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Three questions about kava preparation

Nils

Kava Curious
1. Most guides I come across say you should spend a long period of time "kneading" the kava through the strainer bag. Some say to do this as long as 30 minutes. Is doing it that long really necessary? Like, will there be that large of a difference kneading it for 10 minutes versus 30 minutes?

2. One guide I came across said that in the middle of the kneading process, you should dump the roots out of the strainer and back into the mix, stirring it for a bit, then straining it once more. Does this really matter?

3. I'm relatively new to kava and I find that if I just use a kava strainer bag, it leaves some "root sand" at the bottom of my kava drinks, which makes the last few sips rather difficult to swallow. Is that stuff supposed to be there? I started straining my kava once more using a very fine tea strainer at the end of the preparation process and found it eliminates most of that sand...but if the sand is good stuff I probably don't want to eliminate it, right? Just wondering about this sand and if I should keep using my tea strainer to get rid of it. I'm wondering if maybe the sand is just thick root pieces that I've squeezed through the holes in the kava straining bag from a little too much kneading.
 

infraredz

BULA!
1. When I used to do the kneading prep method, I didn't find much difference between 10 and 20 minutes. Of course, there is probably some difference, but I didn't find it to be large enough to warrant the extra effort. I usually would end up kneading for only 10-15 minutes and that worked just fine.

2. I think what that is trying to achieve is to re-wet the root. That's an important part of the kneading process; after you squeeze the water out of the root, you need to "re-wet" the root matter. That being said, there's no reason to do that as described above.

3. There will always be some amount of sediment left in the bowl. The strainer, how vigorously you knead/squeeze and the coarseness of the grind will all have an effect on this. The more sediment you get, the more potent it will be (thus why some people like to "toss and wash"). That being said, I'm very sensitive to the root material and try to get rid of as much as possible (or else I get the so-called "kava dermopathy" skin problems). As long as your GI can handle the sediment and you don't start to get skin issues, I wouldn't worry about trying to eliminate it (because I've tried and it's near impossible).
There is a nice balance that you'll find but it all depends on how you personally tolerate the sediment.
 

kavadude

❦ॐ tanuki tamer
I personally can't be bothered to get rid of the sediment, which is indeed just root squeezed into the drink. I usually stir my kava up with a fork before I drink it so it's evenly distributed and then just drink all of it.

That said, I doubt it'd effect the potency that much if you didn't drink it. If you want you can just let it settle to the bottom and then very carefully pour off the kava, or strain it again. I did that when I was drinking some very fine grained stuff and ended up with a bunch of sediment.
 
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D

Deleted User01

I adhere to the process as prescribed by Kava by Rex. Soaking is not a big deal so I soak for 10 minutes in a blender to mix it well. I knead and squeeze for 10-15 minutes but no more. Per a study that Infraredz found, I am also heating the liquid to about 115 F. The study suggested you could get 25 to 45 percent more Kavalactones at that temperature and that is a lot! If you think you are leaving Kavalactones on the the plate, then do a second wash with a smaller amount of liquid. Soak for a few minutes and knead for 10. Making Kava is a process so I make it once a week and bottle it. On the fine sand, I just throw away the last little bit at the bottom of the bottle because it is mostly sediment. It's like the yeast at the bottom of a Belgian Ale. An unexpected benefit of of bottling is that the sand settles at the bottom.
 

Crunked

Proselytizer
1. I knead for 6 minutes tops. But I use water at 90-100F, a Fiji strainer bag, and I really knead, not just squeeze the kava.

2. Never done it and I couldn't be bothered with that.

3. I have never had the sand problem using a good strainer bag, but I always give the mix a shake before each shell.
 

KavaGurl

The Original Kava Forum Mama
I too use very warm..almost hot water when preparing my grog. Let it soak for a good 1/2 to one hour depending on the day...then knead and squeeze for 10-15 minutes. My lil arms and hands couldn't take much more! lol...As for the sediment, I always have some in my shell because I usually use a nylon stocking (unless Vekta gives me crap and makes me use my Fijian strainer :p)...So, I just give the grog a stir before every few gulps to ensure that I don't end up with a mouthful at the end..YUCK!
 

Ed!

Kava Enthusiast
1.) I knead for 15 minutes after a very brief blending (cool water). I don't worry too much about getting the max out of my kava in that session anymore since I do a second strain with the same root powder on another night using super hot water and a blender to tease out remaining kavalactones followed by 15 minutes of kneading with a holed spoon (water is too hot to touch). It works very well and I'm super confident I'm efficiently milking my kava root. I'm still experimenting with an effective method for a third strain.

2.) You don't need to dump the root back into the water. I saw that instruction too and I thought it was silly. As @infraredz said, I think that's really just about wetting your root, but I never saw any reason why it needed to happen outside of the strainer bag.

3) Learn to love it... or do like they do in Vanuatu and spit after your shell :confused:
 
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