificate of Analysis for each product listing directly on the website. There, you can see testing for the presence of bioactive compounds, pathogens, and heavy metals.
A kratom vendor needs to engage in independent, third-party testing with easy-to-understand reports. Star Kratom lets you view Certificates of Analysis for each batch of product in their shop. However, it looks like you have to buy the specific product first and scan a QR code to pull it up.
Product Line
Slowly but steadily, Real Botanicals has added unique botanicals to their product line, each in one or two formats. For kratom, they offer kratom capsules in mild, moderate and maximum doses and kratom and kava shots in moderate and maximum doses of kratom. Often, capsules or chewable tablets are the better choice for anyone because they can be precisely dosed. Since kratom can cause the jitters in a shot, the kava is present for calm and sociability to go with the focus.
Part of what makes Star Kratom products appealing is how potent they are, with kratom capsules packed with a whopping 600 mg as opposed to the 500 mg of some vendors. They also offer powder. The strains they have available are as follows: Green (Dragon, Elephant, Horn, Indo, Maeng Da, Malay); Red (Bali, Elephant, Hulu, Jong Kong, Maeng Da, Malay); and White (Dragon, Maeng Da, Malay, Vietnam). In short, red gives mood support and relaxation, white gives mood support and energy, and green gives mood support, energy, and mild relaxation. These strains give you several options of maturity and countries of origin you can choose from to suit particular goals or times of day.
The Shopping Experience
Real Botanicals offers a straightforward menu, with each category giving you options. Kratom drops down to display kratom capsules and kratom and kava shots. Not satisfied for any reason? You get a 30-day money-back guarantee. Their botanicals are on the higher end to reflect the strict quality control standards. To save money, sign up for the newsletter and take advantage of the free shipping with a minimum purchase.
Star Kratom doesn’t provide directions for use for any of their products (legal reasons), leaving you to do your own research for dosing as a beginner or just new to the effectiveness of their products. They give you information on how much of the kratom alkaloids are in the products, though, so you can figure out how much powder to take. You’ll want a measuring spoon for that. For capsules, dosing is usually 2. They have fast shipping, so if you’re running low on kratom, you won’t have a chance to run out. The pricing reflects the large quantities so that it’s hard to run out. Also, they have a 30-day refund guarantee and a 90-day exchange policy.
The Verdict
The controversy over whether the maturity of kratom leaves at their time of harvesting matters in the final product’s effects is an ongoing one. Many people feel that different strains of red, green, or white kratom, and even the same maturity from different countries – like green kratom from Indonesia and one from Vietnam – make a difference. Energy, mood support, and relaxation in varying proportions are said to be because of the different proportions of kratom alkaloids depending on maturity. However, the actual alkaloids themselves remain the same.
Even so, there are other factors to consider when choosing the best kratom vendor. The inability to pull up COAs for each product listing on the Star Kratom website without making a purchase implies large batches of kratom from several Southeast Asian countries, whereas Real Botanicals produces small ones with sourcing that’s likely from Borneo. But that’s the point with Star Kratom – large batches for large bags, so customers can stock up.
Real Botanicals, on the other hand, is about making the perfect kratom capsule or kratom and kava shot every single time, with full-spectrum kratom that reflects up to 40 alkaloids. Since kratom’s effects are dose-dependent, and Real Botanicals’ kratom is extremely effective, you can choose between lower doses for energy and focus or higher doses for calm and relaxation. You also get the option between precisely-dosed kratom capsules and portable kratom and kava shots, as opposed to messy powder and capsules. I would personally vouch for Real Botanicals because of their “less is more” approach.
You might also be interested in “How to Find a Good Kratom Vendor”
Check out “Real Botanicals vs. Elyxr: Comparing Kratom, Kava, Pseudo, and Mushrooms.“