the sediment I use is the silky stuff left in the bottom of a shell or jar of grog. It's whatever settles at the bottom that you didn't shake or stir back into the grog. I found it's pointless and wasteful to try to make instant on purpose, rather, whenever I see this sediment, I salvage it. It's a by-product rather than a product, but well worth salvaging, IMO. Flakes are really quite special.
Hey Buddy. Well, it became clear after several batches that the time needed to produce the instant would cost more than the instant itself. My method was making a batch every 5-7 hours. That's about 15-20 grams of instant in that time frame. It was a fun project, and taught me a bit about thermodynamics and freeze drying, but ultimately I decided to leave the instant kava to the masters.
Yeah, it's a bust if you're chasing it, but works out great if you let it come to you as an occasional treat (and there is something inherently kavaesque to that, IMO). There is no practical or economical way to produce your own instant for regular drinking, alas. Just makes it that much more of a treat. And those flakes are awesome!
