PapaMoi
Kava Enthusiast
So the first thing I noticed with this Ambae's is the strong, pleasant smell of it when opening the vacuum sealed bag. OMG. It smelled almost like a woody smell, but more than pine...almost like white oak or sassafras. I could sense the strength and depth of the kava just by the pungency of the smell when unpacking it. I sifted a bit of it through my fingers and could feel almost a greasy (in a good way) texture to the kava. The consistency was very very 'fluffy' and 'spongy' which I have come to associate with very potent kava. I had a bit of residue that stuck to my fingers after handling it. The grind is one of my favorites and one can see very clearly that this is real kava. No extra bs.
Ok. Enough of that. On to the effects. I did a traditional prep on this bad boy. 8 tablespoons in a fijian strainer in about 2 cups of water. This made a really strong 'syrup' of a grog, which I thinned out with another cup of 2% milk to push the depth of effects My observations: This is pretty much (for me, at least) a slow kava. It takes awhile to really kick in, but lasts longer too. A creeper of sorts. The taste was pretty distinctly Vanuatu-ish.
I will say it like that rather than just coming out and saying it tasted pretty bad. But again, some of the best and strongest kavas imho are the worst tasting ones. I have never drank kava for the taste. 
So a few minutes into the experience, and I realized my thoughts were becoming less 'linear' and more 'abstract' and 'big'. Usually I am pretty much a reserved person who is a loner and likes to read
or do intellectual work and doesn't want to waste time with people that don't relate. With this kava, I found myself open more to the idea of calling up old friends and just chatting...with no particular agenda and no real concern with time spent doing it. Talk about a nice break. People talk often about couch-lock kavas, 
but for me this was more of a nice comfy recliner (Lazy Boy?) grog. Not totally incapacitating but strong enough to slow me down and force me to chill. A much needed reprieve. It helped me get back to reading the immense epic book I'm reading (The Wandering Jew by Eugene Sue) which , between the covers, describes decades in a fictitious family's lineage and can be sort of daunting to understand and remember what is going on for me. Very deep and wide concepts in the book and this kava seemed to open it up a little more to me.
Overall, this is on my top favorites list at the moment. And For specific reasons. KavaTime has great kava, at a good price. Shipping is fast and I feel like you get what you pay for and even a little more from them. This is top shelf stuff and their products have always been consistent so far. I like the Ambae in that it is on the other end of the spectrum from what I usually drink. Usually it's nice Fijian or Hawaiian and usually something 'heady'. This had that aspect to it, but it was sort of muted by the muscle relaxation and the physicality of the effects in my body. I could feel it from head to toe. I hate to say it like this, but it was fairly close to feeling like a mild opiate for me. Without all the negatives of an opiate. It put me 'in the zone' and reminded me of why I really and truly love kava. As long as there is Ambae and other good strong grogs around, I won't feel compelled to imbibe in alcohol, opiates, etc. Ain't nothing like the real thing, right? Ain't nothing like the real think baby...ain't nothing like the real thing.
Ambae, thank you for the good times. I love you. You are the one for me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and grow old together. xoxoxoxoxoxo
Ok. Enough of that. On to the effects. I did a traditional prep on this bad boy. 8 tablespoons in a fijian strainer in about 2 cups of water. This made a really strong 'syrup' of a grog, which I thinned out with another cup of 2% milk to push the depth of effects My observations: This is pretty much (for me, at least) a slow kava. It takes awhile to really kick in, but lasts longer too. A creeper of sorts. The taste was pretty distinctly Vanuatu-ish.
I will say it like that rather than just coming out and saying it tasted pretty bad. But again, some of the best and strongest kavas imho are the worst tasting ones. I have never drank kava for the taste. So a few minutes into the experience, and I realized my thoughts were becoming less 'linear' and more 'abstract' and 'big'. Usually I am pretty much a reserved person who is a loner and likes to read
or do intellectual work and doesn't want to waste time with people that don't relate. With this kava, I found myself open more to the idea of calling up old friends and just chatting...with no particular agenda and no real concern with time spent doing it. Talk about a nice break. People talk often about couch-lock kavas, but for me this was more of a nice comfy recliner (Lazy Boy?) grog. Not totally incapacitating but strong enough to slow me down and force me to chill. A much needed reprieve. It helped me get back to reading the immense epic book I'm reading (The Wandering Jew by Eugene Sue) which , between the covers, describes decades in a fictitious family's lineage and can be sort of daunting to understand and remember what is going on for me. Very deep and wide concepts in the book and this kava seemed to open it up a little more to me.Overall, this is on my top favorites list at the moment. And For specific reasons. KavaTime has great kava, at a good price. Shipping is fast and I feel like you get what you pay for and even a little more from them. This is top shelf stuff and their products have always been consistent so far. I like the Ambae in that it is on the other end of the spectrum from what I usually drink. Usually it's nice Fijian or Hawaiian and usually something 'heady'. This had that aspect to it, but it was sort of muted by the muscle relaxation and the physicality of the effects in my body. I could feel it from head to toe. I hate to say it like this, but it was fairly close to feeling like a mild opiate for me. Without all the negatives of an opiate. It put me 'in the zone' and reminded me of why I really and truly love kava. As long as there is Ambae and other good strong grogs around, I won't feel compelled to imbibe in alcohol, opiates, etc. Ain't nothing like the real thing, right? Ain't nothing like the real think baby...ain't nothing like the real thing.
Ambae, thank you for the good times. I love you. You are the one for me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and grow old together. xoxoxoxoxoxo