Aluball vs Kneading in strainer bag

[VictoriousSpoon]

For the last few weeks for the sake of simplicity, I have primarily been relying on soaking the kava in a strainer bag for 5 mins (inside a large pitcher that holds ~4L), before kneading/dunking/squeezing the kava inside the bag for ~3-5 minutes. I will then pour this into washed out empty water bottles for easy consumption/portability for work.

I have seen the Aluball product and it looks interesting, but I am wondering if it is effective as the strainer bag method since there is no kneading, and I am also concerened that a steel mesh strainer has considerably larger pore size than a strainer bag, and therefore more particulate matter that can cause gastric disturbance would be present in the finished product.

For aluball users, how have your experiences using a strainer bag, vs aluball been, in both kavalactone extraction efficiency, and more/larger particulate matter being present in the end product?

Cheers

 

[Ricardo Piquant]

I think 70 micron bag produces the best product but the aluball is quick and convenient and easy to use while traveling or when you just want a quick blast. The bag does produce a better textured drink with more body and viscosity. I think kavafied bags are the best. But I think the aluball screen is 80 micron

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

Nothing beats trad prep but the AluBall is so wonderful it's a no-brainer. I use both. AluBall for the first two washes and trad for the subsequent four washes.

 

[VictoriousSpoon]

I just ordered an Aluballer. In the meantime however, I've got an idea to make my own "aluball" by trimming down one of my smaller strainer bags, filling it up with my preferred kava for the day, and closing it with plastic clips, to use in one of my protein shaker bottles.

 

[Mo'iety]

I just ordered an Aluballer. In the meantime however, I've got an idea to make my own "aluball" by trimming down one of my smaller strainer bags, filling it up with my preferred kava for the day, and closing it with plastic clips, to use in one of my protein shaker bottles.

Make sure to update us with how it works out - that sounds like a brilliant idea, as long as you can keep the bag closed with the vigorous shaking!

 

[Edward]

I think the bag would close up too much and the water wouldn't circulate enough.

 

[ThePiper]

Traditional prep puts aluball to shame. I bought both types of aluball bottles and I really don't get the appeal.

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

I just ordered an Aluballer. In the meantime however, I've got an idea to make my own "aluball" by trimming down one of my smaller strainer bags, filling it up with my preferred kava for the day, and closing it with plastic clips, to use in one of my protein shaker bottles.

 

[VictoriousSpoon]

Make sure to update us with how it works out - that sounds like a brilliant idea, as long as you can keep the bag closed with the vigorous shaking!

Will do- I can't seem to find the lids to any of my shaker bottles, so i ordered a new one. I think it will work quite well TBH- I recently used this large strainer bag that came with my Cactus Kava order, and dunked it like a teabag in my 4L pitcher when preparing it; the end product for the first two washes was quite nice.

I think using a smaller strainer bag wouldn;t even require any modifications-I could just fold it over after filling, and use the draw strings to tie it shut; it would essentially be a giant kava teabag in a shaker. I will test everything and take photos after i receive everything in the mail.

 

[VictoriousSpoon]

Great minds...

 

[VictoriousSpoon]

I think the bag would close up too much and the water wouldn't circulate enough.

I would think it would be less prone, given that the entire surface area is strainer material. My dunking experiment with the larger bag gave me the idea to do this.

 

[VictoriousSpoon]

Traditional prep puts aluball to shame. I bought both types of aluball bottles and I really don't get the appeal.

Part of the appeal for me, is pulling out a finished, purpose-built product in a professional office environment, looks much less clandestine/illicit than pulling out mysterious powders and murky water bottles bottles

 

[Thomas2060]

Traditional prep puts aluball to shame. I bought both types of aluball bottles and I really don't get the appeal.

I've used both methods. I have to wonder what I'm doing wrong with the traditional kneading, because people say stuff like this and it's just not the case for me. I have a bag from Kavafied. I usually put half a cup kava in the bag and knead vigorously in 16oz of liquid for 10-15 minutes, then squeeze every last drop out of the bag. The liquid is oily when I'm done. I've watched numerous videos and I'm positive I have the gist of it. The resulting drink is definitely smoother and more "gourmet" seeming than with the Aluball, but the potency is quite a bit lower than what I get out of the Aluball (using less kava at that).

 

[Zaphod]

Part of the appeal for me, is pulling out a finished, purpose-built product in a professional office environment, looks much less clandestine/illicit than pulling out mysterious powders and murky water bottles bottles

This. The aluball is simple, convenient, easy to travel with and if at work most think it is a shake of some sort. I use both methods. If I have the time and space the strainer is better imho - if not then the aluball is the next best thing.

 

[JohnMichael]

Aluball. If one does not overfill the ball and is a vigorous shaker, then the resulting kava is fantastic. I use room temp water, but always rinse the aluball in extremely hot water after each batch to melt away the waxy kavalactones. I use a 10X magnifying glass to check the aluball from time to time to make sure that the permanently clogged parts of the mesh do not exceed 20% of the total. At 25% the aluball is noticeably less effective than trad prep.