kava stump

[Robert]

Was harvesting/processing fresh kava roots the other day and I couldn't find this info, once you get the roots chopped off, your left with a large portion of stump between the roots and the upper aerial parts of the plant, I am all most positive you can use the stump, but it's just not as potent, I think the toxic parts are mostly the aerial parts, the original guy who sold me fresh roots said the micronesians always use that part, that part is smaller but probably at least double the weight of all the roots you get off, could get a hell of alot more drink out of it, anyone remember what the info on that is?

 

[kavadude]

The info on what? Typically the lateral roots are considered more potent than the stump, but both are suitable for consumption.

 

[TheKavaSociety]

Was harvesting/processing fresh kava roots the other day and I couldn't find this info, once you get the roots chopped off, your left with a large portion of stump between the roots and the upper aerial parts of the plant, I am all most positive you can use the stump, but it's just not as potent, I think the toxic parts are mostly the aerial parts, the original guy who sold me fresh roots said the micronesians always use that part, that part is smaller but probably at least double the weight of all the roots you get off, could get a hell of alot more drink out of it, anyone remember what the info on that is?

If I am not mistaken, standard kava powders are 80% stump and 20% lateral roots. Some producers use a higher proportion of lateral roots to get higher potency (I don't know the exact percentage, but I believe that Chris from @Gourmet Hawaiian Kava uses a higher root to stump ratio than most producers). At the same time, there are some people who prefer the stump as it has a far milder taste (as if anyone consumed kava for its taste!

 

[Robert]

Cool thank you, I've been looking at my frozen stump parts suspiciously for a few days now as I'm out of kava, I would feel like an idiot for poisoning myself as I tell everyone around how awesome kava is, thanks for quick responses, off to make stump tea, and yea, I've chewed different parts of even just the roots, and the difference in potency is huge, some little ones on the side that you'd think would be the youngest and weakest are seemingly 4 times stronger than some of the really big ones, at least so far that's been my experience.

 

[kavadude]

Grind that up and drink it immediately sir.

 

[TheKavaSociety]

That's what Chris wrote about it over a year ago:

When it comes to harvesting the kava plant, the waka is all the roots, nothing else, the lewena is the chips but chips of what part of the plant??? it is the stump or the corm of the kava plant, that is what they make the chips from, I like that part, it tastes better and it still full of kavalactones. On average the root will have 5%-%10 more than the corm or stump of the plant.
When I harvest a plant the stalks look like bamboo, what I do is cut from the last joint, that way there is no stalk in the kava, only stump (corm) and the lateral and vertical roots as well as the hair like rootlets that grow out from the laterals, those are the best and most potent. I like to drink them all to see what they do and then I mix different amounts of each and see how it changes the effect, I can actually change the chemotype just by adding different amounts of root and stump.
Aloha. Chris

 

[Steve Mariotti]

Cool thank you, I've been looking at my frozen stump parts suspiciously for a few days now as I'm out of kava, I would feel like an idiot for poisoning myself as I tell everyone around how awesome kava is, thanks for quick responses, off to make stump tea, and yea, I've chewed different parts of even just the roots, and the difference in potency is huge, some little ones on the side that you'd think would be the youngest and weakest are seemingly 4 times stronger than some of the really big ones, at least so far that's been my experience.

Alternatively, mail some of that frozen stump over this way!

 

[mjazzguitar]

Wish I lived in a climate where I could grow my own kava.

 

[Robert]

I totally would freeze it to send people, I had access to a boatload of kava plants for super cheap, just the other day I paid the guy a bit for a few more plants, Went to go dig them up and noticed all these new no trespassing signs, got a bit of a bad vibe, but wanted my kava, after I finally got one up, some lady showed up and completely flipped out calling me a thief saying she was calling the police because she knows the owners and someone's Been stealing there kava, the whole thing was an awful situation, long story short, the guy who showed me the plot did not own it at all, just took my money and let me dig up some family's kava plants. Was so glad she was the one to find me there, the locals especially in that neighborhood are known for being aggressive with off islanders for much less then that, so unfortunately no more access to epic kava, super disappointed.