Does preparing kava in this way make a difference?

[Psilopsyche]

Im kinda new to kava so forgive me if this is a silly question. But I've heard that as kavalactones are not water soluable but are fat soluable, that using something like coconut milk makes for a more potent drink. Is there any truth to that? Also if it does make for a more potent drink (which I observed it does but I would like some feedback from other people) would it possibly extract more Flavokawain B thus creating more of a hepatotoxic effect? Right now I only use about 2 heaping tbsp. to about a teacups worth of coconut milk and it works perfect. And I drink maybe 3 shells of that a day.

p.s. that's with nambawan from bkh which to my knowledge is all noble.

 

[The Kap'n]

You'll hear varying reports depending on who you ask. I, personally, do not feel that it makes much if any difference really. To me it's not worth increasing the viscosity of something that's difficult to drink already. While it is true that kavalactones are not water soluble, they do suspend in water readily when you make kava traditionally. I say no, but there are people who swear by it. I swear by a warm water soak and knead process. It makes sense that a lipid would become more fluid with higher temps so I've always used hot water.

Also, seeing as you're using a noble kava as your starting powder, I believe from what I've been hearing that you would have no problems extracting Flavokawain B. According to recent reports noble kavas do not contain any.

 

[Deleted User01]

I read the Kava Preparation Study that Infraredz showed us the other day. It would seem that using water at 113 and kneading will extract the most Kavalactones. Next time I brew, I'm using 120 degree water to allow for temperature loss. Before I always used tepid water (with letchin) because everyone said that hot water makes Kava taste bad. I use coconut water so they shouldn't be a big concern in my case. I also blend the Kava for a minute to mix it well and break down any chunks. The Kava soaks in the blender for 15 minutes before I knead (10 minutes min). I hope that my next batch will maximize the Kavalactone output per that Preparation Study.

 

[infraredz]

You can get a good emulsion with kavalactones and water, as a lot of people here will tell you. However, just because I'm a geek, I couldn't live with myself knowing that kavalactones aren't water soluble, but are fat soluble. Now, the actual functional difference (rather than just in theory) might be incredibly small. The only information I'm aware of is what Deleted User01 referenced, but that isn't a good indication because the longest they would agitate by hand was 6 minutes, and we all know it takes longer than that to prepare it traditionally.

I think that higher water temp is definitely the best way to increase extraction. Also, it seems fresh root is going to yield better numbers. Personally, I use lecithin just because I still have so much left (from months ago). Like Kapm said though, it does add to the viscosity (and texture, but not flavor with lecithin). I've just gotten used to it and it doesn't bother me, but it is one more thing that can be off-putting

 

[WakaGrade]

What's very interesting is I'll take kava and eat about an hour later with little potentiation. Here's the kicker, if I eat a bowl of ice cream after dinner, it takes the kava to a whole new level. Not really for sure why? Also the other day I had a can of coconut water about 30 mins before kava and it was very intense.
I always use 3 tbsp with cold or hot water for prep.

 

[infraredz]

I have that experience sometimes too, as do other people. We can only speculate as to cause of it.

http://www.kavaforums.com/forum/threads/eating-after-kava-whats-your-experience.1472/