"Kava May Be Strangled by Greedy Exporters"

[TheKavaSociety]

This article might have been already posted here (in which case feel free to delete this thread, @kavadude or @Kapmcrunk ):

Kava May Be Strangled by Greedy Exporters
http://guardianlv.com/2014/03/kava-may-be-strangled-by-greedy-exporters/#TDtlqI4O3spOCEsD.99

 

[kavadude]

Menu boards outside of kava bars everywhere show a wide variety of kava drinks sold and many vendors in Hawaii are selling Isa Kava. At the symposium, one store, in Portland, Oregon, was revealed as selling Isa. One of Hawaii’s most widely grown plants, Isa is a completely different plant from the kava bush and is not safe to drink.

While not grown in, or exported from Vanuatu, Isa is one of the most potent plants in the kava family. Called “Tuday” in Hawaii and In Vanuatu it is called “Tudei” — pronounced “two-day” — because it’s effects are said to last two days. Potent and high in alkaloids, the plant itself is a strong, fast-growing variety. Since this variety grows faster than the normal noble kava, the tudei plant is harvested and exported quicker resulting in more profits. Quicker profits mean more money faster, but it also means the possible death-knell for noble kava growers and exporters.

It's the same species and is grown in and exported from Vanuatu, although it is illegal to export.

 

[Prince Philip]

Just stop, seriously.

Isa is piper mythisticum. It's not a different species. It's also a cultivar native to Papua New Guinea.

Here's a video that shows the shrubs in situ, if you want.

 

[Prince Philip]

Seriously, Isa isn't native from anywhere in Vanuatu. It's from here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usino_Bundi_District

 

[kavadude]

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that isa was grown in Vanuatu. Other tudei varieties are.

 

[TheKavaSociety]

yeah, I know, @Prince Philip It's difficult to find a single good, accurate and non-academic article on kava..

I saw this today: "Drinking the brew, though, is not about the flavour, nor the effect."
http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/destinations/pacific-islands/64234737/getting-kavad-in-vanuatu

 

[Prince Philip]

Isa is in chemotype F, zymotype 8. That's basically cultivars native to PNG like Isa, Iwa, Sipia, and Ayou. Good stuff, really, if you're not afraid of tudei. By contrast, the Vanuatu tudei is stuff in chemotype F is actually zymotype 10. Vanuatu Noble is usually chemotype G... but same zymotype.

 

[ObiWan]

Portland, Oregon... Which sellers are there? BKH? KonaKava?

 

[Prince Philip]

I'm so sorry, for every bad thing that ever happened to anyone.

My Frum, I've been trying to pass the Windows 7 exam with sleep apnea shutting off my brain, and using caffiene and kava to try to focus, and I've had way... way too much kava. And now I'm feeling the profound sadness for all sentient beings, and I just can't take it, I can't take thought of kava being ruined by greedy fucks who can't see past the next quarter's stock report.

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

@Prince Philip that video is of an Isa plant as you know but it is not in "Situ" It is in fact in Hawaii, it is on the Hamakua Coast close to where my mom lives. This farmer planted a bunch of Hawaiian kava and the Isa that came from papua new guinea
That video was actually posted by Tyler at the Root of happiness.
This farmer planted a bunch of Hawaiian kava and Isa, he sold all the Hawaiian kava but never replanted it, now he only has Isa growing and he let that farm go, it is all over grown and not doing good. He can not sell the Isa to anyone over here, nobody wants it. The field is going to waste.
Also I wanted to comment on that article, it said this---"
many vendors in Hawaii are selling Isa Kava. At the symposium, one store, in Portland, Oregon, was revealed as selling Isa. One of Hawaii’s most widely grown plants."
This is not true, at least the part about Isa being one of Hawaii's most widely grown kava plants, I know for a fact it is not, why would people over here want to grow a kava plant that is hard to sell when they can grow the Hawaiian kava and it will sell a lot faster and it is better for you.
There is also a rumor that Isa escaped when it was brought over here to Hawaii, this is also not true, Kava has to be intentionally planted and cultivated, it did not escape. At that time, when I got my cuttings from the Isa and Iwi plants we did not fully know the problems with Tudei kava, we were just interested in growing kava of many varieties. Now we know the effects of Tudei kava and many of us growers have personally tried Isa and do not like it. We like the Hawaiian kava. I hope this helps to clear up some misconceptions. Aloha.

