Instant vs micronized kava

[Kavaguy]

What is the advantage of instant kava vs micronized kava? It seems to cost a lot more, so I figured it might cause less nausea? Thanks.

 

[Swell]

Micronized kava is either finely ground kava root or finely ground root that has been separated from hard fibrous strands (maka). When you use micronized you are drinking a lot of root material which may cause nausea.

Instant kava is the dehydrated powder from a batch of brew resembling traditional preparation. After instant is mixed into water or some other beverage it should be like drinking a fresh batch of traditionally prepared kava.

Good instant is a lot less gritty than micro and easier to drink. Since there is no excess root material it should be more potent by weight than micro which is why it's more expensive.

 

[Kavaguy]

Thank you. I was just at a kava bar called Nakava in Boca Raton, FL which was selling 8 oz for $65 of an instant kava with the brand name Kava Tradition. I know of two other instant kavas:Gourmet Hawaiian kava which is sold out of the mo'i, and Bula kava house. Any recommendations?

 

[nosuni]

BKH and GHK instants are both really good. Expensive, though.

 

[Deleted User01]

Instant is better for mixing with Juices and making Kava Kocktails. However, I feel that Micronized gives you the full spectrum of Kavalactones so I prefer miconized. And the grittiness doesn't bother me or my Tummy. I will also mention that I believe making instant kava is harder and so it should be more expensive.

 

[Edward]

I used to use a lot of instant and micro kava but the taste of med grind root is so much nicer that I stick with that these days. In my experience micro causes a bit more dermo.

 

[Kavaguy]

Medium grind makes me sick, and micronized makes me even sicker. Maybe instant kava is the Silver Bullet for me. However, I don't want to shortchange the intensity of the effects... I suppose one can have the best of both worlds. Thanks for your input.

 

[Kavaguy]

I have tried KWK micro's Borogu, Loa Waka, Borongoru,Pouni Ono, both of Wakacon's, Lami, N@H Stone, GHK Moi, and all make me sick. Only kava that doest is KWK concentrate, and kava pills, but both dont do much for me. Lookomg forward to trying the dehydrated kind.

 

[Edward]

Medium grind makes me sick, and micronized makes me even sicker. Maybe instant kava is the Silver Bullet for me. However, I don't want to shortchange the intensity of the effects... I suppose one can have the best of both worlds. Thanks for your input.

I have tried KWK micro's Borogu, Loa Waka, Borongoru,Pouni Ono, both of Wakacon's, Lami, N@H Stone, GHK Moi, and all make me sick. Only kava that doest is KWK concentrate, and kava pills, but both dont do much for me. Lookomg forward to trying the dehydrated kind.

I don't think it's the type, maybe it's the amount? I've definitely felt pretty dodgy on a few instants.

 

[Kavaguy]

Probably the fact that it takes a lot to feel the effects has to do with it. Anything less than 5 tbsp of thr micro doesnt have much of an effect, and I need at least half a cup of medium grind.

 

[Edward]

Ok but I don't think instant will fix that for you. It may do but if you need to drink a lot of instant as well then it can still make you ill.

 

[Kavaguy]

Good to know. It must be the actual kavalactones that make me ill. Seems that my buzz has a direct correlation with the nausea I feel. The other day at a kava bar serving Kava Tradition Black Label kava didnt make me sick. I asked them how they made it, and they said with cheesecloth, so I plan on buying some Black Label powder.

 

[Edward]

Could work. Silly question time here but... do you drink on an empty stomach? How much do you drink in one shell? How much time do you leave between shells?

When I first started I used to drink strong kava shells but spread it out over quite a period of time, up to 1.5 hours between shells, but I have dropped that back a bit now, I need less kava overall to get to where I want to be and I suppose just more used to it?

 

[Kavaguy]

I dont have a shell to drink from, but I usually drink about 1/2 cup of medium grind in 4 glasses water, or 5 tbsp micro in 4 glasses water in about 30 minutes to an hour. Maybe I should slow down?

 

[Edward]

Oh yes! I would say that's almost certainly it. I think you will find that you can still get to where you want to be if you space your drink out a bit more. Remember kava has a delayed effect. I find the effects can develop over up to an hour. Of course you can get some effects nearly straight away but the more subtle and deeper effects take time to show themselves and will build over time. Try 1 cupful every 45 mins and see how you feel. If that doesn't make you ill then drop it back to 30 mins and see how that goes. I think that will make a difference.

 

[Kavaguy]

Thanks Edward, will do.

 

[Kavaguy]

realized I didnt answer your question on how long I wait after eating before drinking kava. I wait about 4-5 hours. I would think the longer one waits, the more nauseous he/she would get, right?

 

[Kavaguy]

And the main reason why I chug micronized is that Mike from Kalm with Kava said it has a shorter effect than medium grind, and I did find thay to be thr case. I am going to buy some Fire Island; hopefully the shortet effect does not apply to instant.

 

[PsyGuru]

If you compare extracts to instant to micronized, which has a better effect?

 

[Odourman]

I believe you can battle the nausea of the micro if you use ginger.

Something I like is:
Use a fatty liquid, like milk or almond milk and put a bit of chopped fresh or pickeld ginger in. Then use the blender.
I find that chopped ginger works best because it's easier to blend.