Am i using way too much kava?

[yepimonfire]

Making the recipe according to http://www.nakamalathome.com/making-kava/kava-recipe.html

1 cup of kava per two cups of water. Other things i have read say you use like a cup per gallon. Drinking it after making it based on the recipe it doesn't seem too strong, just right.

 

[infraredz]

Yeah, I really have no idea why so many people recommend such high amounts like that. Personally, that's way too much for me.

1 cup of water is 16 tablespoons. As you'll see here, most of us only use 2 (lucky Vekta)- 9 tbsps. I have no clue as to how anyone could drink that amount.

 

[kavadude]

Yes. You should also use way more water than Nakamal@Home recommends. I would say more like a cup of water to 4 tablespoons of kava, and 4-8 tablespoons per kava session.

 

[infraredz]

Yes. You should also use way more water than Nakamal@Home recommends. I would say more like a cup of water to 4 tablespoons of kava, and 4-8 tablespoons per kava session.

This is a great recommendation. I use the exact ratio and it works perfectly.

No need for gallons of water, and no need for pounds of kava per cup. I don't even know what that would be like if I prepared it per the N@H instructions

 

[KavaGurl]

Yeah I agree totally with infraredz and kavadude..I usually use about 6tbs to 3-4 cups of water...sometimes I'll experiement a little and try stronger ratios but this is my mainstay.

 

[yepimonfire]

Perhaps the reason it's not incredibly strong is because there is no kneading involved(i have read somewhere that you're supposed to knead it). Can someone give me some advice on how to prepare it correctly?

 

[kavadude]

What have you been doing? I assume you've at least been straining it...if you drank a cup of kava with a cup of water straight up you'd probably be hugging the toilet right now.

Applying some kind of pressure in order to emulsify the kavalactones into the water is necessary. You can blend it, knead it or work on it with a rolling pin. I like the rolling pin method: http://kavalounge.yuku.com/topic/1549/Testing-a-new-Kava-prep-method-I-created . IMO you need to spend at least 10-15 minutes on this in order to produce a good batch of kava.

 

[yepimonfire]

What have you been doing? I assume you've at least been straining it...if you drank a cup of kava with a cup of water straight up you'd probably be hugging the toilet right now.

Applying some kind of pressure in order to emulsify the kavalactones into the water is necessary. You can blend it, knead it or work on it with a rolling pin. I like the rolling pin method: http://kavalounge.yuku.com/topic/1549/Testing-a-new-Kava-prep-method-I-created . IMO you need to spend at least 10-15 minutes on this in order to produce a good batch of kava.

letting the kava powder sit in the water for 30 minutes, tthen dumping it intro the strainer bag and wringing all the liquid out of it. I'm pretty sure this isn't working as well as kneading it because last night i drank two cups of root and four cups of water prepared this way and wasnt even that bad off, today at work i drank one cup of root to two cups of water using the same prep method, while i did feel something from the kava, i was able to drive a coworker somewhere.

 

[BULABUCK]

This recipe works great for any measurement 2 tbs per cup water pick your kava heat half the water warm enough to dissolve lecthin. Then add room temp water .add your kava let soak for 30 min grab another bowl put the strainer in the bowl pour in your soaked kava .knead for 15 min at least i always restrain and knead again then pour a shell its best before it settles BULA

 

[infraredz]

letting the kava powder sit in the water for 30 minutes, tthen dumping it intro the strainer bag and wringing all the liquid out of it. I'm pretty sure this isn't working as well as kneading it because last night i drank two cups of root and four cups of water prepared this way and wasnt even that bad off, today at work i drank one cup of root to two cups of water using the same prep method, while i did feel something from the kava, i was able to drive a coworker somewhere.

There's the cause right there. There's got to be some sort of agitation because kavalactones are not water soluble and will not dissolve into a solution with only water. The one thing people don't immediate realize is that kava isn't made like a tea (in the traditional sense) where you just let it steep.

You should only have to use between 2 and 8 tablespoons (aka 1/8-1/2 of a cup), not 2 whole cups. Basically it's just a waste of kava.

Here is a good collection of various methods (they all work well): http://www.kavaforums.com/forum/wiki/techniques/

 

[TidyMinion]

i prepared a gallon of kava to take on the road - beach trip! used approx 19-20 tbsp to the gallon water so not even 2tbsp/cup. used an emulsion blender in a big mixing bowl - highly recommend it if you have one. blended it, let it soak all day at work, then did more blending before and after straining. once strained i made a 4 cup second wash then re-blended it back in with the 1st wash.

wondering now if i should have used more kava but my supply is going too so i'll just keoep drinking it and not worry about it!

@yepimonfire Good luck working out your process. stick with it and you'll find what works best for you.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

I personally need about 3/4 cup of root, well kneaded through a fijian strainer to really even notice any effect. I use 2 cups of water simply because I dont wanna be drinking more liquid. Kava seems to immediately stop my stomach and tie it in knots unfortunately...so the less liquid the better, for me. I could use less if I strain with a nylon, 'cause it lets more sediment through...but also messes with my stomach more. ...for a mild natural effect on my anxiety and sleep I can get away with using less.

 

[Ed!]

3/4 cup of root is also my norm. On weekends I'll bump that up to a cup occasionally. Some people, like Vekta, are lucky lightweights. I'm not so lucky.

I have found that in the cases where I go up to 1 cup (and sometimes a hair beyond) I often don't consume all of what I make. My body tells me it's done and I put the remainder in the fridge, which is nice. When I drink booze my body never tells me it's done.

 

[kavadude]

Good to know I'm sort of in the middle in terms of tolerance. 2 tbsps of kava won't do squat for me but a little over twice that will.

Ultimately, its something you have to figure out for yourself, but I do think the N@H ratio is too skewed towards kava for most. More water = less grit. Hold your nose and drink it, then wash your mouth out before letting go, and the taste won't bother you.

 

[Bubba Bula]

My recipe - 1/4 to 1/3 cups of root to 3 cups water. Then do a second wash with 2.5 cups of water.

 

[Kojo Douglas]

Super interesting topic. My original recipe is here: http://kavasseur.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-make-kava-from-dried-root.html

In the past, my go to measurement was one compacted cup of Kava to four cups of water. That made a super strong batch of Kava that was pretty unsustainable. But it was my preparation method for making consistent reviews (which some people have recently been asking me to go back to).

However, these days I am tending to like lighter Kava that I can drink more of. I use about half as much Kava to the same amount of water. If I am drinking a Tongan or Fijian, I might step it up to 3/4 cup of Kava.

 

[Kojo Douglas]

One cup of Kava to two cups of water is crazy. I think I tried that recipe the first time I bought from Nakamal at Home and I became pretty sick after throwing back two shells. That is too much Kava, too fast.

 

[Edward]

Wow, old thread!

I've tried lots of different ratios and ways of drinking like mix it strong and drink fewer shells and mix it weaker and drink more shells and I think for me the former works best. To be honest I've had the most consistently reliable results from instants, chug a tablespoon in half a cup of water, wait an hour and repeat.

*I say water although I honestly do find mixing with milk better.