The Golden Shell Awards: Annual year in review - 2014

[sɥɐʞɐs]

Yes, this is totally cheesy, but I'm gonna do it anyway.
Here's a best/worst list of some kavas I tried this year. Feel free to reply with your own experiences.
Note, these are just my personal opinions, some people respond differently to different kavas and have different parameters by which they judge. I obviously spent the majority of the year trying budget kavas and sampling the wide variety from GHK, so this is reflected in my results. If your kava did not make my list, it's simply because I didn't consume it or it didn't fit my personal preferences.
Enjoy...

The Golden Shell Awards 2014

( c l i c k

o n

p r o d u c t

n a m e s

t o

p u r c h a s e )

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Best Kava: GHK Mahakea
(For me, Mahakea was the all around best. Best effects, noble, potent, not fickle, not wretched.)

Best Newcomer: KWK Borongoru
(This stuff came outta nowhere. I had no idea what to expect, but it swiftly surpassed any expectations on night one...and there after.)

Best Deal: Best Fiji Kava
($20 for a lb. of noble kava. Lawena, Waka & Vanuatu. On the weaker side, but great all-around deal.)

Best Flavor: KB Hinehina
(Light creamy flavor, so pleasant to drink. Also happens to be a good price and a good, light and heady Tongan kava. Try it!)

Best non-traditional: KWK Beverage Concentrate
(Out of the non-root products, this one is more my speed. Priced well, potent, quick & easy.)

Best Instant: GHK Papakea
(This was so easy on my stomach, very noticeable ALL-AROUND pleasant effects. Quick prep, all awesomeness. It made me hungry for more.)

Best Micronized: GHK Mahakea / GHK Boroguru
(Maha micro was the absolute best, Boroguru wasn't as completely pleasurable, but had aspects to it that are lacking from Maha.)

Most 'want to try still': BKH 11 yr waka / GKE Line-up / JPT Pualiu / Nambawan, WOW!, Five Star / GHK Mo'i
(11 yr sounds right up my alley, so I need to try it. The rest, I want out of curiosity, and to possibly find one that's unique.)

Most 'want to reevaluate': BKH Melo Melo / GHK 'Opihikao / GHK Kumakua / GHK Nene / GHK Mapulehu
(These are one's I sampled, they piqued my interest enough to know I want to try 'em again. They had special qualities to explore.)

Biggest Disappointment: N@H Solomon's
(I read so many reviews about this magical kava. It didn't react any notable way with me, personally. Unfortunately mediocre.)

Weakest Kava: Starwest Botanicals Fiji Powder
(This stuff does work at higher doses, but still is weak and quickly fleeting. It also looks, smells and tastes weird...Cinnamon ?)

Worst Flavor: BKH Melo Melo
(Sharp, lingering extreme bitterness. Effective experience, but hard to stomach, and I've powered down some nastiness in my day.)

...and that concludes our ceremony. Feel free to add any categories you want to your replies.

​

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

Wow, what a great post and I am not just saying that because I am GHK. Thanks @shakas you have been a great part of the forums and I hope you stick around for a long time. I might have to send you some Moi to try out and review.
Aloha.

Chris

 

[TheKavaSociety]

Wow, what a great post and I am not just saying that because I am GHK. Thanks @shakas you have been a great part of the forums and I hope you stick around for a long time. I might have to send you some Moi to try out and review.
Aloha.

Chris

Do you also make instant papa kea with extra lateral roots or is it just your new instant mo'i that is extra strong? I generally love Papa Kea, but I've never tried in the instant form. The only GHK instant I've tried so far was your Mo'i which is absolutely fantastic: clean, smooth and very heady. It's an amazing product.

 

[TheKavaSociety]

@shakas This is indeed a great post

My personal awards would be a bit different and would go to the following:

Top Kavas: GHK Papa Kea, Opihikao and M'oi (each is different, but all three are lovely, Papa Kea is truly sophisticated and beautiful, Opihikao is the most interesting sedating kava I've had - very relaxing and yet it also has this wonderful heady spark and Mo'i was mind blowing, very heady and easy to drink)

Best non-traditional Product: KBK Concentrate (great taste, very convenient and surprisingly potent)

Best taste: ONE batch of JPT Lost Island kava (actually, it is now described as Pualiu and not Puariki) - unfortunately all other batches of this kava I've tried this year were far worse.

