EXP Premium Kratom Review: Mysterious, but Not In A Good Way

Vendor Rating: 3

EXP is certified by the American Kratom Association, which significantly bumps its score. There’s little else to go on for the review. It was hard enough trying to figure out if EXP and Experience Botanicals are the same company or not. Reviewing a company shouldn’t feel like detective work, but in this case, it did.

About the Company

There isn’t much to say about EXP Botanicals because they don’t provide much information. Aside from letting users know that “everyone on the team has been personally impacted by kratom,” we don’t get much more information about the who’s-who or the why’s-why at EXP.

Nonetheless, they assure users about the very basics that one would assume any vendor is committed to: providing quality products, being reliable, and helping to provide relief from numerous conditions.

EXP apparently excels in one area that many vendors still struggle with — having a presence on the ground in Indonesia. They claim to maintain “close contact” with their Indonesian suppliers and use “every resource available to obtain the purest kratom on the planet.”

Furthermore, they get their kratom from “the oldest and most private farms,” which are far too private to consider disclosing anything to the public. They also make assurances of their rigorous testing methods.

They claim to follow a process that looks something like this.

1. Finding a vendor with access to the world’s oldest and most private kratom farms.
2. Vetting the vendor to ensure that they’re reliable.
3. Ordering kratom and testing it for heavy metals and biological contaminants, etc.
4. Traveling to Indonesia to meet the farmers after the kratom has been tested pure.
5. Inspect their facilities to make sure that they’re up to par.
6. Analyze the soil, atmosphere, and other environmental conditions in which the kratom trees grow.

Once a relationship has been established, they travel to Indonesia thrice yearly to help maintain a stable relationship and to exchange news with the growers.

EXP & Experience Botanicals

To clear up some confusion and give a thorough review, I first had to figure out if EXP and Experience are the same company. At first glance, they seem to be different. Scouring the internet for customer input does little to resolve this, as nobody seems to know anything about either of them (except the hundreds of reviews available on the NuWave website).

Readers using DuckDuckGo or any search engine that doesn’t heavily censor search results like Google will have no problem finding Experience’s official website, where both products (EXP Premium and Experience) seem to originate. Neither is sold here, but the site directs inquiring customers to distributors like NuWave.

At first, different logos, product lineups, and distributors seemed to be obvious evidence that EXP and Experience were different vendors, with EXP being much more popular and sought out. Not to mention that NuWave separates Experience and EXP into separate brand categories.

However, both of their logos are similar. Not identical, but similar. They use a font with similar lettering. The “EXP” has two sets of leaves that look almost like quotes, one at the beginning and one at the end of the word “EXP.” These same two leaves are in the “Experience” logo, although there’s just one set, and it sits above the center of the word.

This seems to suggest in some strange esoteric way that the two companies are affiliated, and perhaps one’s a subsidiary of the other. This confusion primarily emerges due to search engine filtering.

Although they are most likely owned and operated by the same guy who runs their leading distributor, NuWave Botanicals, we can’t confirm that ourselves. The site design is entirely different between the two vendor pages. EXP’s website is missing huge chunks of info and only serves as a gateway to link people to NuWave.

While NuWave is a highly regarded vendor who will soon be the subject of a much more positive review, EXP Premium can’t be cast in the same light.

Regardless, over the week spent studying the brands, the man behind them, and their social media accounts, we have to conclude that EXP is a top brand sold by NuWave and that NuWave is a solid kratom distributor. Therefore, EXP could be a good brand to try.

Pros & Cons

Top Alternatives

EXP Kratom Product Reviews

Most likely, if the vendor can be trusted, it’s because of their extreme dedication to procuring top-quality kratom. Though claims like this would be easy to brush off, few other reasons would explain why EXP Kratom does so well.

“Through our many trips to Indonesia and intensive research,” the company has vetted vendor after vendor. Over the course of years, they have determined where the best strains of each white, red, and green come from.

