Not often do we see the birth of a new line of products. For years, our psychonaut friends Koen and Sebastian were keeping their sacred tools to higher realms in shoeboxes or hidden away in drawers. But one day they thought to themselves… Why? Why do we not honor these incredible molecules by displaying them proudly on our altars or our dining tables?
Inspired by Japanese tea ceremonies, they set out to create a toolkit for the modern, psychedelic pioneer. First the Portalbox, hoping it would inspire more intentional ceremony before blasting off into higher dimensions. But last year they brought out the Ceremonybox, an all-in-one toolkit for journeying with our beloved sacred mushrooms.
The Ceremonybox won Portier the prestigious Psychedelic Design Award, and well deserved if you ask us. Knowing how much thought Koen and his team have put into making this, how many hours of design have been scrapped back to zero solely to get it right. I proudly own both of Portier’s boxes and I can’t imagine keeping my sacraments in any other place.
Learn more about these tools for psychedelic journeywork in the interview below!
A: First of all, sorry for our English, we’re Dutch and German and English is not our primary language.
We had an idea during a psychedelic breathwork session on a green hill in Amsterdam. We turned to each other and said, “Why isn’t a DMT session more like a Japanese tea ceremony? Why does everyone have to scour the internet, resorting to dodgy forums, to find makeshift tools and guides? Why should people get actual life-changing experience with self-made pipes? And why can’t conscious psychedelic enthusiasts have the most beautiful products and psychedelic ritual tools as a tribute or shrine, inspiring themselves and others to take psychedelics seriously?”
Koen had worked over 18 years with psychedelic research organizations, retreats, and harm reduction organisations, such as the OPEN Foundation (advancing psychedelic research and therapies in Europe since 2007) and Synthesis (providers of legal, medically supervised retreats). He saw ‘bad use’ of psychedelics, and ‘better use,’ inspiring him to improve the altars people have at home to actually support better psychedelic preparation and integration, and mindful psychedelic practices.
Sebastian had been active within indigenous circles, working with NGOs to safeguard indigenous communities that use ayahuasca. He was also a certified breathwork facilitator and had a lot of experience helping people through trauma, using the lessons from indigenous elders.
Both of us had a deep passions for the exploration of consciousness, ecological sustainability, psychedelic science, and helping people.
It felt like we lived in a world where we had to hide psychedelics use. This stigmatization puts a distance between well-meaning people and vital safety information and tools, leading to bad practices and further shunning of nature’s most fascinating plants and mushrooms. With scientific research confirming the relative safety of classic psychedelics, we thought it was time to make a beautiful physical tribute to conscious use of plant medicine. DMT was a primary focus since it was often consumed using crack pipes and other poorly made tools.
We wanted the Portalbox to be the opposite of plastic baggies and shoeboxes. Instead, it would be a refined, thoughtfully designed alternative that supported and reflected the depth and beauty of the psychedelic experience.
We were very inspired, and dubbed our venture “Portier,” as a nod to both “Portal” (reflecting the transformative DMT journey) and “Frontier” (opening the door to a new paradigm for how psychedelics are perceived). The word also means ‘porter,’ opening a door (or in this case, a case) to better use.
The initial concept for the box started as a simple drawing on paper. Koen, a creative with background in graphic design, was helping legal psychedelic retreats around Amsterdam with their communications and websites. He was also the first designer of the OPEN Foundation (the European equivalent of MAPS). He sketched the idea for a high-end DMT box and shared it on the social media platform Reddit. At the time, it was called the “Shamanbox,” but that name was quickly scrapped to avoid cultural appropriation.
The Reddit post gained significant interest, with many people reaching out from all over the world, urging us to bring the idea to life. Realizing the potential, we started collecting email addresses and built a community through email and Discord. Hundreds of psychonauts contributed ideas, offering feedback and helping us refine the concept. We regularly checked in, conducting surveys and hosting Zoom meetings; we shared pictures, updates, and behind-the-scenes content to make sure we were on the right track.
