I just don't get as good results from Aluball compared to other prep.

[Plantacious]

Using the Aluball, there's a significant decrease in effectiveness and positive qualities from the grog, compared to other prep.
Kava from the Aluball brings only mild relaxation, and more nausea than other kava.
I don't think it's me, my biology or metabolism, because if I get my kava from a lounge or prepare it other ways, there's much more added benefits, and much more mood boost.
Is it just me, or does anyone else notice a significant decrease in positive benefits using Alu ?

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

I think the advantage of the Aluball is the ability to make quick mild kava doses when you're out or when you're busy, without having dunk your hands in and get down n dirty with a full prep. It has limitations, but can be useful for certain scenarios or certain drinkers. I think most people would agree that a full hand kneaded batch is quite a bit stronger and more effective.

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

In my experience the AluBall system can deliver proper real grog, at least as good as with any other method. I think it is limited to 2 or 3 washes and there is a lot still left in there that can be gotten by freezing, thawing and then trad prepping the makas. But the grog you get from those first 2 or 2.5 washes is real proper grog and it will give the same effects at the same strength as any other method. But as I say, that is my experience, I don't doubt that others have different experiences.

One thing I like to do now is the quick 1/2 gallon with AluBalls. I use 4 balls, with 2 TBS in each, and shake in a 1/2 gallon mason jar with 4 cups water, then do another wash and combine the two. 1/2 gallon in under 5 minutes. Oh, and then definitely a 2 cup third wash. That's a lot of decent grog for 8 TBS. And with a strong grog, like VanuWAKA I can produce the same volume but using only 6 TBS. That's really incredible. To me, anyway. It's not easy to get 10 good strong cups of grog using 6 TBS of medium grind but this 4 ball technique does it. And then the makas goes in the freezer for 4 more washes!

 

[Zaphod]

Using the Aluball, there's a significant decrease in effectiveness and positive qualities from the grog, compared to other prep.
Kava from the Aluball brings only mild relaxation, and more nausea than other kava.
I don't think it's me, my biology or metabolism, because if I get my kava from a lounge or prepare it other ways, there's much more added benefits, and much more mood boost.
Is it just me, or does anyone else notice a significant decrease in positive benefits using Alu ?

The advantage of the aluball is one of quickness, convenience, and easy clean up. I am convinced that it doesn't really "extract" any KL from kava. It merely provides you a way to mechanically wash all the small particles into a grog and leave the large ones behind. Like a big sifter using water. What you end up with is much like a microgrind in water. I also tend to find the aluball provides a headier experience than traditional prep and some of the heavier KLs stay behind trapped in that little green ball...All that said I use my aluball several times a week when I just don't have the time to do a traditional prep and I am happy for it.