Getting The most out of Kava Root

[Transcent]

I have been drinking kava for the past few months. I am wondering whats the best way to get the maximum Kavalactone's extracted from the root? I know the basic add fat, knead for 5-10 Minutes ( heard of some kneading for 20 ) Hot water but not too hot. Some people leave the root in water overnight? Does that make a difference? Looking for more tips to get the most out of the root.

 

[fait]

Some people will blend their medium grind with water then add the resulting paste into a strainer bag to filter out the solids. Common practice is to make a second wash with the same root powder after you knead it for 10+ minutes. Third washes aren't unheard of.

What you can also do is do your two washes, then take the leftover makas, and start making a collection in your freezer. Once you get a big enough collection, you can thaw those makas out and make a batch of what @Krunkie McKrunkface calls "mongrel grog" and you can either drink that as is or you can use it as a liquid medium for a batch of grog using virgin root powder. You could probably even blend the old makas when you make the mongrel grog.

 

[Transcent]

Thanks for the tips. Blending before kneading sounds like an interesting idea. What is grog? I've been to a couple kava bars and learned some things but nobody has ever mentioned grog before. I've only been very recently introduced to that term on this forum.

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

Thanks for the tips. Blending before kneading sounds like an interesting idea. What is grog? I've been to a couple kava bars and learned some things but nobody has ever mentioned grog before. I've only been very recently introduced to that term on this forum.

Grog is just plain kava, made with roots and water.

 

[Transcent]

Grog is just plain kava, made with roots and water.

Oh so just slang for traditional kava. Seems like fitting name

 

[fait]

@Transcent I personally just put my powder in a strainer bag and knead for 10-15 minutes. If I had a blender, I would try the blender method, but I lack this apparatus. So I just knead powder right from the packaging and into the strainer bag. But if you have a blender and you're willing to put the time and effort in, go for it! I have no idea how long you should blender your root for. Whether your knead the powder as is or blended, do a 2nd wash! You'll get more out of your root that way.

 

[Transcent]

@Transcent I personally just put my powder in a strainer bag and knead for 10-15 minutes. If I had a blender, I would try the blender method, but I lack this apparatus. So I just knead powder right from the packaging and into the strainer bag.

I've tried both and I prefer the strainer bag. I do the second wash and will start freezing to make "mongrel grog" Thanks for the tips

 

[Zaphod]

I have been drinking kava for the past few months. I am wondering whats the best way to get the maximum Kavalactone's extracted from the root? I know the basic add fat, knead for 5-10 Minutes ( heard of some kneading for 20 ) Hot water but not too hot. Some people leave the root in water overnight? Does that make a difference? Looking for more tips to get the most out of the root.

I think there is a study somewhere that shows they got the most efficient extraction using blender, hot water, and then straining. However, this may not be what you want. As a daily drinker I tend not to want to bother with a blender (and clean up afterwords) and prefer my bag/strainer while listening to music or watching my ipad on the counter. Nice way to unwind from the day. I have also had issues with a blender extracting too well and lining it with hard to wash yellow sticky goo (think extract like gooiness that doesn't wash off). Hot vs cold water is another area where you will want to develop your own taste. In my opinion, hot water extracts more of the heavy KLs. It also makes for a much more bitter kava drink. So for me I use hot (really hot) tap water. If I am making it for my wife I will use room temp or colder water. Again all preference. Most of these differences are probably small in the overall scheme of things, so find the the one that fits your lifestlye and enjoy. If you are using kava daily and are really strapped for cash and want to eeek out every last KL then @Krunkie McKrunkface is the king. He gets 6-8 washes out of his kava by saving the frozen makas. Look up his methods for mongrel grog...

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

I think there is a study somewhere that shows they got the most efficient extraction using blender, hot water, and then straining. However, this may not be what you want.

Well, it is "the most efficient" way of extracting the max KL's......... if one is limited to a single pass/iteration/wash/instance/whatever. But any method that relies on only a single pass is then by definition among the least efficient ways of extracting KLs from medium grind.


So, it is and it isn't. It is very efficient, if you are limited to one iteration. If you can choose the number and type of iterations, it's remarkably inefficient.

Post facto correction: the Bittendbender method, in fact, does three washes and then combines them, but it ends after that and one chucks the makas because presumably all KLs have been most efficiently extracted. So, it is really three iterations and not just one.

 

[Transcent]

Well, it is "the most efficient" way of extracting the max KL's......... if one is limited to a single pass/iteration/wash/instance/whatever. But any method that relies on only a single pass is then by definition among the least efficient ways of extracting KLs from medium grind.


So, it is and it isn't. It is very efficient, if you are limited to one iteration. If you can choose the number and type of iterations, it's remarkably inefficient.

so are you saying that if you used the blender method you would not save the makas at all? Are KL's completely depleted at that point?

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

so are you saying that if you used the blender method you would not save the makas at all? Are KL's completely depleted at that point?

Well, properly speaking, the CTAHR method, or Bittenbender method, involves blending your makas three times, doing three washes. Using 100g of grind, 1 cup, to make 2.2L of grog. This is not bad at all, this is a serious maceration, that stuff is in the blender for a long time. And three washes is more than one or two.

Still, were I to do that method. I would still put the leftover makas in the freezer and later try to get some more out of it. You might need to use economies of scale, saving the makas from two or three CTAHR preps and then using that to knead some more grog. I am fairly convinced that there are some KLs that can only be "liberated" from the root through the process if rehydration, then water getting into tiny cracks and then expanding those cracks through the freezing and thawing process.

With my techniques I get 6L or more of grog from 100ml grind and each shell is the same strength. I go to a minimum of 6 washes on all my root.

 

[Transcent]

Well, properly speaking, the CTAHR method, or Bittenbender method, involves blending your makas three times, doing three washes. Using 100g of grind, 1 cup, to make 2.2L of grog. This is not bad at all, this is a serious maceration, that stuff is in the blender for a long time. And three washes is more than one or two.

Still, were I to do that method. I would still put the leftover makas in the freezer and later try to get some more out of it. You might need to use economies of scale, saving the makas from two or three CTAHR preps and then using that to knead some more grog. I am fairly convinced that there are some KLs that can only be "liberated" from the root through the process if rehydration, then water getting into tiny cracks and then expanding those cracks through the freezing and thawing process.

With my techniques I get 6L or more of grog from 100ml grind and each shell is the same strength. I go to a minimum of 6 washes on all my root.

Wow you really got this down to a science. Thanks for the lead on the CTAHR method