Worst Taste: BHK Melo Melo. It was vile. Extremely bitter, made me feel sick for many hours. I still feel like vomiting when I remember its smell.

Biggest Disappointment: VKS Malekula Magic. I expected "magic" and what I got was an OK kava that I would not buy again.

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

Do you also make instant papa kea with extra lateral roots or is it just your new instant mo'i that is extra strong? I generally love Papa Kea, but I've never tried in the instant form. The only GHK instant I've tried so far was your Mo'i which is absolutely fantastic: clean, smooth and very heady. It's an amazing product.

Hi Henry, all my instant, micro and medium grind kava is going through the new process, it is all stronger and finer, the medium grind is the same grind but it does have more lateral roots than my old mix. The instant and the micro is finer than my old products, we are talking less than 75 microns for the instant. Aloha.

Chris

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

@Henry That also was a great post, I hope more forum members post there best/worst list of kava. I think this was a great idea Shakas. Aloha.

Chris

 

[blindy107]

@Henry That also was a great post, I hope more forum members post there best/worst list of kava. I think this was a great idea Shakas. Aloha.

Chris

Do you think you could let us in on what it takes make an instant Chris? Without giving away all the secrets of course. In my mind, I see a setup similar to homemade sea salt where you slowly heat and stir salt water to steam off some water. Then spread it on baking sheets to dry for weeks.

I have yet to try any instant at all. Maybe this is the year!

 

[The Kap'n]

I'll echo blindy's request. I'd love to know how it's done in a general way.

 

[Deleted User01]

Super post Shakas and Henry. Remeber @shakas, if posts are cheesy, mine are sharp cheddar and yours are Mild. Just post after me and the members will welcome your posts with a sigh of relief.

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

Do you think you could let us in on what it takes make an instant Chris? Without giving away all the secrets of course. In my mind, I see a setup similar to homemade sea salt where you slowly heat and stir salt water to steam off some water. Then spread it on baking sheets to dry for weeks.

I have yet to try any instant at all. Maybe this is the year!

As most of you know other vendors that "Make" the instant kava, they will dehydrate the kava juice. In this process they will take the fresh kava root that has been washed and they will grind it or pound it to a pulp. This pulp is then mixed with water and they strain the fibers away so that there is only the good stuff from the kava, it is exactly how they drink fresh root in the Nakamals in Vanuatu, so imagine you have a few shells of fresh kava drink, if you dehydrate that drink you will have the powder that is being sold.
With mine, I do make a pulp and then I mix the pulp with water and wash the pulp 3 times, this gets out all the good stuff and leaves all the course fibers for me to throw away. I then will let the liquid sit for 12-24 hrs in a walk in fridge and after the 12=24 hrs I will go in and get the mix of kava and water, but now since it was sitting so long all the good stuff is settled to the bottom and since it is full of the stuff we want, the "Kavalactones" it is very sticky so all I do is turn the bowls upside down to remove the water, all that is left on the bottom of the bowls is a kavalactone rich goop. It is this goop that I take and I spread it on cookie sheets to dry it slowly in my kiln that uses low heat and a dehumidifier, the rest is a closely guarded secret. But now you get the idea of how instant kava is made.
Aloha.

Chris

 

[blindy107]

Thanks @Gourmet Hawaiian Kava ! Interesting stuff. Guess that's my next order! Which should I try first?

 

[blindy107]

Super post Shakas and Henry. Remeber @shakas, if posts are cheesy, mine are sharp cheddar and yours are Mild. Just post after me and the members will welcome your posts with a sigh of relief.

This^

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

Thanks @Gourmet Hawaiian Kava ! Interesting stuff. Guess that's my next order! Which should I try first?

Buy the Moi and then remind me to add some extra samples of the instant for you to try.
Aloha.

Chris

 

[blindy107]

With my first year of kava use coming to a close I guess I should join the topic.

I think I'm gonna have to give the #1 spot to @Judd Rench's 11 Year Waka from BKH. The combo of great euphoria and headiness with some muscle relaxation and just a slight dash of sedation on the tail end, this one takes the cake for me. The ginger mishap this last batch was a nice touch as well! Close seconds would be Kalms Boronguru, GHK Mahakea and Kumakua, Kavaboy's Tongan Kava, and probably the new Nangol Noble from BKH.

