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SelfBiasResistor

Persist for Resistance!
The only med I have ever found to be effective on my sinus headaches is a combo of pseudo and ibuprofen, but it seems kava and pseudo do not mix well or should be spaced out quite a bit, so I'm trying to avoid taking the pseudo.
FWIW, I was really sick with multiple infections (viral and bacterial) a couple of months ago and I had no issues drinking kava with sudafed. I only drink kava at night and only drank 3 shells most nights (I was so sick, I couldn't feel the effects of kava or anything else). I used the kava to help with sleep and it helped with inflammatory pain better than OTC NSAIDs did. Antihistamines give me a very nasty hangover and feel really crappy, so the only decongestant I will use is pseudoepedrine.
 

love2driveinct

Kava Enthusiast
FWIW, I was really sick with multiple infections (viral and bacterial) a couple of months ago and I had no issues drinking kava with sudafed. I only drink kava at night and only drank 3 shells most nights (I was so sick, I couldn't feel the effects of kava or anything else). I used the kava to help with sleep and it helped with inflammatory pain better than OTC NSAIDs did. Antihistamines give me a very nasty hangover and feel really crappy, so the only decongestant I will use is pseudoepedrine.
I'm so glad to hear this! Did you space them out at all? Like, you took sudafed during the day and then kava in the evening, letting them overlap a bit? Or did you actually take them at the same time?
Thank you for posting. I was so tempted to experiment, and now I will feel okay about doing it.
 

love2driveinct

Kava Enthusiast
So has anyone been able to roughly calculate the potency of the KWK concentrate? In other words, what is it comparable to? I've just finished my first 2oz bottle, and effects are there, but mild. This was not surprising to me based on everything I've read here.
I'm wondering about doubling them up with either Gaia capsules or Kava candy.
Oh, and FWIW, I think the concentrate tastes great. I hate that it has 6g of sugar in the two servings, but I think it'll be worth it to me for the taste and convenience occasionally.
 

love2driveinct

Kava Enthusiast
First time using the Aluball:
I made three rounds -- 1st was 500ml water w/2 TBS borogu, 2nd was 400ml water w/2 TBS borogu, and 3rd was a second wash combining the powder from the two with about 400ml water. I shook each round for 3-4 minutes.
Taste: not bad, very weak compared to the KWK instant. I did add a squirt of Crystal Light drops and some ice, and that made it VERY tolerable, almost tasty.
Effect: not very strong. I spaced each of these about 20 minutes apart. I didn't expect much from the second wash, but I did expect more from the rest. Empty stomach, no worries there.
So next time I will increase the amount on the first one to 2.5 TBS or maybe even 3 TBS, and see how I feel. It's not totally shocking that I would need more because when I was drinking instant, it took me 4-6 TBS of that to get me to where I wanted to be. Not sure what the equivalent of that will be in medium grind, but it sounds like A LOT.
Hopefully, at some point I won't need to use so much... if so, this will have to be an occasional thing rather than a daily thing, because of both time and money.
 

Intrepidus_dux

Kava O.G.
4 TBS isn’t much, IMO. I usually use 3-4 TBS of medium grind in 3 cups of water. Sometimes a little less water if I want it stronger.
 

Krunkie McKrunkface

Kava Connoisseur
First time using the Aluball:
I made three rounds -- 1st was 500ml water w/2 TBS borogu, 2nd was 400ml water w/2 TBS borogu, and 3rd was a second wash combining the powder from the two with about 400ml water. I shook each round for 3-4 minutes.
Taste: not bad, very weak compared to the KWK instant. I did add a squirt of Crystal Light drops and some ice, and that made it VERY tolerable, almost tasty.
Effect: not very strong. I spaced each of these about 20 minutes apart. I didn't expect much from the second wash, but I did expect more from the rest. Empty stomach, no worries there.
So next time I will increase the amount on the first one to 2.5 TBS or maybe even 3 TBS, and see how I feel. It's not totally shocking that I would need more because when I was drinking instant, it took me 4-6 TBS of that to get me to where I wanted to be. Not sure what the equivalent of that will be in medium grind, but it sounds like A LOT.
Hopefully, at some point I won't need to use so much... if so, this will have to be an occasional thing rather than a daily thing, because of both time and money.
you can't put more than 2 TBS in a single ball. Well, you can, but it is very much sub-optimal. 2 TBS is the working max.

So, if you only have one ball, you can, e.g. put one ball with 2 TBS and 500 ml water and shake for a minute, then empty that used makas into a bowl and put in a fresh new 2 TBS into the ball, put it back into the bottle with the half made grog and shake that up for a minute. That should give you the equivalent strength as double balling with 4 TBS. Pour that out, then do a "second wash" by adding 400 ml and shake with that ball for a couple of minutes, then swap out that makas for the first glob you had dumped in a bowl, and shake again for two minutes, wchich should give you a 400 ml "second wash" equal in strength to that first wash of 500 mls.

Then save all the makas in the freezer in a container for making later washes once you have accumulated enough.
 

love2driveinct

Kava Enthusiast
you can't put more than 2 TBS in a single ball. Well, you can, but it is very much sub-optimal. 2 TBS is the working max.

So, if you only have one ball, you can, e.g. put one ball with 2 TBS and 500 ml water and shake for a minute, then empty that used makas into a bowl and put in a fresh new 2 TBS into the ball, put it back into the bottle with the half made grog and shake that up for a minute. That should give you the equivalent strength as double balling with 4 TBS. Pour that out, then do a "second wash" by adding 400 ml and shake with that ball for a couple of minutes, then swap out that makas for the first glob you had dumped in a bowl, and shake again for two minutes, wchich should give you a 400 ml "second wash" equal in strength to that first wash of 500 mls.

