How many tbsps?

[DownandOutinNYC]

I think I should be past the reverse tolerance phase now as I've been downing Kava the past two weeks. I still haven't felt the big euphoric feeling yet. I have felt some mild sedative effects, like having a strong cup of chamomile tea. It also feels like the kava tea from Yogi.

I have been putting two to four tbsps into a strainer bag with each serving. The water is warm and I let it steep for five mins before straining it for another five.

Is four tsbps not enough? Should I do eight? How many tbsps do you guys add?

I am also having some stomach issues with kava. Will these subside over time?

 

[recentreturn]

I think I should be past the reverse tolerance phase now as I've been downing Kava the past two weeks. I still haven't felt the big euphoric feeling yet. I have felt some mild sedative effects, like having a strong cup of chamomile tea. It also feels like the kava tea from Yogi.

I have been putting two to four tbsps into a strainer bag with each serving. The water is warm and I let it steep for five mins before straining it for another five.

Is four tsbps not enough? Should I do eight? How many tbsps do you guys add?

I am also having some stomach issues with kava. Will these subside over time?

Are you just steeping it, or are you kneading it? 2-4 tbs would be a low dose for me. I range 4-9 (once in a while, 12) tbs usually for an evening. You just having one serving of 2-4? Kava needs to be put into the water in a strainer bag and then be squished and kneaded and rubbed against itself for 5-15 minutes for the good stuff to come out; simple "steeping" won't work.

Regarding euphoria, that might depend on the particular kava you use. But in any case, increasing the amount per serving will improve your chances.

What are you straining with?

 

[DownandOutinNYC]

I steep it for 5-10 mins then I knead it for five mins. I think I might add too much water. Each serving I use 2-4 tbsps with 12oz of water. I strain it with the cloth strainr bags the company gave me with my order.

I think I might use 8 tbsps instead with 8oz of water instead? The lower tbsp doses and more water left my gut feeling awful. I felt bad indigestion and loss of appetite all day the next day.

What I am trying to figure out is how do you knead and wring it for five mins or more? Sometimes after a couple mins most of the water is out of the bag. Do you guys dip the bag back in the bowl of water to knead/wring it again?

 

[the_wilderness]

What I am trying to figure out is how do you knead and wring it for five mins or more? Sometimes after a couple mins most of the water is out of the bag. Do you guys dip the bag back in the bowl of water to knead/wring it again?

ooh; that might be some of the problem. Knead the bag in the water!
Try that, and if the effects still aren't there, try a larger dose and give it some more time. I take 4 tbsp micro as a starting dose, which is about 8 tbsp med grind, and have about 1 month before I feel the effects of a new kava, depending on the variety.

 

[recentreturn]

I steep it for 5-10 mins then I knead it for five mins. I think I might add too much water. Each serving I use 2-4 tbsps with 12oz of water. I strain it with the cloth strainr bags the company gave me with my order.

I think I might use 8 tbsps instead with 8oz of water instead? The lower tbsp doses and more water left my gut feeling awful. I felt bad indigestion and loss of appetite all day the next day.

What I am trying to figure out is how do you knead and wring it for five mins or more? Sometimes after a couple mins most of the water is out of the bag. Do you guys dip the bag back in the bowl of water to knead/wring it again?

Yeah, that's probably a huge part of your issue. You use a decent sized bowl, you put the root powder in the strainer bag, then you put the strainer bag with the kava into the water and you put your hand into the water with the kava and knead it under the water, maybe lifting if from time to time and squeezing into out; but the main kneading should all happen under the water.

Personally, I hold the top of the strainer with my left hand and use my right hand to knead the kava/strainer under the water. Largely I use my thumb and the side of my forefinger and I rub the kava between them, usually pulling a smaller amount seperate from the main mass and rubbing then, the turning the bag a little and pulling another portion out of the main mass and repeating. Basically you squish/rub the kava under the water until the slimy soap texture begins to be more grainy/granular.

P.S. I would try kneading correctly before attempting a much larger amount. I would do something like 4-5 heaping tbs in 10 oz of water, personally. With that ratio, I've found I still get second wash out of it.
Also, FWIW, I think your time would be spent better kneading than steeping. You don't have to steep at all, and I doubt that it helps much beyond giving the kava time to re-hydrate. 1 minute steeping and 9 minutes kneading would probably give you a much stronger brew.

 

[DownandOutinNYC]

Ok, will do. Is the water content too much, 12oz?

 

[DownandOutinNYC]

Tried the Borogu. Prepared it right this time. In a bowl, steeped it, then kneaded/wrung it in the water for ten mins. I used 12oz of water and 8 tbsp. of kava. Again, I got a mild relaxing feeling that was no more potent than a strong cup of chamomile or passionflower tea, nothing too special. The most I've ever felt out of this stuff was with the Pouni Ono. I just don't get why it's not hitting me like it is some of you. I am just not getting this other plane of existence feel you guys seem to be getting. I should be done with the reverse tolerance by now. It's also really affecting my gut. I feel as though I don't digest anything while on it and a whole day afterwards.

Is this stuff loaded with histamine because I am really allergic? Either way I think I am done with the medium grind, and I am switching to the micronized to give this another shot.

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

I think I should be past the reverse tolerance phase now as I've been downing Kava the past two weeks. I still haven't felt the big euphoric feeling yet. I have felt some mild sedative effects, like having a strong cup of chamomile tea. It also feels like the kava tea from Yogi.

