70% Kavalactones Extract powder (questions)

[MarkyMarkB]

70% Kavalactones Extract powder (questions)

I’m a somewhat seasoned Kava consumer. I’ve always made Kava by hand, the traditional way, kneading the ground root in a bowl of water/milk. I’ve recently expanded my horizons and experimented with Kava Powder. I tried 2 vendors that offered a 30% Kavalactones powder and I wasn’t really all that impressed. I assume this Kavalactones powder is something completely different than micronized kava or instant kava, right?

Given my underwhelming experience with the 30% Kavalactones powder, I decided to try 70% Kavalactones powder. It really numbs my tongue and mouth and tastes quite nauseating. So I assume it’s totally legit. But I’m not really sure what to do with it. I was considering putting a 1/4th to 1/2 teaspoon of the 70% Kavalactones powder on an Oblate disc along with some other botanicals. Or maybe just stir in into some warm chocolate milk.

Does anyone have any experience with 70% Kavalactones powder and do you have any recommendations on the best way to get the most out of this stuff? How much to use? Ways to prepare it or consume it?

It was rather expensive compared to other herbs and botanicals that I use. So I didn’t want to waste it not using it properly. Or to have a Kava hangover by taking too much. I’ve also hear that Kava extracts are often made in China with inferior kava. That there are no US companies that make extract from noble kava. A moderate of a group mentioned this, but I’d like to confirm if anyone knows. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!

 

[AlexisReal]

70% Kavalactones Extract powder (questions)

I’m a somewhat seasoned Kava consumer. I’ve always made Kava by hand, the traditional way, kneading the ground root in a bowl of water/milk. I’ve recently expanded my horizons and experimented with Kava Powder. I tried 2 vendors that offered a 30% Kavalactones powder and I wasn’t really all that impressed. I assume this Kavalactones powder is something completely different than micronized kava or instant kava, right?

Given my underwhelming experience with the 30% Kavalactones powder, I decided to try 70% Kavalactones powder. It really numbs my tongue and mouth and tastes quite nauseating. So I assume it’s totally legit. But I’m not really sure what to do with it. I was considering putting a 1/4th to 1/2 teaspoon of the 70% Kavalactones powder on an Oblate disc along with some other botanicals. Or maybe just stir in into some warm chocolate milk.

Does anyone have any experience with 70% Kavalactones powder and do you have any recommendations on the best way to get the most out of this stuff? How much to use? Ways to prepare it or consume it?

It was rather expensive compared to other herbs and botanicals that I use. So I didn’t want to waste it not using it properly. Or to have a Kava hangover by taking too much. I’ve also hear that Kava extracts are often made in China with inferior kava. That there are no US companies that make extract from noble kava. A moderate of a group mentioned this, but I’d like to confirm if anyone knows. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!

Somebody actually linked me to some 93% kavalactone paste I think it was on etsy actually but of course you can't help but be somewhat dubious.

 

[MarkyMarkB]

Somebody actually linked me to some 93% kavalactone paste I think it was on etsy actually but of course you can't help but be somewhat dubious.

Agreed. I’m concerned about the comment I heard that there’s no US vendors making kava extracts that many come from China and use inferior kava, not noble kava. But also, the harsh chemicals used for the extraction are unknown. I think there’s a water extraction. But to get those high levels of extraction, I believe you need some sort of chemicals or maybe grain alcohol. My concern would be that all that nasty stuff isn’t completely removed from the extract and I’m consuming that nasty stuff. I’m not really sure what to do with this 70% Kavalactones or how much to try.

 

[krunkgod]

You are asking for trouble messing with extracts, IMO. The ones I've had were always disappointing and they jack up your tolerance without giving you an experience to match that.

 

[MarkyMarkB]

You are asking for trouble messing with extracts, IMO. The ones I've had were always disappointing and they jack up your tolerance without giving you an experience to match that.

Thanks for the feedback. Besides tolerance issues, are you aware of any health problems compared to regular kava? I’d assume a strain of the liver. But many things do that and is why moderation is important. I’m having trouble finding any real information of substance.

 

[Groggy]

Thanks for the feedback. Besides tolerance issues, are you aware of any health problems compared to regular kava? I’d assume a strain of the liver. But many things do that and is why moderation is important. I’m having trouble finding any real information of substance.

