Kava Preparation What finally worked for me - 25 micron strainer

[Idgie]

Hi there - I have tried Kava before many years in the past, and after having pretty good results at the beginning, I got to the point where it just did not work for me, and in fact, had negative effects (jittery, anxious, etc).

Every so often over the past few years - I would try again. Nothing had changed, I still experienced 'bad' effects. I always suspected (and others also suggested), that it was the 'soot' (sediment) that might be the issue, but I could never sort it out - I would sometimes let a bottle sit for an hour or two in the fridge so that everything fell to the bottom, and I would pour only the top part off, never getting to the sediment - but this would have zero effect (no negative, but nothing positive either).

I ordered one of Kavafied's 50 micron strainer bags, and felt... different for the first time in a long time. I still had 'bad' effects, but I could definitely feel that old timey 'good' feeling there also, just underneath... so I felt I was onto something. I ordered a pack of bubble bags, one of which was 25 micron.... and bingo. Ahhhh, there it is, THAT is that wonderful feeling I remember! I have repeated this often enough to know it isn't just a one time.... the 25 micron seems to be the 'fix' for me.

(the bubble bag busted after about 3 weeks of daily use at the seam where the 'bag' attaches to the screen, I did find a food grade 25 micron bag on amazon, and also ordered a yard of 25 micron screen from Resin Evolution - if the ready-made bag eventually splits at the seam, I'll just cut a square off the yard to do my squeezing).

I love this forum. I would lurk even when not drinking, cuz you guys are so cool. Have a great day everybody! I thought I would post this just in case anybody suspects they need an even finer strainer than what they are currently using.

 

[Edward]

Hi there - I have tried Kava before many years in the past, and after having pretty good results at the beginning, I got to the point where it just did not work for me, and in fact, had negative effects (jittery, anxious, etc).

Every so often over the past few years - I would try again. Nothing had changed, I still experienced 'bad' effects. I always suspected (and others also suggested), that it was the 'soot' (sediment) that might be the issue, but I could never sort it out - I would sometimes let a bottle sit for an hour or two in the fridge so that everything fell to the bottom, and I would pour only the top part off, never getting to the sediment - but this would have zero effect (no negative, but nothing positive either).

I ordered one of Kavafied's 50 micron strainer bags, and felt... different for the first time in a long time. I still had 'bad' effects, but I could definitely feel that old timey 'good' feeling there also, just underneath... so I felt I was onto something. I ordered a pack of bubble bags, one of which was 25 micron.... and bingo. Ahhhh, there it is, THAT is that wonderful feeling I remember! I have repeated this often enough to know it isn't just a one time.... the 25 micron seems to be the 'fix' for me.

(the bubble bag busted after about 3 weeks of daily use at the seam where the 'bag' attaches to the screen, I did find a food grade 25 micron bag on amazon, and also ordered a yard of 25 micron screen from Resin Evolution - if the ready-made bag eventually splits at the seam, I'll just cut a square off the yard to do my squeezing).

I love this forum. I would lurk even when not drinking, cuz you guys are so cool. Have a great day everybody! I thought I would post this just in case anybody suspects they need an even finer strainer than what they are currently using.

I've settled on 75 microns after much experimentation. 25 microns sounds too small but I bet there are a lot of people who would benefit from something that fine. When I first started I just used a metal kitchen sieve. I got fantastic effects but terrible nausea. You live and learn ;-)

 

[Kavashua]

I've settled on 75 microns after much experimentation. 25 microns sounds too small but I bet there are a lot of people who would benefit from something that fine. When I first started I just used a metal kitchen sieve. I got fantastic effects but terrible nausea. You live and learn ;-)

I started with the sieve also. The effects were incredible but like you said the nausea matched it

 

[Pauluk]

What is the micron of sn aluball? Or is it irrelevant in thst case.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

If a 25 micron strainer is required for you to not have extremely negative effects but it still gives you perceptible positive effects, you probably have an extreme genetic sensitivity to kava. Also, you could probably just use a regular strainer with an extremely reduced dosage and it would save you a lot of root/money. What I mean is, 6 Tbsp of powder kneaded through a 25 micron bag might leave you with the same amount of sediment as 2 Tbsp kneaded through a 75 micron...and possibly the same effects.

The amount of sediment in the beverage is definitely responsible for a large percentage of kava's negative digestive effects, but it's also crucial for having a properly strong kava experience in most people. Everyone has to find their own balance between those two things.The negative effects you describe, like jittering and anxiety, sound like they have much more to do with your unique body chemistry and how it reacts to kava. It sounds like the effect of kava hitting you extremely hard and perhaps even being more sensitive to the effect of certain kavalactones over other ones. So, seems to me that the sediment itself isn't really your problem so much as it is the fact that more sediment simply equals a stronger beverage and since you are extremely sensitive this leads to your negative reaction.

Props for persevering though.

 

[Idgie]

Yah, I'm really not sure - I tried very small amounts (2 tablespoons) in the 50 micron filter and still felt the 'negative' thing - so not sure what is up, I am just glad for the moment that I have found something that allows me to enjoy the root again!

 

[Edward]

What is the micron of sn aluball? Or is it irrelevant in thst case.

80 or 85 I think?

If a 25 micron strainer is required for you to not have extremely negative effects but it still gives you perceptible positive effects, you probably have an extreme genetic sensitivity to kava. Also, you could probably just use a regular strainer with an extremely reduced dosage and it would save you a lot of root/money. What I mean is, 6 Tbsp of powder kneaded through a 25 micron bag might leave you with the same amount of sediment as 2 Tbsp kneaded through a 75 micron...and possibly the same effects.

The amount of sediment in the beverage is definitely responsible for a large percentage of kava's negative digestive effects, but it's also crucial for having a properly strong kava experience in most people. Everyone has to find their own balance between those two things.The negative effects you describe, like jittering and anxiety, sound like they have much more to do with your unique body chemistry and how it reacts to kava. It sounds like the effect of kava hitting you extremely hard and perhaps even being more sensitive to the effect of certain kavalactones over other ones. So, seems to me that the sediment itself isn't really your problem so much as it is the fact that more sediment simply equals a stronger beverage and since you are extremely sensitive this leads to your negative reaction.

Props for persevering though.

That's a good point actually. Now I read properly about what you call negative effects, could it be just too heady a kava? @Idgie have you tried a much heavier kava?

 

[Pauluk]

I've been lucky to try quite a few this year. Maybe 8. 5 caused me anxiety, jittery. Some more than others.some it would die down and be fine after an hour. Some OK at the time then left me jittery after an hour. My prep was the same.

 

[HeadHodge]

im thinking you might try a double wash, first one wash with a coarser filter, then results of that to wash with your fine filter.

my reasoning is the first wash for max lactone extraction, then the second for max sediment removal.

 

[ThePiper]

It could be that your getting mechanical extraction rather than just drinking sediment to get your buzz, but it seems this is heavily debated because many people think that most of the effect of kava is still coming from sediment being digested.

 

[Idgie]

Thanks everyone for your responses! I've tried everything from Stone to Moi and all things in between, at the moment I'm using Kavafied Supreme and getting the best results... for me the cultivar doesn't appear to make a great difference, i.e., I would get negative results from them all using a normal strainer. I will definitely give a try at using a coarse strainer, then a final strain in the 25 micron to see what happens!