Very new and would love guidance.

[Kari]

whatever amount it takes for it to work for you, if 1 tbs is doing the trick, stick with that. I say raise the dose if you eat a little something before.

I might have to eat something first. I took a heaping T of Pouni Ono this morning around 5:30 am, ate breakfast at 7 and am still nauseated at 9:30am.

 

[Kari]

Micro versus Traditional (or aluball prep) is a mixed bag. Yes, in general micro can be more potent. You are essentially getting and eating 100% of the kavalactones in what you consume. On the other hand traditional prep typically tastes a lot better (less gritty) than microgrind and if strained well usually less nausea. Microgrind also has the advantage (when you are new) of being able to control and slowly up the amount you are taking in a nice controlled fashion. Traditional prep has a bit more variability in how strong your grog is.
My suggestion is to keep using the micro to get over the RT, and slowly keep upping the dosage. When I took microgrind I would take 2-3 TBS all at once and maybe another TBS an hour or two after that and would get a strong krunk from it. After that if the taste is that bad, and you are looking to continue look into traditional prep or aluball. Both are much easier than they appear at first and you won't regret it. Plenty of videos we can point you to on how to do a traditional prep. It is now just part of my daily routine.

Should I take my kava with some fat of some sort?

 

[Zaphod]

Should I take my kava with some fat of some sort?

Some find it helpful. I have found dairy in general can boost up the headiness of kava a bit. I usually follow up my first shell with some cheese. If anything it is a second order effect. Primary being how much food you still have in your stomach from the last time you ate. Best effects are felt 2-3 hours after your last meal. However, if nausea is hitting you bad I would go ahead and eat a little bit of something first. Hard to enjoy kava if you feel like you are going to puke.

 

[recentreturn]

If I currently take 1 T - twice for a session, how much should I up it and for how long? I can try the aluball after I am out of my powder.

This really is totally up to you. If it was me, I might up it to 3tbs twice in a session for one day, just to see what would happen, then drop it to 2tbs twice in a session after that for awhile. But there really is no right or wrong way to do this. You could also up it to 2 tbs twice and leave it at that dose for a week and look at upping it again after that. I just know that when I drank micro, it really started to hit me only after 6 heaping teaspoons in less than an hour, and I am guessing my teaspoons were heaping high enough that they were close to a level tablespoon. But that was several years ago and some people think that the potency of kava has gone down since that time.

 

[Zaphod]

@Kari just for clarification when you say one T is it a Tablespoon or a Teaspoon? It would not be the first time that the forum has had this type of discussion only to find out the new member was way under dosing because they were using teaspoons:
http://kavaforums.com/forum/threads/5tablespoon-vs-dessert-soup-spoon-vs-teaspoon.14349/

 

[ThePiper]

Micronized kava and morning sessions are both higher risk for nausea in my experience. Just something to consider.

 

[Groggy]

Do you think going the traditional route would be better/ work better?? I am hearing mixed reviews/ info on traditional vs micronized as far as efficacy is concerned.

I think traditional prep. is always the best way to go. the learning curve is very short. I also think drinking it straight with ice is the easiest way to drink it. The ice makes it easier to gulp it down fast.