Guy with high tolerance looking for the strongest possible kava

[Kavaguy]

Avahz,nice to see I am not the only one. Never had ears ringing or vision blurring before; Fijian must be some good stuff.

 

[IloveKava23]

I've never heard of someone using that much kava that's crazy. Have you ever tried to cut back and see how well a cig 2-4 tbsp cup does you?

 

[Kavaguy]

In April, I started out with 4 tablespoons, and that did the trick. Getting really sick of the amount of preparation that goes into it, about 30 minutes each day. I heat up water with lecithin to 120 degrees, knead the kava for 10 minutes, heat it up again to 120 degrees, then knead it for another 10 minutes. Recently I discovered micronized, so that saves me a lot of time. Costs about $10/time though.

As time passes, I need to use more to get the same effect. I know this is the opposite of what normally happens-reverse tolerance.

 

[VictoryRider]

I am another one that seems to have a higher tolerance. Always have (10+years of root consumption). I drink quite a lot of
Stone, and I use 1/2 - as much as 3/4-cup of root, and do 2 washes. The first wash I can barely finish since it is quite potent.
The 2nd wash gets me decently rooted, but not krunked. So, if I did just 1/2 cup, I'd get one nice wash. But less than that
won't quite do it for me.

Of course, I'm talking about getting SOLIDLY rooted here... not just taking the edge off -- taking pretty much the whole SURFACE off.

 

[Kavaguy]

Victory Rider, thanks for sharing your experience. Can I ask why you do two washes instead of just kneading the kava twice as long for one wash? Is it to dilute the strong taste?

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

As a fellow hard-head, these are some of the kavas that are usually relatively strong to me: N@H's Stone & WOW!, GHK's Hanakapi'ai and 'Opihikao, Kalm's Loa Waka, BKH's Nangol Noble or Nambawan.

I usually use 8-11 Tbsp, per nightly batch. Even at the high end of dosing, it's still not a sure shot that I'll get the full ideal effects, but I'll definitely be pleasantly sedated.

I estimated that the kava I drank at the nakamals in Vanuatu was of equivalent in potency to a 12-16 Tbsp batch of home made dry powder kava. So you might be right in the zone for Vanuatu strength kava. The only difference is that fresh Vanuatu undried kava at that strength is much cleaner, both in effects and beverage consistency, than when you try to reproduce the same potency with dry powder.

 

[Kavaguy]

Thanks for the recommendations. Would be great if there was a place in the U.S. where one could buy fresh kava.

 

[Edward]

Kapm Crunk, I was hoping that by using less quantity of Kava, there would be less skin side effects, but you said that the effects are from kavalactones, so if I use Stone, they might be more pronounced. I will keep an eye on my skin. Thanks.

I've been using coconut oil capsules for months now and all I get is occasionally dry hands which some aqueous cream sorts out. I'd recommend it to anyone who drinks kava regularly.

 

[Kavaguy]

Read into it, and people say it does wonders for the skin. Just ordered some from Amazon. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Jerome]

Read into it, and people say it does wonders for the skin. Just ordered some from Amazon. Thanks for the suggestion.

If you're ok with the taste, just spooning extra virgin, expeller pressed, coconut oil into your mouth works well. And it's considerably cheaper than the capsules.

 

[Kavaguy]

Before I asked the question on this forum of this difference btw Stone and Wow Nakamal at Home kava, I had emailed the company. They responded that the effects are exactly the same, just that most people say that Wow tastes better. Usually the worse something tastes, the better it works, but maybe I will order Wow after I try Stone and see how it compares.

 

[VictoryRider]

Victory Rider, thanks for sharing your experience. Can I ask why you do two washes instead of just kneading the kava twice as long for one wash? Is it to dilute the strong taste?

I think that kneading for longer than 8-10 minutes doesn't do much extra. Using fresh water seems to squeeze out the remaining
kavalactones better. I also soak the spent root from the first wash for a couple hours (starting with hot tap water), which softens
and expands the fibers a lot, making it easier to get the last bits out.

I think that if I used 1/2 cup and use a tad less water on the first wash, then some fresh water and do a 2nd knead,
I'd probably get the same effect. I like doing it the way I do it so that I have a jug of weaker but still effective grog
that I can keep in the fridge to drink a few nights later without having to do any kneading/prep.

 

[Kavaguy]

Jerome, I might have to do that once I lose the 20 lbs I have a resolution to take care of.

Victory Rider, I usually only use 1 cup and a half of water to a cup of kava, which makes for a very thick and vile tasting mixture, but I do it in order to "get it over with." What you say makes sense about two washes, so I will give it a try.

Thanks

 

[Edward]

@Kavaguy try adding a splash of milk to your prep and see if that makes a difference. It does for me, a lot.

 

[Squanch72]

I've been using coconut oil capsules for months now and all I get is occasionally dry hands which some aqueous cream sorts out. I'd recommend it to anyone who drinks kava regularly.

I have been putting a tablespoon of coconut oil in my coffee for the last three weeks and haven't needed to use lotion anymore.

 

[Kavaguy]

For me, it seems that milk brings out the bitterness in the kava, so I have been using lecithin granules. Do you or anyone else think that milk works better?

 

[Adam44]

I have been putting a tablespoon of coconut oil in my coffee for the last three weeks and haven't needed to use lotion anymore.

Interesting, are you a daily kava drinker?

 

[violet]

@Kavaguy I have always added a little bit of heavy cream when kneading out a batch of grog. For me it smoothes out the worst of bitter or other disagreeable flavors. I can't stand to flavor kava with anything, as this just seems to amplify the flavor of the kava.

I've tried lecithin a few times but it didn't seem to make any difference in the prep. Not sure the cream does either, but helps it go down much easier.

Stone is great one to go with for "heavier" effects, great heady and body. It hits me harder than WOW! but isn't nearly as mild tasting.

 

[Kavaguy]

Will try a bit of heavy cream. Looking forward to Stone in a few days. Thank you.

 

[Jerome]

Jerome, I might have to do that once I lose the 20 lbs I have a resolution to take care of.

Victory Rider, I usually only use 1 cup and a half of water to a cup of kava, which makes for a very thick and vile tasting mixture, but I do it in order to "get it over with." What you say makes sense about two washes, so I will give it a try.

Thanks

Well.... you may want to do a little research on weight loss using coconut oil. Perhaps a ketogenic approach might be helpful!