so i just received my amla powder, took my first half tsp dose...and immediately regretted it. i placed half a tsp of plain amla powder in my mouth and attempted to get it down. it gummed up and stuck to my teeth, mouth and tongue. i think i must be missing something. finally after 15 min and a liter of water i was able to stop coughing and get it unstuck from the roof of my mouth. so what am i missing? how are we supposed to swallow this stuff?

Some herbs are like this usually due to their resin or polysaccharide content that get very sticky when wet.  With herbs like this I blend in other herbs with them to help separate the particles so they will not clump and it helps preventing sticking so bad to the teeth or tissues.   For example you could blend some nettle leaf or rosehips in with the amla.