We decided to take it further by starting the Portier Psychedelics Podcast and leveraging our backgrounds to connect with researchers, artists, and harm-reduction experts. We bought expensive tickets to Europe’s leading psychedelic research conferences such as ICPR to actually ask researchers and professionals to be critical about our boxes. This resulted in us meeting Rick Doblin and Paul Stamets who gave very interesting ideas for the box! We were still quite shy but we decided to reach out to our heroes, and we actually received their positive responses! We interviewed experts like Rick Strassman (author of DMT: The Spirit Molecule), Ronan Levy (Field Trip Health) and Larry Norrid (Decriminalize Nature) on how to incorporate safe practices inside a sacred container.
We also invited psychedelic researchers and PhD candidates to co-write the guidebook and integration journal that would come with the box — a safety guide for psychedelic users to optimize their journeys. The rest of the community comprises anonymous healthcare workers, harm-reduction experts, writers, artists, and many more regular people who believe in changing how psychedelics are perceived by the broader public. All these people shared the common vision, emphasizing the importance of no longer stigmatizing (and hiding) nature’s most profound visionary tools, because of their undeniable impact on science, art, innovation, and mental well-being when used responsibly.
We donate 10% of all incoming funds to important organisations like Decriminalize Nature, ICEERS, and Erowid, to make an impact as well. We’re committed to making a ripple effect, so that when you buy a box, you know your ownership is giving back to the larger psychedelic mission.
Well, let’s give you an example.
We remained committed to natural materials and sourced from a Japanese ceramic tea maker for our next edition of the CeremonyBox. We minimized plastic as much as possible, opting for ceramics, glass, and wood to create a pure, grounding experience; complementing the psychedelic journey. We carefully select even our marble from strictly certified quarries for the CeremonyBox (yes there are marble plates in the box for intention-setting before your journey!).
To further enhance this sense of connection to nature, we introduced a natural-dyed tea sachet for making psychedelic mushroom tea. Plant-based dyeing uses pigments naturally extracted from roots, stems, flowers, leaves, and other botanical sources. These dyes are applied to natural fibers such as cotton, linen, silk, and wool, creating rich, organic tones without the need for chemical processing. This traditional craft aligns with our vision of sustainability and authenticity.
Sustainability has been a core value for us from the beginning. Within our first year, we had a growing list of people eager for their psychedelic case. Our mission was to create the most beautiful box ever made, but we faced a dilemma. How could we inspire consciousness and a deeper connection with nature while cutting down trees to make it?
We contacted numerous box makers, and after months of searching, we found a woodshop that met all our certification requirements. We reviewed extensive lists of Asian and international quality assurances and ultimately chose sustainable rosewood, the highest-quality and most expensive wood they offered, to ensure both craftsmanship and responsible sourcing.
The woodshop began producing boxes based on our prototypes, improving them significantly. When we received the first samples, we were amazed by the quality. However, after further investigation, we discovered that the wood’s origin could not be fully traced. Despite our efforts, we learned that rosewood could never be entirely sustainable, as it comes from large, old-growth trees. Realizing that some of our early samples and boxes might have come from ancient forests was disheartening, so we made a decisive change.
We fully committed to FSC-certified wood and transitioned to a smaller workshop that used highly renewable sources like acacia and rubberwood. Acacia, a tree species that naturally contains DMT, caught our interest as an alternative. Our new box maker had spent decades crafting wooden tobacco boxes and was just starting to collaborate with international partners.
Ultimately, we chose a wood mix with a sustainable veneer over a more renewable wood base. The quality remained exceptional, and the experience taught us invaluable lessons about responsible sourcing. Looking back, we know we made the right choice.
We believe in the power of education. So first of all, we include a guidebook and journal.
Safety, intentionality, and respect are at the core of everything we design, and the PortalBox is built with these principles in mind. For instance, each box includes a guided journal and a super accurate milligram scale.
Let’s take the scale as the first example. We address one of the most critical aspects of safe psychedelic use: dosage. Especially with substances like DMT or 5-Meo-DMT, slight variations can significantly alter the journey and can potentially lead to an overwhelming experience, making the possession of such a scale essential for both safety and efficacy. This means no more ‘eyeballing’.
