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Member Soapbox Kavalactone Heresy

Would you knowingly buy a kava you knew to be low in kavalactones or had a quirky chemotype?

  • Yes

  • No

  • That's all I drink


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Krunkie McKrunkface

Kava Connoisseur
I think I'ved arrived at the point where all I want to tell newcomers to kava is that "kavalactones are the active ingredients in kava that are most responsible for the effects you feel, and those can vary." That's all they really need to know and that's all I really need to know. More can be less.

The reason is it can be misleading or distracting.

For scientists it matters and probably for vendors, but not really for the typical schlubbs who drink the stuff.

My worry is that once you introduce numbers and science people start thinking more is better, bigger is better, which, just like more expensive is better is not always the case. More kavalactones doesn't necessarilly mean the kava will be better or more fun or more effective. Also, and this is even more important I think, just because something is low in KL doesn't mean it is bad or that you won't feel great when you drink it and really enjoy the kava.

You can really miss out on some good kava this way if you think more KL = better value for money. And I think the same is true with thinking you will only like certain chemotypes. For one thing, as a person who drinks 6 washes from every bit of my medium grind, I'm not sure those chemotype numbers are consistent across the cycle of iterations, iow, I'm not sure that the chemotype of a 6th wash is the same as the chemotype of the 1st wash. The different effects produced by the relevant grogs lead me to believe that some KLs appear in the earlier washes and predominate and then when they start to run out, the others are more exposed. I suppose I would need to test this but it is a fairly strong impression (and even more so with my kava flakes and kava powder).

I got to thinking about this recently while drinking some of that Tongan Mike was nice enough to sell me. It was some root that was delivered to him and he had to reject it because it tested low in KLs and didn't meet KWK's standards, and certainly not what his customers expect. I don't for a second question his business wisdom, he knows what he is doing, and I'm sure that's an excellent decision he made.

And yet, that root makes me feel fantastic. It's piney in taste (and that's another thing piney does not equal bad, piney just means piney. Any kind of kava can be piney, I've had piney kava from Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga, that was still really good, just piney) but I just blend with some lawena, enough till it tastes good. And then it is really a great feeling kava. Light, heady, blissful, gentle, but very clear, no fog of any kind. But you still feel like you drank a bunch of kava, it's no slouch, there's a lot of "there" there. I guess it's kind of a shame that this isn't going to be available. But what vendor advertises low KL kava? We've been trained to think KL = good so more KL = better. I worry about what we're missing out on that we'll never get a chance to drink. Or what people regularly miss out on because they won't order stuff that seems on paper at least like it won't present a good value.

If it's a good kava that makes you feel good, then it's a good value. That is really the only thing that matters. The heck what anyone else says or thinks. Find what you like and enjoy it, but keep an open mind about trying new things. You'll soon know what turns your crank. Don't doubt yourself.
 
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sɥɐʞɐs

Avg. Dosage: 8 Tbsp. (58g)
Review Maestro
Yes to both, BUT other factors are involved in my choice.
If there is a perfectly good quality kava that happens to only have 5 or 6% kavalactones, then it should be well reflected in it's price. I'll buy a pound of 5% or 6% kavalactone kava for $18-$27 dollars. If it costs closer to $50/$60 dollars, then no, it's not worth it for me. (Unless it's some rarely available cultivar I want to try.) Imagine buying a bottle of 20 yr old single malt scotch for $70...but it's watered down to be 15 or 20 proof.

KL% percentages we see are unreliable to some degree anyway, different labs test the same kava and sometimes report different values...I know there's more than one method of determining these things, but that should not affect what the true definitive make-up of the plant material is. If the methods are both correct, their results should always be identical (within a reasonable margin of error). Also, we can rarely ever be sure that the sample tested is reflective of the batch we're being sold...on top of that, the longer the kava sits around unsold or undrunk, that KL% is diminishing a little bit more, and beyond that, we lose even more by straining the root and not consuming it whole.

While overall KL% isn't a perfect determiner of how strongly a kava will affect me, since the chemotype and my genetics will also play a role, it is ABSOLUTELY a massively important factor. There's a reason why I can drink a pound of some cheapy kavas(I've had 'em all and more) in 4 days and be disappointed with the mild effects I get, even from massive doses, but with other kavas I can drink half that dose and get much better effects. The kava in Vanuatu is strong and (usually) very reliably effective because it flat out has more kavalactones floating around in it. If I'm gonna be charged $55-$65+ for one pound of kava, that shit better feel like Vanuatu every night...and there's no way a low KL% bag will do that at any reasonable dose. That is not to say, however, that I won't still achieve some enjoyable effect from weak or cheap bags, I've always been able to at least get some mild pleasant relaxation out of every kava I've ever had. Even ones that were leaves and stems or no-name bags...and ones that didn't smell or taste like kava at all.

I look at quirky chemotypes as a selling point, I'd love to try something 142xxx, 415xxx, 324xxx....etc....but there are probably things like 526341 or 516234 that would be pretty unpleasant and something most people would want to avoid.
 
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N

Noname

I don't know too much about this topic but good kava is good kava no matter how many percent Kavalactones or what kind of chemotype it has. It looks nice on paper but I don't think it matters in real life.
 
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