Personally, i take a big breath, and chug it down with no breathing between chugs. After I get it down, I catch my breath by breathing through my mouth, and not my nose. Don't breathe through your nose until you've had a chaser.
I can close off my sinus cavity without pinching my nose shut, kind of like when diving into a pool and being underwater for a few seconds. I do that exactly, until I've chased the kava away. I even take a few breaths afterwards without using my nose. This way, all I get is the texture, and no taste.. The majority of taste comes from olfactory sesnses. The physical sensation of taste i.e. spicy, hot ,cold, sweet, sour, tart,thick, runny, clumpy, comes from the tongue. I just don't use my nose throughout the chugging process