doctorfreeze
Kava Curious
I'm new to kava and was wondering which method of water prep extracted the most KLs. (This is important to me as I hope to use kava medicinally for insomnia.) I did some sleuthing and found that Dr. Bittenbender and his team tested multiple methods & variables of water prep. (Hot vs cold water, blending vs kneading, duration of maceration, kava to water ratio, etc).
They tested 16 treatment combinations and found that the following was most effective in extracting KLs: water at 45C, 1:3 kava-to-water ratio, 3 maceration cycles, 120 sec maceration. This method extracted around 40% of the KLs as opposed to 15% with hand kneading in cold of the same duration. (Of course, if you knead in warm/hot water for 10+ minutes, you'll likely more than 15% KLs.) I know this is of interest to many here since kava is expensive.
I contacted Dr. Bittenbender and he was kind enough to send me his paper (Gautz, Loren D., Rachel Li, and H. C. Bittenbender. 2015. Preparing Kava: Optimizing kavalactone extraction in water. Proceedings of Kava 2015 Conference, July 25-26, 2015 at Chaminade University, Honolulu, Hawaii).
Here's his recommendation based on his research:
Using the CTAHR method
Here's a scaled-down recipe using 6 Tbsp dry root powder (for me, 2 day's worth):
I did a 2nd wash with the leftover frozen maka, and it was definitely much more watery. This means I got a lot out the first time!
They tested 16 treatment combinations and found that the following was most effective in extracting KLs: water at 45C, 1:3 kava-to-water ratio, 3 maceration cycles, 120 sec maceration. This method extracted around 40% of the KLs as opposed to 15% with hand kneading in cold of the same duration. (Of course, if you knead in warm/hot water for 10+ minutes, you'll likely more than 15% KLs.) I know this is of interest to many here since kava is expensive.
I contacted Dr. Bittenbender and he was kind enough to send me his paper (Gautz, Loren D., Rachel Li, and H. C. Bittenbender. 2015. Preparing Kava: Optimizing kavalactone extraction in water. Proceedings of Kava 2015 Conference, July 25-26, 2015 at Chaminade University, Honolulu, Hawaii).
Here's his recommendation based on his research:
Using the CTAHR method
- If using dry kava powder, add 100 g powder to blender jar, add 1150 ml hot tap water (this includes 400 ml to replace water lost during drying). If using fresh or thawed frozen chopped kava, add 750 ml of hot tap water to blender jar then add 500 g kava. Close blender jar, blend at highest speed for 1 min. Pour kava into 1 gal. paint strainer bag, pinch bag shut, squeeze liquid from bag into bowl.
- Add 750 ml hot tap water to jar, add press cake from bag, close jar, run blender for 1 min, pour into bag, squeeze liquid into same bowl.
- Repeat- add water, add press cake, blend, and squeeze.
Here's a scaled-down recipe using 6 Tbsp dry root powder (for me, 2 day's worth):
- Add 30 g (~6 Tbsp) powder to blender jar, 1 1/2 cups hot water. Close blender jar, blend at highest speed for 1 min. Pour kava into strainer bag, pinch bag shut, squeeze liquid from bag into bowl.
- Add 1 cup hot tap water to jar, add press cake from bag, close jar, run blender for 1 min, pour into bag, squeeze liquid into same bowl.
- Repeat- add 1 cup water, add press cake, blend, and squeeze.
I did a 2nd wash with the leftover frozen maka, and it was definitely much more watery. This means I got a lot out the first time!