Their search narrowed everything down to four key suppliers and only purchased their top strains. So even if the actual percentage of alkaloids may not align with what the alkaloid-counting die-hards would expect, these kratom products have repeatedly been deemed the best by an entire team of dedicated workers.

Kratom Leaf Powder

According to their site, the thrice-yearly visits to Indonesia are the reason they’re responsible for carrying “the most diverse array of kratom products available anywhere.” From “boutique strains in remote areas to exceptional, custom blends,” they’re ready to tackle the habits of any kratom user.

EXP NuWave Blend Powder

This serious kratom blend is a mixture of 5 different strains, each boasting the same quality as anything associated with EXP Kratom. It provides a strong sense of balance that brings one into a greater equilibrium than any single strain can.

The blend is dedicated to kratom users who love experimenting with different ways to enjoy the plant. 

It’s available in 250 grams ($34), 500 grams ($58), or kilogram bags ($110). You can also purchase samples.

EXP Kratom White Buntok Powder

The Buntok Jungle is another rich and bio-diverse forest on the island of Borneo. The Buntok kratom leaves are “the largest I’ve ever seen,” according to the EXP curator responsible for preparing and testing White Buntok.

They chose this strain after seeing the results of the alkaloid testing. Although that’s not as exciting or convincing as their visiting Indonesia multiple times every year to vet vendors and uncover the best kratom, it’s still a reasonable assurance because they test a lot of kratom.

EXP Power Blend Powder

The EXP Power Blend is a whopping mixture of ten different kratom strains. The goal of this blend is to create a super-dense alkaloid mixture that isn’t found anywhere else. They recommend it for experienced kratom connoisseurs only.

Other Strains Offered By EXP Kratom

The company offers a whole bunch of different strains nowadays. Here’s a quick list of everything that they’ve got.

• EXP Kratom Menage a Trois Powder
• Green Elephant
• Green Kapuas Hulu
• Green Maeng Da
• Green Malay
• Green Sumatra Powder
• Power Blend
• Red Bali
• Red Borneo
• Red Maeng Da
• Red Malay
• Super Green Thai
• White Elephant
• White Kapuas
• White Maeng Da
• White Malay
• White Sumatra
• Yellow Kapuas

Kratom Capsules

Kratom capsules are one of the best ways to take kratom if you’re not a fan of having your mouth dried out by the brutally astringent powder. Fortunately, EXP offers a few different capsules.

EXP Kratom Premium Red Vein Blend Capsules

These infamous capsules allowed EXP Kratom to earn its name and fame. According to them, it’s “not like other kratom available,” because it is a hand-crafted blend of three different strains.

Typically, that’s nothing to gawk at. But, if you read our earlier explanation of what separates this company from the rest of the thousands of kratom vendors, then this means EXP capsules are a blend of three of the world’s best red strains.

One such strain would knock your socks off. Three of them blended, and you’d better prepare ahead of time by buying a few dozen extra pairs. Is it that wonderful, though?

EXP Kratom Premium Maeng Da Blend Capsules

The page description for EXP Premium Maeng Da Capsules is the same as the page description for the Red Blend Caps, so you have to dig a bit deeper to learn where these two products differ.

If you find the page for the powder itself, you’ll see a slightly more informative ad: the Green Maeng Da Blend is a mixture of Green Maeng Da and two other “exotic strains.” One would have to assume that those two strains are White and Red Maeng Da (or at least one of the two); otherwise, it wouldn’t be a Maeng Da blend.

Either way, this strain has received just as much praise in public forums as its red counterpart.

EXP Kratom Premium White Vein Capsules

The White Vein Capsules are described as “White Maeng Da blended with two other exotic strains.”

One has to wonder if their Maeng Da Blend, Red Vein Blend, and White Vein Blend aren’t the same blend, each just focusing on a different strain.

EXP Premium Menage a Trois Capsules

The Menage a Trois Capsules include all three of the other blends mixed in one extra powerful capsule.

