Case of the Disappearing Grog

[Sir_Tarquin]

The first several months I started preparing kava, the amount kava I would get was typically the same as the amount water I used. If I used 16 of water, I would get about 16 oz of kava. In the past few weeks though, I've noticed I'm losing about 2-4 oz after prepping. So now if I'm using 16 oz of water, I'm only getting 12-14 oz of kava. Is this common, or is there a new flaw occurring in my prep, like my strainer has already gotten clogged? If it's the strainer, is there a way to unclog it, considering I've only been using it for about a month? I've already tried soaking it overnight in water, dish soap, and vinegar, but that might have made it worse since I noticed this happening right after that.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

There's always gonna be some moisture that soaks back into the root fibers and will nearly impossible to get back out by hand. The best you can do is twist up the strainer really tight and give it a couple really strong squeezes and wring it out as much as possible, when you're done kneading. The amount of lost might also depend on the thickness of the grind of a certain kava too. Super fine grinds will end up with a lot of particles slipping through your straining, which doesn't leave much makas in the bag to holding water.

Fijian style fabric strainers also hold a lot more water than a strong nylon bag, just in case you're using a Fiji strainer or a T-shirt or something.

 

[OzKava]

I believe the water difference can be accounted for by the amount of water retained by:
(a) The makas (which will vary by cultivar and grind); and
(b) The strainer bag.

I find that at least 20ml is lost.

 

[Lenticels]

Super fine grinds will end up with a lot of particles slipping through your straining, which doesn't leave much makas in the bag to holding water.

This shouldn't be the case if you're using a ~75 μm strainer bag in the case of finer-ground traditional kava.

100 μm can potentially do that to you.

(Also, the leftover makas shouldn't have much liquid in them either way, if you wring-out the strainer bag with sufficient force.)

 

[Lenticels]

@Groggy, what'd I write that's wrong?

Maybe I misread/misinterpreted something? Or I'm just plain ol' wrong...

 

[Groggy]

@Groggy, what'd I write that's wrong?

Maybe I misread/misinterpreted something? Or I'm just plain ol' wrong...

Honestly I don't remember, I had a reason. I can tell you I have low tolerance for sideways comments or annoying behavior. This isn't Reddit. We can have intelligent conversations without being sarcastic, self righteous or arrogant, we are all here learning together.

 

[Lenticels]

Honestly I don't remember, I had a reason. I can tell you I have low tolerance for sideways comments or annoying behavior. This isn't Reddit. We can have intelligent conversations without being sarcastic, self righteous or arrogant, we are all here learning together.

I wasn't trying to be any of those things.

We can also try not to be curt.

 

[Lenticels]

Honestly I don't remember, I had a reason. I can tell you I have low tolerance for sideways comments or annoying behavior. This isn't Reddit. We can have intelligent conversations without being sarcastic, self righteous or arrogant, we are all here learning together.

And in terms of "annoying behavior," reacting to my earnest comment with a laughing emoji and then refusing to proffer anything other than "I had a reason" is definitely something I'd consider to be in that category.