Then save all the makas in the freezer in a container for making later washes once you have accumulated enough.
That sounds very doable. Will I really get a stronger drink doing it this way versus the way I did it? I used a fresh 2 TBS each time I did the first two, and shook for 3-4 minutes.
 

Plantacious

Kava Enthusiast
There really isn't a need to measure TBSP in the Aluball, after doing it a couple times.
You'll then realize the spot just below the tip of one half of the ball equals about 2 TBSP.
That's if you're using the "larger" ball half - the one with the extended edge with the threads on the outside.
You can just pour directly from the bag into the ball half, till it reaches that line.
 

love2driveinct

Kava Enthusiast
I'm still finding the effects to be weaker than the KWK instant. This is not that surprising since I was a using a pretty large amount of the instant (4-6 TBS).
I'm not sure what the solution to that is. Take some Gaia capsules along with this? Suck on some kava candy along with this?
What about another variety? It sounded like Borogu was very well-liked and a good, balanced type. Maybe it's just not the best one for me?
Do I have hopes that I will eventually reach a point of RT where I won't need as much?
If it helps, I'm a 46-yr-old 125-lb female in good health. I consider myself a "lightweight" in most things. I am enjoying this experiment, but not really sure what to do next. Increasing the amount made using the AluBall would be a possibility, I suppose, just more time-consuming and messy.
I appreciate that there is more to kava than the relaxation, etc that it gives you -- I get that it would be nice to honor the culture that created it by giving it the time and respect it deserves (much like making matcha tea the traditional way, which I do, at least pretty close). I would like to do that, I think, at some point. But I'm not there yet.
 

Krunkie McKrunkface

Kava Connoisseur
I'm still finding the effects to be weaker than the KWK instant. This is not that surprising since I was a using a pretty large amount of the instant (4-6 TBS).
I'm not sure what the solution to that is. Take some Gaia capsules along with this? Suck on some kava candy along with this?
What about another variety? It sounded like Borogu was very well-liked and a good, balanced type. Maybe it's just not the best one for me?
Do I have hopes that I will eventually reach a point of RT where I won't need as much?
If it helps, I'm a 46-yr-old 125-lb female in good health. I consider myself a "lightweight" in most things. I am enjoying this experiment, but not really sure what to do next. Increasing the amount made using the AluBall would be a possibility, I suppose, just more time-consuming and messy.
I appreciate that there is more to kava than the relaxation, etc that it gives you -- I get that it would be nice to honor the culture that created it by giving it the time and respect it deserves (much like making matcha tea the traditional way, which I do, at least pretty close). I would like to do that, I think, at some point. But I'm not there yet.
Kava is adaptable to lots of different ways to enjoy it. Height and weight and sex have nothing at all to do with how it will affect you or to what extent.
 

Intrepidus_dux

Kava O.G.
Even though a lot of people enjoy it, maybe KWK or just those particular strains just aren’t strong enough for your personal chemistry. Maybe Try some Squanch or Supreme or Dua Na Bilo?
 

love2driveinct

Kava Enthusiast
Just got my order from KWK. Got some more instant. I was finding that the medium grind in the aluball was taking too much work and time to prepare. It was too long of a process and I wasn't getting the effects I wanted for the amount I could ingest at once. The instant allows me more freedom in that respect as I can have 2 TBS at a time. Maybe someday I will get into RT and the 4 TBSP of medium grind will be enough, so I haven't given up on the aluball and medium grind just yet.

Anyway, I'm trying the special variety, Samoa Ava. So far, I like it! I don't think it tastes any better than the others, but that's okay. I'm putting 2 TBS in 8 oz of water, so it's pretty muddy. I add some Mio drops for flavor and some sweetness. It's still hard to get down, though.

Thinking aloud... I'm wondering about a few things. 1) putting the powder directly into my mouth, and then drinking some ginger ale (toss & wash?), 2) mixing it with a carbonated beverage (sounds like it could get messy if I stirred too hard), and 3) mixing it into my beverage prepared with KWK Concentrate. Feel free to comment if you have any thoughts on these!
 

love2driveinct

Kava Enthusiast
Also, I did my research, and it looks like I'll be okay with taking NyQuil before bed later tonight. I have a head cold that's mostly sore throat & post-nasal drip, with a mild stuffy nose. That being said, if I'm feeling pretty decent, then I might just try to skip it and see if I sleep well without it.
 

love2driveinct

Kava Enthusiast
So I answered two of my questions...
1) toss & wash is not for me. Congrats to those who can do it, but I am not one of them.
2) mixing with ginger ale wasn't bad, just had to wait for the foam to die down. I actually did a mix of about 1/2 ginger ale and 1/2 ginger beer. It wasn't bad!
 

SelfBiasResistor

Persist for Resistance!
Yeah, with carbonated drinks, you just need to stir out the carbonation before adding to the kava. I don't use micro much anymore but it was very good mixed with Reeds ginger beer.

I wouldn't mix Nyquil and kava. Aside from the extreme grogginess, it contains acetaminophen.
 

Zaphod

Kava Lover
Also, I did my research, and it looks like I'll be okay with taking NyQuil before bed later tonight. I have a head cold that's mostly sore throat & post-nasal drip, with a mild stuffy nose. That being said, if I'm feeling pretty decent, then I might just try to skip it and see if I sleep well without it.
Be aware that Nyquil has a large dose of Acetaminophen (Tylenol) in it. Acetaminophen is pretty hard on the liver and is not recommended to take at the same time as kava.
 
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