Kratom Tinctures

Kratom tinctures generally refer to any liquid-based kratom extract and very rarely to actual tinctures, which are alcohol-based extracts. Since kratom alkaloids are already highly soluble in water, there’s little need to make an alcohol-based extraction unless you’re making one at home for long-term use.

Kratom tinctures are notorious for being falsely marketed and for relying on bad science to make very absurd claims. Fortunately, the kratom space is cleaning up quite a bit. Legitimate, high-strength kratom liquid shots are more and more common.

EXP offers two different shots called E1 and E2 Kratom Tinctures. We can’t verify the legitimacy of their claims, but judging by their popularity, they’re not ripping anyone off. Each bottle contains three servings with 125 mg mitragynine per shot.

E1 shots have espresso concentrate with extra caffeine, for a total of 115 mg. Obviously, they are recommended for the morning.

Kratom Extracts

Kratom extracts are highly potent forms of kratom containing dense alkaloids. They should not be taken lightly.

Most of the liquid shots and “tinctures”  described above are liquid infusions of kratom extracts. These are their non-liquid counterparts.

• EXP Extract Capsules. Made with a “food grade based extraction procedure” that is “more natural than the petroleum-based solvents used by other companies.”  ($13-$30)
• EXP Kratom Extract Gummies. These have no description available, but customers describe them as anything from “ok” to “the best-tasting gummies available.”
• EXP SoftGel XL 30 mg E Gel XL 10ct Jar. There’s no description telling us what on earth these are. The ingredients are listed, though. There’s kratom and coconut oil inside of a gel cap. If not for the gel cap, I’d assume they were a topical.

Is EXP Kratom Legit?

EXP Kratom is legit, but there’s an aura of mystery surrounding it — enough so that we would likely shop elsewhere.

However, it seems they are indeed the same company — and they’re more legit than they initially seem.

What You Can Expect To Pay

Most kratom strains are found in one of two price ranges.

The first group, presumably indicative of kratom that’s not as potent as their ultimate strains, are as follows:

• Sample packs for $2.50
• 250-gram bags for $30
• 500-gram bags for $55
• Kilograms for $99

Their premium strains are priced as follows:

• Sample packs for $2.50
• 250-gram bags for $34
• 500-gram backs for $58
• Kilograms for $110

If you select the option to purchase a kilogram, you’ll see bulk prices that, for some reason, aren’t listed otherwise. If you want more than a kilogram, these are the prices you’ll pay:

• 2 kilograms at $88 per kilo
• 3 kilograms at $82.50 per kilo
• 4 kilograms at $77.00 per kilo
• 5 kilograms at $71.50 per kilo
• 6 kilograms at $60 per kilo

$60 for a kilogram of kratom is a pretty rad deal. If you’re not a bulk buyer, consider getting some friends together to save some money.

Accepted Payment Options

NuWave accepts major credit card payments, mobile app payments, and Zelle. Other vendors that sell EXP Kratom might have different payment options.

What Other Customers Say About This Brand

Many Reddit users seem to be just as confused about whether Experience or EXP is legit. One user who has since deleted their account asked if anyone had “ever heard of Experience Botanicals.”

Nobody had.

That’s the only direct mention of either company aside from a post we discussed earlier in which one user dropped Chris Jepson’s name as the owner.

NuWave Botanicals has posted on Reddit several times to announce promos for discounts on their products.

Nobody ever responded.

The only mentions of NuWave Botanicals on Reddit are from one user, who said, “they were recently mentioned in the UsNews article about 45 congressmen’s letters to the DEA. Not sure if they are a legit distributor or a last-minute scam op.”

u/Chris_Kratom (gee, you don’t suppose that might be Chris Jepson, owner of NuWave Botanicals, do you?) responded to say, “Yes the company is legit. High-quality powder.”

The other post by u/djpurity666 quoted their thanksgiving newsletter and recommended that people order the $2 samples because they’ll throw in other free samples. There were no responses.

