Member Soapbox I'm new and looking for advice

[Mark B]

Hello all, I'm new to Kava and looking for some pointers. So far I have been steeping the kava in hot water and straining and adding honey for flavor.....it's this ok? And I read other posts on this page stating it can take a little bit to notice effects....I'm hoping this will help me with anxiety problems so I can steer away from prescriptions. I'm curious if anyone here has had a large amount of success with this and want to know if it will make it to where I'm incoherent and loopy...cause that's what I'm hoping to avoid.

 

[kavadude]

Well, adding honey is fine. Steeping won't do anything, you have to knead it in the strainer for 5-10 minutes in order to mix the kavalactones. What kind of kava are you using?

Kava won't make you incoherent and loopy...however large doses of kava will probably make you not want to do much of anything. It's pretty unlikely that you'll take too large of a dose by accident.

Enjoy

 

[Mark B]

Well, adding honey is fine. Steeping won't do anything, you have to knead it in the strainer for 5-10 minutes in order to mix the kavalactones. What kind of kava are you using?

Kava won't make you incoherent and loopy...however large doses of kava will probably make you not want to do much of anything. It's pretty unlikely that you'll take too large of a dose by accident.

Enjoy

When you say kneading in a strainer what exactly do you mean....I'm just trying to make sure I use it right.....I'm not sure what kind it is.....I got off Amazon (probably not the best place to get it....but I figured for a starter it should be fine)

 

[KMman]

Did you order dried ground roots or some type of kava tea with an extract in it? When you order off Amazon there's so many different things. Next time you order you'll want to get a nice medium grind from a trustworthy vendor off of this form. When he says kneading he's talking about working it with your hand either in a strainer or in pantyhose.

 

[chandra]

It really all depends on what type it is. Instant and micro varieties just need to be mixed with liquid. If it is medium grind you will need to knead it. There are trusted vendors listed here on the website. Ordering from Amazon is really a crap shoot.

 

[theGrogfather]

@Mark B
Welcome to the forums. A good place to start finding answers to your questions is here http://kavaforums.com/forum/brdc-document/frequently-asked-questions.1/
Generally speaking, kava does a great job relieving anxiety. Certain strains do better jobs while others, although rare, tend to make people feel a little more anxiety.
When I started using kava these forums were the best tool to learn about all aspects of kava, so have a look around, lots of great people here to help you out.

 

[kavadude]

When you say kneading in a strainer what exactly do you mean....I'm just trying to make sure I use it right.....I'm not sure what kind it is.....I got off Amazon (probably not the best place to get it....but I figured for a starter it should be fine)

Essentially, you need some kind of strainer (nylon stockings and other household items do in a pinch, but many kava specialty vendors will send you free strainers, or sell you nice Fijian ones). Then you work it with your hands for a few minutes. This is necessary because kavalactones are not water soluble.

 

[Mark B]

Did you order dried ground roots or some type of kava tea with an extract in it? When you order off Amazon there's so many different things. Next time you order you'll want to get a nice medium grind from a trustworthy vendor off of this form. When he says kneading he's talking about working it with your hand either in a strainer or in pantyhose.

It's dried ground roots....after seeing his post I did some research and found out what he was talking about.....I got some cheesecloth and put the powder in it then poured the water over and worked it for about 10 minutes...then squeezed any left over water out