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dankerzee

dankerzee

Kava Curious
I got some instant from Kava King since I had gotten some sample packs from them with the Kava chocolate that I had bought, and liked the flavor and the convenience of mixing the instant. I noticed, though, that it has rice maltodextrin in it. Not a big fan of that. I think I'll get through this and go back to bags of pure Kava. How has everyone's experience been with Kava that has been sweetened or changed up some other way?
 
kastom_lif

kastom_lif

Kava Lover
Not a fan of adding flavors. Sometimes I'll mix in some coconut milk to mild tasting kava, especially if having a session with newbies.
 
Zaphod

Zaphod

Kava Lover
On occasion I have added my own flavorings - cacao and sugar, vanilla coffee cream, cinnamon etc. but more often then not the flavor just adds more flavor and doesn't really complement it well. On some more bitter varieties I even added a pinch of salt (this can be done with coffee to lessen the bitterness). All in all I would say mixing of flavors with kava has been unsuccessful in making it taste any better. Now I don't mind the taste and rather enjoy some varieties. I doubt I would buy an instant that had pre-flavoring in it, but who knows maybe I could change my mind.
 
Krunkie McKrunkface

Krunkie McKrunkface

Kava Connoisseur
Zaphod said:
On occasion I have added my own flavorings - cacao and sugar, vanilla coffee cream, cinnamon etc. but more often then not the flavor just adds more flavor and doesn't really complement it well. On some more bitter varieties I even added a pinch of salt (this can be done with coffee to lessen the bitterness). All in all I would say mixing of flavors with kava has been unsuccessful in making it taste any better. Now I don't mind the taste and rather enjoy some varieties. I doubt I would buy an instant that had pre-flavoring in it, but who knows maybe I could change my mind.
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Yeh, just gimme grog
 
superspeedkit

superspeedkit

Kava Curious
I've never been too interested in flavoring it as I believe the distinct flavor is part of the experience (and the price we must pay). I also love the idea of this seemingly magical liquid that tastes like something that could kill you, but makes you feel amazing instead.
However, I've been doing an Aluball for 1st wash and blender method for 2nd wash and have been putting a tsp of black seed oil into the blender. I started taking the black seed oil bc of derm, (which I do think it helps with) and because the fat in it potentiates the effects for me. It's one of those "miracle" health oils that extra crunchy granola moms swear by and is mentioned in the Bible, etc. But it also has this earthy taste along the same spectrum of flavors you'd find in Middle Eastern cooking (it's from that region) like nutmeg and clove. It actually pairs really well with the kava and can make it almost pleasant in a non-artificial way. It also gives it that coffee with cream look instead of mud when blended. You do have to buy good black seed oil, I've found. Lulu naturals is usually the kind I get on amazon for $29/bottle. I've tried with cheaper brands and the flavor has been poor. I guess kava has given me expensive taste now.
 
P

Pounigirl

Kava Enthusiast
superspeedkit said:
I've never been too interested in flavoring it as I believe the distinct flavor is part of the experience (and the price we must pay). I also love the idea of this seemingly magical liquid that tastes like something that could kill you, but makes you feel amazing instead.
However, I've been doing an Aluball for 1st wash and blender method for 2nd wash and have been putting a tsp of black seed oil into the blender. I started taking the black seed oil bc of derm, (which I do think it helps with) and because the fat in it potentiates the effects for me. It's one of those "miracle" health oils that extra crunchy granola moms swear by and is mentioned in the Bible, etc. But it also has this earthy taste along the same spectrum of flavors you'd find in Middle Eastern cooking (it's from that region) like nutmeg and clove. It actually pairs really well with the kava and can make it almost pleasant in a non-artificial way. It also gives it that coffee with cream look instead of mud when blended. You do have to buy good black seed oil, I've found. Lulu naturals is usually the kind I get on amazon for $29/bottle. I've tried with cheaper brands and the flavor has been poor. I guess kava has given me expensive taste now.
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Ah I have to try this! I actually have black seed oil (Lulu also! :) ) I love how it was said of it that it can cure everything but death. :) hehe I'm going to try mixing it in my grog today actually. Thanks for the tip. :)
 
Kavacoordinate

Kavacoordinate

Kava Enthusiast
I'm confused. Are you doing multiple balls or putting that much stone in one ball ?
superspeedkit said:
Yes, per Aluball shaker amount. So about 1 tsp for 3-4 Tbsp of kava. Which is 2-3 tsp/night for me since I am regrettably a heavyweight.
I sometimes accidentally put in too much and have lived to tell the tale.
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P

Pounigirl

Kava Enthusiast
superspeedkit said:
Awesome! I'm interested to know what you think.
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Okay I tried it with the Bati with a hand prep. I think it *may* have boosted it a bit, but I'm not sure since this kava is kind of light, but I can say for sure that it definitely improved the flavor of it. It tastes much stronger with the hand prep vs the aluball (I only have one ball at the moment so can't compare with double or triple ball methods) but the black seed oil really compliments it and I think improved the taste. :)
 
superspeedkit

superspeedkit

Kava Curious
Ibbygirl said:
Okay I tried it with the Bati with a hand prep. I think it *may* have boosted it a bit, but I'm not sure since this kava is kind of light, but I can say for sure that it definitely improved the flavor of it. It tastes much stronger with the hand prep vs the aluball (I only have one ball at the moment so can't compare with double or triple ball methods) but the black seed oil really compliments it and I think improved the taste. :)
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Excellent! Glad you like the flavor too. There's a lot on the forum about using things like soy lecithin in prep to bring out more kavalactones. I notice stronger effects, however, just from the fat being in my stomach with the kava. You can overdo it, though. The only time I've gotten sick from kava was from eating a piece of fried chicken immediately after my 4th shell of Stone. Rookie mistake.
 
P

Pounigirl

Kava Enthusiast
superspeedkit said:
Excellent! Glad you like the flavor too. There's a lot on the forum about using things like soy lecithin in prep to bring out more kavalactones. I notice stronger effects, however, just from the fat being in my stomach with the kava. You can overdo it, though. The only time I've gotten sick from kava was from eating a piece of fried chicken immediately after my 4th shell of Stone. Rookie mistake.
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I have been using a bit of almond milk in my preps to add some fat to the water, but I didn't do it this time with the Bati since I wanted to see what just the black seed oil could do. I think it's probably equal if not better than adding the milk in this experience anyways. I'm not very scientific in my prep methods though so it could be variation on my part, but this grog I made tastes weaker than other batches I've made and the effects are still nice so I think I can attribute that to the black seed oil. :) (y)
 
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