Kratom Crazy, another site offering vendor reviews, is a consistent source of quality insider information and has helped us get to the bottom of shady brands like Kratom Divine. So at first, it was a surprise that their review of Experience Kratom is a step above glowing. It looks like the highest praise that the site has ever sung for any vendor.

Golden Monk, another site known for vendor reviews, comments on NuWave and recommends them as a distributor but says nothing about Experience Kratom itself. But they also mention “NuWave’s Instagram account with 10,000 followers.”

NuWave Botanicals’ website is flooded with reviews on all the kratom products sold by EXP and Experience. With no online presence accessible through search engines, this was suspect. However, customers find their way to NuWave through channels like Facebook and Instagram.

Although their IG currently only has 143 followers, I suspect their previous account may have been banned since this one’s only been around since March (2022). Again, all reviews are positive. Several thousand followers have joined their Facebook group and remain active.

Shipping & Returns

NuWave offers 100% money back on all unused products. They only refund products bought directly from them, so you can’t return any brands purchased at head shops or elsewhere.

They offer 100% customer satisfaction, though, and promise that even instead of a refund, they will “work with you to provide a solution to your needs.”

Best Alternative Kratom Vendors

Even though EXP Kratom wears the veil of a scam vendor, it is legit. Still, you might feel uncomfortable ordering through a third-party distributor or may have doubts about the company overall. If that’s the case, check out some of our favorite vendors.

Star Kratom

Star Kratom is based in Colorado, which has one of the highest numbers of kratom vendors per capita across the States. This means Star Kratom is up against the serious competition.

This may or may not have contributed to their fantastic customer service, quality, and consistency. In such a competitive environment, making a name for themselves speaks volumes about their store.

Or perhaps they’re just genuine enthusiasts. Either way, check them out.

Pros

• Reasonable prices
• Helpful customer service       
• Super fast shipping
• Money-back guarantee

Cons

• Limited selection

VIP Kratom

VIP Kratom might be the place for you if you’re willing to drop some extra dough on a product that looks and feels like… well, like you paid a lot for it.

EXP Kratom could do with an overhaul on its packaging. By comparison, VIP’s is god-level. They want to make sure nobody’s ever caught with ugly packaging.

Their kratom is exceptional, but they expect to pay a premium price. Customers don’t mind because they keep going back. Return customers keep the business booming —thanks to the quality of kratom and not the fancy packaging.

Pros:

• Money-back guarantee
• Extensively tested for purity and high potency
• Fast shipping
• Good selection

Cons:

• Expensive
•  

Kona Kratom

Don’t leave it to EXP to do all of the good work for Southeast Asia. Buying from Kona Kratom also supports a company that has boots on the ground in Indonesia.

Kona is dedicated to preventing employee mistreatment and proper, fair-trade agreements. Though reports of abuse in the kratom industry are rare (newspapers tend to focus on people abusing the plant itself), it’s good to know people are actively looking out for workers.

This AKA-certified company offers a money-back guarantee on opened and unopened products, though this shouldn’t be much of an issue due to the extensive testing.

Pros

• Great strain variety
• Works directly with farmers 
• AKA-certified  
• Free shipping on orders over $30                
• 100% satisfaction guarantee

Cons

• Slower shipping than some companies

Final Thoughts: High-Quality Confusion

EXP and Experience are probably high-quality brands. Their lack of presence on typical discussion platforms is initially disturbing, but if you recognize their popularity on social media like Instagram and Facebook, you realize that their parent company and co-owner have a wicked following.

There’s so much confusion and uncertainty regarding who owns the company, and if EXP and Experience are the same, so it’s hard to fully be on board with the brand(s). Still, they have a loyal following and are AKA-certified, which says a lot about the quality.

Also, vast swaths of positive reviews on Instagram and Facebook seem to be solid evidence that nobody’s getting screwed over here, so that’s all we can stand by.

If you’re uncertain about buying from here, check out one of the preferred vendors that don’t leave you feeling half-crazy.