KL paste is all hype(Garbage from China), you don't find reputable vendors selling it because no reputable vendor in their right mind would advocate for such a product. It's not the way kava is consumed traditionally. I recommend you stick to what you already know. If strength appeals to you, get instant kava, such as those from Gourmet Hawaiian kava, now that is just about as good as it gets. Alternatively, you could get Fresh/Frozen from Pu'u O Hoku Ranch
or Green kava from kwk.

 

[MarkyMarkB]

KL paste is all hype(Garbage from China), you don't find reputable vendors selling it because no reputable vendor in their right mind would advocate for such a product. It's not the way kava is consumed traditionally. I recommend you stick to what you already know. If strength appeals to you, get instant kava, such as those from Gourmet Hawaiian kava, now that is just about as good as it gets. Alternatively, you could get Fresh/Frozen from Pu'u O Hoku Ranch
or Green kava from kwk.

From what I understand, it’s the Extract powders are mainly from China. Tinctures and paste are often from the US. I just saw that Bula Kava House makes a paste and they are one of the best US vendors that I know of. It was available on Amazon for a while but has been out of stock for a while now. I usually buy direct from BKH though. It’s concerning that most of the powders come from China because they could likely be made from Tudei kava or inferior kava and not from noble kava. Plus the extraction method is unknown. A CO2 extraction is ok. But some use ethanol or other toxic components that need to be removed from the final extract. I don’t trust the quality control of ANYTHING from China. Nor do I trust the cleanliness. I do agree that paste is not traditional. But it has been recommended to me by several people now in the last 24 hours. I don’t believe I’ll be getting anymore of this powdered extract though. Not knowing it’s origin and the extraction method is a concern. None of the 3 vendors could answer those questions either. Or didn’t want to. Another red flag that they probably are from China. After several years of being a kava consumer, I’ve yet to try Hawaiian Gourmet. I believe the owner had some health issues and also import issues a while back. So I wasn’t able to get what I was looking for at the time. I ended up with BKH, KWK and N@H. All great vendors. But I have to agree with you. The old traditional method is hands down the best way to go. I’ve tried instant before and it seemed to be considerably weaker than ground root. It was from KWK. I did the math to see the equivalent of ground root to instant powder and ended up needing almost 3x as much than was recommended. It was pretty expensive too. I might give it another try from another vendor. Do you know if HGK is back to full capacity now?. I’d like to try him out. BTW, Thanks for the reply.

 

[Groggy]

From what I understand, it’s the Extract powders are mainly from China. Tinctures and paste are often from the US. I just saw that Bula Kava House makes a paste and they are one of the best US vendors that I know of. It was available on Amazon for a while but has been out of stock for a while now. I usually buy direct from BKH though. It’s concerning that most of the powders come from China because they could likely be made from Tudei kava or inferior kava and not from noble kava. Plus the extraction method is unknown. A CO2 extraction is ok. But some use ethanol or other toxic components that need to be removed from the final extract. I don’t trust the quality control of ANYTHING from China. Nor do I trust the cleanliness. I do agree that paste is not traditional. But it has been recommended to me by several people now in the last 24 hours. I don’t believe I’ll be getting anymore of this powdered extract though. Not knowing it’s origin and the extraction method is a concern. None of the 3 vendors could answer those questions either. Or didn’t want to. Another red flag that they probably are from China. After several years of being a kava consumer, I’ve yet to try Hawaiian Gourmet. I believe the owner had some health issues and also import issues a while back. So I wasn’t able to get what I was looking for at the time. I ended up with BKH, KWK and N@H. All great vendors. But I have to agree with you. The old traditional method is hands down the best way to go. I’ve tried instant before and it seemed to be considerably weaker than ground root. It was from KWK. I did the math to see the equivalent of ground root to instant powder and ended up needing almost 3x as much than was recommended. It was pretty expensive too. I might give it another try from another vendor. Do you know if HGK is back to full capacity now?. I’d like to try him out. BTW, Thanks for the reply.

If you mean GHK (for HGK), Afaik it is business as usual. I agree as well, medium is the way to go.

 

[MarkyMarkB]

If you mean GHK (for HGK), Afaik it is business as usual. I agree as well, medium is the way to go.

Lol. Yes. HGK is what I meant. A little dyslexic moment there. That’s good to know. I’ve been wanting to try his kava all year but he had gone MIA for a while. The two attempts I made to order he was either sold out or not taking orders. Someone had mentioned it was a personal issue or brief health concern. Thanks again for your help.