Fresh frozen kava root

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

Hi everyone, I just found out that a friend and fellow kava farmer has some fresh kava for sale on his website. It says this---
Fresh/Frozen Kava
We have a number of Hawaiian varieties including Moi, Nene, Spotted Hiwa,
and . Kava is a 3 year crop as it takes a minimum of 2 years for the
kavalactones to develop to an adequate strength within the lateral roots.No Kava leaves or stems are used in any of our Kava products.
Code: 006
Price: $250.00
Weight 10lbs

His website is here---http://www.pinnercreekorganics.com/store/cart.cgi?action=search&category=Kava

Now you guys have a good quality supply of fresh frozen root. Aloha.

Chris

 

[The Kap'n]

Hey Chris, are we talking ground up root or whole roots.

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

I am not 100% sure but I am almost certain that it is in pulp form. All you need to do is pick the amount of kava you want to use and make your fresh kava beverage. Lat me know if you want me to ask Dean, he is the owner of the company. Aloha.

Chris

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

I talked to this guy once, here's a bit of what he said:

We favor Moi and Spotted Hiwa for flavor and effect. Smooth but satisfying for most consumers.
We freeze roots whole to insure transparency. Some chopping down of the thawed roots may be necessary for the average freezer compartment but i fit 15 pounds on one shelf of an upright freezer.
I would pound at least .75 to one pound of fresh roots per session. Bear in mind that the thicker fibrous lateral roots are twice as strong as the stump portion of the kava plant. Pound equal portions of stump and laterals per session. We add a little coco milk and ginger to improve absorption and flavor.

So, I think you actually get whole intact roots from him. The guys at Kanaka Kava definitely ship fresh pulp though.
Gotta try this stuff one of these days. So much kava, so little time........and money.

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

Hi Shakas, thanks for the info, I saw Dean today at the seminar that the Dr. from university of Minnesota that did the cancer studies and kava. He was one of the 20 people that were invited and it was the first time I saw Dean in several years. He told me about him selling a bunch of fresh root, it is good to know that it is whole and not pulped. It would be much easier to buy it already pulped. Thanks again. Aloha.

Chris

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

How was the seminar ? Any interesting news or updates ?

 

[The Kap'n]

250 for ten pounds tho! Seriously I'd consider burning up a few blenders for that. I sent him an e-mail. I'd love to fill up the freezer again, and justify to my wife why we don't have room for "food" in the freezer.

 

[Deleted User01]

So if ten pounds = 1 session more or less, than that's 25 bucks per session. At that price, I think I'll stick to GHK instant for special ocassions. But if I win the lottery, it's fresh root on me for everybody .... Line em up Barkeep!

 

[The Kap'n]

25 bucks per awesome session. See, that sounds better! I used 1/4 lb per session with Adil's frozen, so I'd probably start at that level. 1/4 lb made me 1 liter of strong, wonderful tasting kava.

 

[Deleted User01]

Ok, so doing the math (clilckety, clackity, hit the total key) so now its 6.25 for an Awesome session. Yeah, that sounds a lot better.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

yeah, one pound..or even 1/2 pound per session makes it hard for me to justify buying it, considering how much more dry root I could get for that price. But, the experience would be so unique, I feel like I should do it at least once. Then again, that price for 10lbs is already about 1/3 of the airfare to hawai'i...where I could just drink it locally.
However, I've already been there, so the next plane ticket I buy will probably be to Vanuatu where I can drink fresh shells for $1.00 a pop. I guess I view that $250.oo being better spent toward my plane ticket, for me anyway. It's all still a day dream at this point.

 

[Deleted User01]

Ok, I'm clueless as to why it is so expensive. Instant is supposed to be derived from a fresh drink, right? And that is a process of sorts. Why is the frozen root so much more expensive than the powder when it takes so much more manpower to make the powder?

 

[kavadude]

Probably the shipping is most of it. It weighs a lot because of all the water weight.

Yeah, looking at their site, shipping is included in the price, and it's fedex 2-day from Hawaii. So the shipping alone probably costs him like over $100.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

I can't say for sure since I've only had instant once and I've never had fresh...but I get the feeling that even though instant is derived from fresh, It still loses a little something in the process. Or perhaps its just the idea of it, or the sentiment of the tradition behind it that you pay for. Business could have something to do with it too...if hardly anyone buys fresh and you keep it in stock, you'll be losing money on something that would have quickly sold if you turned it into dry powder.

 

[The Kap'n]

@Deleted User01 The moment a fresh kava touches your lips you'd understand it's mystique. It still has all the natural enzymes and constituents that you loose in any dry form. It tastes like earthy green tea. Almost nothing like the kava we're used to. It's great. I highly suggest it at least once.

 

[Deleted User01]

Gotcha. FYI. I just received the first of 2 Kava plants I ordered. One is unknown and the other alleges to be Awa Mo'i. I will post them once I have them potted and settled down and Chris will analyze them for Lineage. He has already given me some tips. As time goes, I will post my long term plan for those little guys. But of course, this is a 3-5 year project. In any event, those plants fit into our backyard with Elephant Ears, Bananas, etc. Unfortunately, I just finished cutting back all the freeze damage but I have a game plan for the next winter and I think everything will come back because the rhizomes are intact. They just won't be as big as they were. Sh__ happens.

 

[BULABUCK]

Hmm can i start one on a porch in austin at an apt...

 

[Deleted User01]

I'm going to start mine in a pot and transplant it to a huge plant like I would some of the Elephant Ears in our Noahs Ark (our 2 small greenhouses). I'm very much afraid that they won't make it thru another one of these winters. Once in the pots and once they get big enough, we will take cuttings and put them in the "nursery". The plan is to make sure we have backup plants if the big ones die. They like sun but they need shade from our Texas Sun. You may need to spray them with water mist to make them happy. You can use Miracle Grow if in pots but once in the ground, you should use compost. So there is the game plan.

 

[BULABUCK]

Thx ,Deleted User01

 

[Deleted User01]

Chef, the final plan would be to eventually harvest the big mama plant. So you would get as many shoots/seedlings as possible and then harvest the root. It would be a one time deal and I have no idea how much you would get. Like Kapm said, you have to have fresh root at least one time in your life. I bought them because they blend in with the rest of my plants so I win no matter what. But a man can dream ...

P.S. With Chris at GHK at our side, the odds of success go up.