Chris









https://www.google.com/search?biw=1413&bih=661&q=papua+new+guinea&spell=1&sa=X&psj=1&ei=Kh-TVLTYGIaxogT_uoHAAg&ved=0CBoQvwUoAA

 

[Deleted User01]

Thanks Chris. It's nice to have a "Walking Kava Encyclopedia" as member in this forum.

 

[Kojo Douglas]

Interesting, I've had the idea of creating a South Pacific NGO in mind to deal with this very problem. Forming Kava farmers into cooperatives so they can negotiate their own prices.

 

[verticity]

There is also a rumor that Isa escaped when it was brought over here to Hawaii, this is also not true, Kava has to be intentionally planted and cultivated, it did not escape.

Really? I was under the impression that Isa, and his cellmate Iwi, drugged the guard (V. Lebot) and tunneled their way out of the greenhouse with stolen garden spades.

 

[The Kap'n]

Portland, Oregon... Which sellers are there? BKH? KonaKava?

Bula Kava house

 

[verticity]

Bula Kava house

Shhh..

 

[The Kap'n]

I totally answered that question without reading the post it was referring to. We know Judd was thrown under the buss on that one. There are countless bars in Florida selling the hell out of tudei kava along side of the mountains of the opiate like "K" herb. There may be plenty who disagree with me but Bula Kava house got the shaft in that situation.

 

[verticity]

This article is premised on the assumption that tudei/Isa is harmful, and kind of sensationalist. I think the jury is out on that one, and that people who want to should be allowed to drink it, and vendors should be allowed to sell it--provided they make it clear to customers what it is they are getting. I choose not to drink it myself. I did drink some Koniak a while back, but if I had actually known what it was I would probably not have.

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

This article is premised on the assumption that tudei/Isa is harmful, and kind of sensationalist. I think the jury is out on that one, and that people who want to should be allowed to drink it, and vendors should be allowed to sell it--provided they make it clear to customers what it is they are getting. I choose not to drink it myself. I did drink some Koniak a while back, but if I had actually known what it was I would probably not have.

I have to agree with you, since we do not know about the Tudei thing for certain yet, all we know is that some people can drink it and some people get sick when they drink it but I also agree that those that want to drink it should be able to and the vendors that sell it should make sure they make it known to the buyer. I may change my view point as more information come to light.
Aloha.

Chris

 

[Prince Philip]

By "in situ," I mean in the ground, rather than dug up and powdered. Isa isn't a native Hawaiian cultivar and I apologize if anyone was mislead into thinking it was.

Anyway, do you know how old the neglected shrubs are? The absolute best Isa I have ever had, hands down, was this nine-year-old Isa from @Paradise Kava. It was heavenly. It instilled a sense of power. And between the Hawaiian soil and the plant's extreme maturity, the negative effects of the plant were lessened... no increase in dermopathy, no next-morning hangover, no lethargy even. It was as if the plant had graduated into Nobility without losing its identity. I wish I had bought more, much more.

 

[Pink]

Interesting article none the less,but i find it from perspective that Vanuatu growers are at blame,when reality is (dont know how long it takes for kava plant to grow into proper roots) but people who export it or buy directly to sell,are making most profits like in the rest of the world it works,producers get almost nothing while middle people take most profits.Thus this creates problem where to keep costs low and make living people turn to such things,but if middle buyers and vendors would get paid what they are supposed to to payed for their work and labor catering for such plant this wouldn't be an issue.

I know in Europe we pay almost 2-3 times more for kava then US,since many countries have it banned,and when you look at the distance it has to cover to reach it here,every euro counts.So its not much greedy exporters more then people who pay as little as possible for them creating such problem.

Fix would be easy enough if goverments would implement fixed prices for providers,making sure that quality came first and people wouldnt be rushed to ruin it just to make ends meet at the end of the day.