I have been putting two to four tbsps into a strainer bag with each serving. The water is warm and I let it steep for five mins before straining it for another five.

Is four tsbps not enough? Should I do eight? How many tbsps do you guys add?

I am also having some stomach issues with kava. Will these subside over time?

steeping fresh grind is completely um, optional. However, only kneading it for 5 minutes is not a good idea, IMO. Rather than soak it, try kneading for a good 10 minutes or longer. Diminishing marginal returns set in not long after 12 min, IMO, but 10 min kneading is a lot better than 5 with the first wash of a medium grind.

For stomach issues what worked for me and some other folks is to immediately chase a drink of kava with a swig of ginger beer (not ginger ale but Jamaican style ginger beer). Reeds make's a good one that is commonly available in bigger stores, some liquor stores, and many health food stores where it's usually more expensive. Also, juggling around with water ratios can help fight nausea. There's a sort of continuum between too much water and not enough, either of which could cause nausea, with the sweet spot somewhere in between those extremes.

4 TBS should be certainly adequate not just to have a good feeling but a pretty solid krunk, depending on how it is made. What I do with 4 TBS is use AluBalls to prep that into a litre (in two successive washes which I combine to make up the litre) which I drink with ice over the course of a morning or afternoon and then chuck the makas in the freezer and later I will get at least another 1/2 litre out of it. A lot of grog and a lot of effect, but if I wanted to get krunk, proper krunk, I would cut that water ratio by 50 - 75% . Now I do drink on average 8 TBS of medium grind a day but that's stretched out over the course of the day

Stomach issues might go away with time but I think you can be pro-active with the water ratios to find something that works best while you wait.

Many people, not all, came to even enjoy the taste of kava after some newbie weeks of gagging or worse. It's hard to predict what will happen but usually most people sort of adapt to the flavour so it's not so bad. I was a lucky one who went from dreading the taste of kava to loving it almost overnight, which happened about 6 or 7 months after I started daily or near-daily shelling. I was totally surprised. I also haven't gotten krunk in over a year (haven't felt like I needed to) but I have come very close. Krunk is not obligatory. Not krunk is also non-obligatory.

 

[fait]

Turn on the TV or play some music while you knead to keep your mind stimulated and/or distracted and before you know it, you'll have a thoroughly-kneaded kava. You can fire up a stop-watch if you want to make sure you steep it no longer than 15 minutes or however long you knead it. Just make sure that kava stays under water and that you're constantly feeling it up like your favorite dakimakura.

A lot of kavalactones aren't water soluble but they ARE fat soluble. Instead of or in ratio with water, you can use some kind of milk, preferably something with a higher fat content. Nut milk works great, having had decent luck with cashew milk. I hear some others have used coconut milk with it. So if you're looking for something else to salvage your kava powder with before you consider buying a different medium grind, try mixing in a small portion of milk, or substituting water with the milk, however cost-effective you want to be with this.

 

[FijiFreshKava]

I tend to go for the mellow side, which is more the Fijian way of drinking kava. My recipe: 4 Tbsps (heaping) into the blender. 40 oz of clean water or harmless harvest coconut water ($$$). Blend on highest setting for 3.5 minutes. Strain. Drink on an empty stomach all at once. The faster the better.

Repeating the above steps 2-3 times in less than an hour can lead to very satisfying outcomes.

When I started making kava I would go all out and do like a cup of kava in 40 oz. I have since been told that much kava is too hard to strain and it tends to waste the kava. If you do more than 4-5 tablespoons you should certainly do multiple washes. When I need more, I do sequential preparations over making a single, super intense brew.

I think nausea depends on a lot of factors: cleanliness of your materials; your relationship to that particular kava; possible bacterial factors.

Typical kneading time is going to vary from one kava to another. If your kava is more coarsely ground, knead longer. If it has a lot of finer particles, a few minutes is ok. The Fijian guys I hang out with do like 2-3 minutes that's all, which is really short compared to what most people do in the forum, but hand pounded kava appears to have a much larger percentage of fine particles.

 

[recentreturn]

I tend to go for the mellow side, which is more the Fijian way of drinking kava. My recipe: 4 Tbsps (heaping) into the blender. 40 oz of clean water or harmless harvest coconut water ($$$). Blend on highest setting for 3.5 minutes. Strain. Drink on an empty stomach all at once. The faster the better.

Repeating the above steps 2-3 times in less than an hour can lead to very satisfying outcomes.

When I started making kava I would go all out and do like a cup of kava in 40 oz. I have since been told that much kava is too hard to strain and it tends to waste the kava. If you do more than 4-5 tablespoons you should certainly do multiple washes. When I need more, I do sequential preparations over making a single, super intense brew.

I think nausea depends on a lot of factors: cleanliness of your materials; your relationship to that particular kava; possible bacterial factors.

Typical kneading time is going to vary from one kava to another. If your kava is more coarsely ground, knead longer. If it has a lot of finer particles, a few minutes is ok. The Fijian guys I hang out with do like 2-3 minutes that's all, which is really short compared to what most people do in the forum, but hand pounded kava appears to have a much larger percentage of fine particles.

I was taught to make kava by my brother who had lived in Fiji. I don't think I was even told to knead it for a specific time. I was told to knead it until I got a specific appearance [so that when poured from a bilo only a tiny bit of light shone thru the grog].
Are you saying you chug 40 oz of kava all at once? Sounds intense.