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Blending with Isa

Edward

Aluballin' in the UK
Kava Vendor
What do you do when you want a heavy kava night and you haven't got a heavy hitter in stock? Add some Isa! I've had a couple of shells of a mix, one half full aluball of noble and a quarter full ball of Isa. I really notice the difference. The Isa really adds another dimension to the feeling, a much stronger body feel. No doubt I'll sleep really well and I doubt it'll have too much effect by the morning, I'm not going to drink a lot tonight.
 

Edward

Aluballin' in the UK
Kava Vendor
An even easier, cheaper and perhaps safer option: add some vitamin C to your grog. It will substantially reduce the amount of kavain and will change the overall chemotype into something heavier.
That's another way to do it I suppose. I might try it. It wouldn't increase the heavier kavalactones any though would it.
 

Edward

Aluballin' in the UK
Kava Vendor
nope. it would not. but it would reduce the euphoric/uplifting effect of kava, which might actually be better than simply adding a larger amount of long-lasting kavalactones. At least from the point of view of next day energy levels
The amount I'm using isn't going to give me any problems in the morning. You need quite a good few tablespoons before you get a significant next day effect.
 

Edward

Aluballin' in the UK
Kava Vendor
Cool. Still, I suppose for some people the "problem" might be that headier kavas keep them alert. This may or may not be mitigated by throwing more DHM into the mix. But it may well be easier mitigated by reducing kavain.
I'm not getting that kind of effect, the noble wasn't particularly heady anyway so all that's happening is that I'm getting a bit more of a body melt.
 

SelfBiasResistor

Persist for Resistance!
Cool. Still, I suppose for some people the "problem" might be that headier kavas keep them alert. This may or may not be mitigated by throwing more DHM into the mix. But it may well be easier mitigated by reducing kavain.
Reducing kavain alone isn't going to be most peoples goal. A good balanced kava will have a balance of head and body effects. Moderate kavain and low amounts of heavy kava will just be a weak, useless drink if the kavain is removed...

Has there been any evidence that vitamin C will convert kavain in the shell? The study I saw found the vitamin C converting kavain was in a living plant. There are biological processes happening in a living organism that wouldn't take place in a cup of water mixed with dead, dried plant material.
 

Kavashua

Mmmm Kava
What do you do when you want a heavy kava night and you haven't got a heavy hitter in stock? Add some Isa! I've had a couple of shells of a mix, one half full aluball of noble and a quarter full ball of Isa. I really notice the difference. The Isa really adds another dimension to the feeling, a much stronger body feel. No doubt I'll sleep really well and I doubt it'll have too much effect by the morning, I'm not going to drink a lot tonight.
What brand of Isa are you using?
 

SelfBiasResistor

Persist for Resistance!
Well, Edward talked about strong body feeling and good sleep, not a "good balanced kava".

Dr Lebot simply stated that vitamin C "immediately" reduced kavain, which explain the lack of kavain in the aerial parts. As for "studies", it has been noted that ready kava beverages that use Vit C as preservative do indeed get an altered chemotype.
OK. It was the leaf observations that I was thinking about. I've mixed instant and micronized with juice containing vitamin C and haven't ever really noticed a difference on effects so maybe it would need to be exposed for more time. I think the heavy kava enthusiast is much better off blending the higher kavain kava with a higher DHM noble or ISA/tudei. This was done with much success by some vendors in the past. What the pro noble group seems to not understand is that some people (possibly many) enjoy the full spectrum (balanced) feel of both heady and heavy KLs acting in harmony. When the balance is good, there isn't an issue with drinking too much or drinking too late and not being able to sleep as an added benefit.
 

Edward

Aluballin' in the UK
Kava Vendor
@Kavashua on it's own it just gives a strong body feeling. Blended it brought a bit more balance to the effect.

Having tried a couple of tudei/isa kavas I'm definitely going to be trying a few more. I want to get some Hawaiian Isa next and give that a try. They're definitely good kavas for certain purposes.
 

SelfBiasResistor

Persist for Resistance!
I plan on giving it a go, stuff like this just further adds to the versatility of the root
Exactly. The more variety, the more ways it can be used to benefit people who need it. If you blend it into a decent noble with a noticeable amount of kavain, you may only need a couple of Tbsp worth to boost the KL% up enough to feel satisfying.
 
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