I think my least favorite has been my Samoan Special from the local Polynesian store. Terrible smell and terrible taste coupled with stomach pain and weak effects. At least it's cheap! Koniak from BKH was not very effective for me either but I could have been hyped by the kavasseur reviews.

Kava from @KavaBoy Hawaii is by far the lightest tasting and smoothest I've had. Couple that with great headiness and price...it's top contender for sure. Nene and Mo'i from GHK are also very easy and smooth drinkers but I think having them in micro added a layer of grit making them less "smooth".

Micronized Boroguru from @Gourmet Hawaiian Kava takes the top spot when I just need to end the day's activities and thinking. It's a heavy hitter with a pretty decent taste. Use sparingly and only when you have no plans outside the house!

As I am still new at this and don't quite have the developed kava palette yet, I look forward to the next year of tastings and sharing with you! (My experience, not my kava...muahahahaaa!)

Jeremy

 

[blindy107]

Buy the Moi and then remind me to add some extra samples of the instant for you to try.
Aloha.

Chris

Yessir I will! Thanks much! Running a Christmas Day special? Haha

 

[Kojo Douglas]

The Solomon I had a week or so ago was just fine. It brought me back to the old days..

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

With my first year of kava use coming to a close I guess I should join the topic.

I think I'm gonna have to give the #1 spot to @Judd Rench's 11 Year Waka from BKH. The combo of great euphoria and headiness with some muscle relaxation and just a slight dash of sedation on the tail end, this one takes the cake for me. The ginger mishap this last batch was a nice touch as well! Close seconds would be Kalms Boronguru, GHK Mahakea and Kumakua, Kavaboy's Tongan Kava, and probably the new Nangol Noble from BKH.

I think my least favorite has been my Samoan Special from the local Polynesian store. Terrible smell and terrible taste coupled with stomach pain and weak effects. At least it's cheap! Koniak from BKH was not very effective for me either but I could have been hyped by the kavasseur reviews.

Kava from @KavaBoy Hawaii is by far the lightest tasting and smoothest I've had. Couple that with great headiness and price...it's top contender for sure. Nene and Mo'i from GHK are also very easy and smooth drinkers but I think having them in micro added a layer of grit making them less "smooth".

Micronized Boroguru from @Gourmet Hawaiian Kava takes the top spot when I just need to end the day's activities and thinking. It's a heavy hitter with a pretty decent taste. Use sparingly and only when you have no plans outside the house!

As I am still new at this and don't quite have the developed kava palette yet, I look forward to the next year of tastings and sharing with you! (My experience, not my kava...muahahahaaa!)

Jeremy

Hi Jeremy, thanks for posting your best/worst list, this is great to hear so many different views. It shows that there are a lot of different kava and a lot of different people and we all like different things, some the same as others and some are not but it is good to see this all. It will certainly help people decide what they might want to try next.
Aloha.

Chris

 

[kavadude]

Most Innuendo: @shakas
Most Alternate Personalities: @Deleted User01
Sexiest Poster: @kavadude
Guy who we all really appreciate putting up with our bullshit: @Kapmcrunk

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

Most Innuendo: @shakas
Most Alternate Personalities: @Deleted User01
Sexiest Poster: @kavadude
Guy who we all really appreciate putting up with our bullshit: @Kapmcrunk

Most likely to indiscriminately give away his pie, with 'gooey butter filling'
and proceed to tell you how much he likes to put egg nog in his mouth: @kavadude

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

Let's not forget some special characters that stumbled upon the forum this year:

Frosty the Zombie Snowman & Namby Pamby. Psychological manifestations of two polar opposite sides of @Deleted User01's mind.

- Lucy shows up when someone has some "susplaining" to do.
- Ricky pops up out of sheer coolness, and what represents kava more than a slick cuban lounge singer from the 1950s?

- David Atten'boroguru' brings some refined class and legitimacy to the place.

- Church Lady is here to judge you, your choices, opinions and ask if your true motivation could be mmmmm Satan!?

- Speak of the devil and Jon Lovitz Devil appears.

- @nemo Kava Pig arrives when stories are regaled of drinking hedonistic amounts of kava that turn you into a crab-walking-white-man.

- When you want to invoke the image of our Kap'm, sailing the seas of peace on a coconut shell. @Kapmcrunk

- When girls show up who are down to pound.

- Same as above ----^

- Kava Snob is here to get opinionated about kavas and judge harshly. @shakas @HeadHodge

- @Roaddog's kava making turkey slave.