Earthy tasting cucumber water. That's perfect.I can't speak to the real deal in Vanuatu like shakas can, but I've had "green" kava (kava prepared with defrosted frozen fresh root) and it tastes completely different. Like earthy-tasting cucumber water. Not bitter and dirty like dried.
When you say fresh kava, do you mean that it was made from dried kava that had only just been harvested and dried, or do you mean fresh as in straight-out-of-the-ground (green) undried kava? I've been under the assumption that drinking fresh/green kava was no longer done anywhere outside of Vanuatu.I was in 'Eua, Tonga this past summer for the Coronation of their new King and drinking the Kava fresh there was remarkably better than what even we can offer here in the states.
Not green, freshly harvested and driedWhen you say fresh kava, do you mean that it was made from dried kava that had only just been harvested and dried, or do you mean fresh as in straight-out-of-the-ground (green) undried kava? I've been under the assumption that drinking fresh/green kava was no longer done anywhere outside of Vanuatu.
The big drinkers don't mind the taste of kava, which is one of the biggest reasons one might choose green over dried. If taste isn't an issue, than it just comes down to convenience. You harvest your kava and store the dried waka and lawena. Then you simply pound it into a powder when you're ready to drink it.In general, I struggle to understand why Tongans and Fijians insist on drinking dried kava even on their own island and even when they grow their own kava.
The big drinkers don't mind the taste of kava, which is one of the biggest reasons one might choose green over dried. If taste isn't an issue, than it just comes down to convenience. You harvest your kava and store the dried waka and lawena. Then you simply pound it into a powder when you're ready to drink it.
I guess people aren't motivated enough to go out and harvest their kava (which requires quite a bit of elbow-grease) every time they want to have a tanoa.
True. But in Vanuatu the local Nakamal is a business and has an incentive to obtain green kava. If there was no Nakamal, and everyone had to harvest their own kava for their own consumption every night, it'd be a PITA and the benefit of drying it first quickly become apparent.It doesnt seem to be a problem for kava drinkers in vanuatu.. I assume every day a diffetent guy harvests kava for their local nakamal.
That's another linguistic confusion i think nakamal means "a meeting place"/community hall. I guess it is a bit like nz marae? But there are also urban nakamals, which are simply commercial bars. @nabanga please correct me if I am wrong.True. But in Vanuatu the local Nakamal is a business and has an incentive to obtain green kava. If there was no Nakamal, and everyone had to harvest their own kava for their own consumption every night, it'd be a PITA and the benefit of drying it first quickly become apparent.
Only time I ever tried green Kava was on an elementary field trip to the University of Hawaii back in the 90s and they gave us all samples of Green Awa. Specifically remember it because I thought it was weird at the time that they didn't dry the roots and returned home to ask my dad about why they did that lol.@Kavafied I thought some people also green kava during big events in Tonga, dont they? Have you ever tried green kava?
In general, I struggle to understand why Tongans and Fijians insist on drinking dried kava even on their own island and even when they grow their own kava. @kasa_balavu ?
Btw, freshly dried kava is imho also potentially better than old powder. A study from the 1980s indicates that kava can lose up to 90% of kavalactones in just 3 years when it is stored in a non airtight container! Note that many vendors import their kava from the Pacific in simple sacks that spend months in transit and then more time in storage. It is likely that in the whole process it loses quite a lot of potency