Leftover kava

[Bert07]

I've noticed a huge trend over the past few months now. It appears that my leftover kava is stronger than the night it was made which is pretty strange. One would think the fresher the better, right? Or is kava like old wine? The only thing I can account for this is possibly 1.) Having it a day or so later gives the kavalactones to settle over time and become more potent somehow and 2.) Temperature difference? - The nights I make my kava I don't give enough time space in between from when it is done brewed and left in the fridge to cool down. So my first sessions are always pretty much with a fresh, warm grog as opposed to the day after when it's been sitting in the fridge for a while (and obviously it's quite chilled).

I've factored in any other variables that could perhaps take part in this but they're basically all constant from what I can see. The biggest one being my stomach is always dead empty when I start drinking no matter what.

 

[blindy107]

Do you drink the leftover the next morning? It feels more potent to me in the morn as well. Maybe my stomach digests slowly....

 

[kavadude]

Added a poll.

I've never noticed that but I rarely drink it overnight. I'm having trouble thinking of what would have to occur chemically in order for that to happen.

 

[August West]

I've read that certain kavalactones have a half-life of 9 or more hours, which means 25% of dhk and dhm (I believe those are the ones,) would still be circulating in you 18 hours after you ingested them. Which would be right about the time you'd be having your first shell the next night. This is where I believe the shield effect comes from. If this is true, then 9 hours after your session, most likely when you're leaving for work in the morning, the heavy k-lactones could possibly still be operating at 50%.

 

[Wigman]

I've read that certain kavalactones have a half-life of 9 or more hours, which means 25% of dhk and dhm (I believe those are the ones,) would still be circulating in you 18 hours after you ingested them. Which would be right about the time you'd be having your first shell the next night. This is where I believe the shield effect comes from. If this is true, then 9 hours after your session, most likely when you're leaving for work in the morning, the heavy k-lactones could possibly still be operating at 50%.

I think that's a bingo!

 

[Steve Mariotti]

What causes the degradation? Oxygen?

 

[August West]

Disclaimer: I very well may be completely wrong with all of my following assertions.

I'm not quite sure how far the half-life process goes, but if it's 50% at 9 hrs, 25% at18 hrs, 12.5% at 27 hrs, 6.25% at 36, 3% at 45 hrs.

Now let's say we stick with the same variety of kava five nights in a row and compile each evening on the leftover percentages from the previous evenings. I know there's a math equation for this. whatever it is, it's escaping me at the moment.

If half-life works the way that I'm assuming that it does, someone who drinks the same amount of the same root for five days straight, could very well have darn near a session's worth of certain k-lactones in their system before they even have a shell on the 6th day. This process is what I believe to be the reason for what folks call reverse tolerance.

This might also explain why sometimes after people take a break, it takes a few days to experience full effects again. Luckily for me I feel it every time, regardless of how long I abstain.

 

[Bert07]

Do you drink the leftover the next morning? It feels more potent to me in the morn as well. Maybe my stomach digests slowly....

No always the night after. If I do drink kava in the morning which is rare I go with an instant or micro.

I've read that certain kavalactones have a half-life of 9 or more hours, which means 25% of dhk and dhm (I believe those are the ones,) would still be circulating in you 18 hours after you ingested them. Which would be right about the time you'd be having your first shell the next night. This is where I believe the shield effect comes from. If this is true, then 9 hours after your session, most likely when you're leaving for work in the morning, the heavy k-lactones could possibly still be operating at 50%.

I don't know if this is the case. Sometimes I drink within consecutive nights and it's still the same deal.
But I have an interesting revelation. Yesterday after making this post in the afternoon, I decided to try and make a fresh brew much earlier from when I usually go about making it, and surprisingly it was like having it the next consecutive night. Very strong just like a second night, leftover brew. My theory still stands that it is either - it takes hours prior to drinking for full kavalactone efficacy or it's maybe something to do with the temperature because this time it was cold after sitting in the fridge for 6 hours or so. Though I can't see any logical explanation for this.