It’s paired with our PortalBook that comes in every box, and is way more than just a psychedelic guide, it’s a compact yet comprehensive resource designed to support journeys with various plant and fungi medicines, including DMT, ayahuasca, bufo, LSD, mescaline, ketamine, and psilocybin. Co-created with experts in harm reduction psychedelics and psychedelic research, it covers crucial aspects such as preparation, tripsitting, and integration, and counters stigma. It also includes safety profiles and practical strategies to help users navigate their experiences with confidence and care. It goes way beyond tips such as ‘don’t mix psychedelics with alcohol’ or ‘don’t do it at Disneyland,’ adding deep knowledge.
We add airtight jars and vials so your plant matter doesn’t go bad, and add a safety lock so your grandmother doesn’t snoop around and take something by accident.
By combining high-quality design, essential education, and practical tools, our cases empower users to engage with psychedelics in a way that is both safe and deeply respectful.
Yes, we believe that a well-prepared journey leads to more profound insights, better psychedelic integration, and ultimately, a more conscious relationship with these powerful substances. Safekeeping and psychedelic preparation tools are just the foundation to conscious psychedelic use. A well-designed ceremonial framework can transform a psychedelic experience from something chaotic or recreational into something deeply intentional and meaningful. Psychedelics have been used in sacred contexts for centuries, and we believe that modern sacred medicine tools should honor this tradition while integrating harm reduction and scientific understanding.
Besides listening and talking to researchers and psychedelic harm reduction experts, one journey also took us to Guatemala, where we had a workshop with elderly medicine women who have worked with sacred plants for generations. Their teachings reinforced the importance of presence, reverence, and setting clear intentions before ingesting plant medicine. These lessons became deeply ingrained in all box designs. Respectful and intentional use isn’t just about avoiding harm; it’s about creating a sacred space that supports deeper connection, insight, and integration.
A key part of the CeremonyBox, which includes a magic mushroom tea psychedelic ceremony kit, is the tea-making ritual, which plays a central role in many earth medicine traditions. We attended a lecture from a Japanese Tea Master, where we learned how every movement in a tea ritual is deliberate and infused with meaning. We drew inspiration from this Japanese tea culture, which emphasizes calmness, focus, respect, and intention setting. This philosophy is embedded in the design of the tea tools included in the CeremonyBox, ensuring that psychedelic preparation becomes a mindful act rather than a rushed process.
Take the CeremonyBox as an example. First, you read the PortalBook to prepare and watch our educational content. The free Carddeck allows you to write down your intention, which serves as an anchor during your journey so you stay focused. The removable shelves make it easy to prepare your tea and we guide you to use lemon, ginger, and filter out the chitin for less nausea during the trip. Everything else is in the box, from milligram scales to the jars, already calming you down because you don’t have stress that you have to go look for all your items.
The Japanese tea tools allow you to handle the plant medicine beautifully and with reverence, and the incense altar (made from real marble) has you take a moment to infuse the tea with that intention you just wrote down. We’ve crafted a ritual from start to finish, and our videos explain this process step by step on our website. It’s a holistic approach to psychedelic preparation. Through aesthetic and ritual, natural design, educational resources, and accurate tools, we aim to bridge the gap between ancient wisdom and modern practice, empowering people to engage with psychedelics in a way that is not only safe but also deeply respectful, intentional, and transformative.
Portier has never been about chasing profit. It’s been a tough project, built with passion, persistence, and a deep belief in the importance of psychedelics, thoughtful design, and community. Because of the stigma surrounding this space, we face constant challenges. Psychedelics are banned online, making ‘normal’ online marketing impossible, and we fund everything ourselves, never taking investment money. Despite this, we remain committed to high quality, integrity, and a vision that goes beyond just selling products.
Right now, we aren’t making a profit, but that was never the goal. Our focus has always been on creating something meaningful, supporting safer psychedelic experiences, and fostering a community that values respect, intention, and connection. We hope that comes through in every detail of our work.Thank you for being part of this journey. Your support means everything, and together, we can grow and make an impact; whether through education, harm reduction, or the preservation of indigenous traditions. We’ll keep going, and hopefully, one day, we can dedicate ourselves fully to Portier. Until then, we appreciate you for recognizing the love behind what we do. Thank you for reading. 🙏
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