Root of Happiness Kava Tincture?

[kasa_balavu]

Mr. Blythe of Root of Happiness comes across as a condescending prick. I shall respond in kind.

Consider that Kava is an agricultural product grown in the third world, using non potable water for irrigation and manure for fertilizer.

Either he has never seen kava growing on a farm, or he has and is just lying in order to smear his competitors and their products. Kava isn't irrigated outside of the US. Nowhere other than Hawaii have I seen kava irrigated.
Manure for fertilizer? Manure is used for fertilizer everywhere in the world for all sorts of crops and has been since early man tired of hunting and gathering. That said, I've never seen manure used as fertilizer for kava. Animal manure isn't easy to come by in significant quantities in the South Pacific... in Fiji it's only used (chicken manure when available) for vegetable crops. Occasionally artificial and organic fertilisers (NPK) are used for kava, but this is rare because of the risk of the fertilizer burning lateral roots.

Overseas, access to FDA approved facilities that have GMPs in place are RARE. Even when processed in these facilities, there is no testing that happens in exporting countries in terms of microbiological contamination.
I have been testing kava for over 10 years. The real risk with kava is the microbiological contamination such as E coli, psuedomonias, yeast and mold. I could go on forever on this topic, but let me just make it brief and tell you that the sanitation practices from exporting countries are terrible and it shows in the 200 plus tests I have done over 10 years.

He should speak for himself and his product. What testing is done is entirely up to the buyer. In Fiji, kava is tested (klactone %, chemotype) at the University of the South Pacific. For a bit more $, they'll gladly test for all the scary things he's worried about. Mold is not uncommon, but if you have a good supplier who values their product and your relationship, they'll source good, clean kava for you.

When making an extract from kava, heat and ethanol are used to sterilize the product. This outweighs any risk of solvents extracting minute amounts of Flavokavains etc., from kava.

We should ignore the scientists and listen to Mr. Blythe, peddler of product made using ethanol.

While the internet is ripe with half cocked ideas about flavokavain, tudei kava, and extracts being culprits in liver incidents from 20 years ago that have never been replicated, thousands of Kilos of kava is being sold on the internet that is full of serious threats like e coli, mold, etc..

He judges the threat posed by some things by the number of reported incidents in which they are culprits... but other things he judges to be "serious threats" despite no reports at all.

 

[verticity]

Mr. Blythe of Root of Happiness comes across as a condescending prick. I shall respond in kind....

Mr. Blythe used to be an occasional on this forum under the moniker "Tyler" You can look up some of his past interactions with us here to confirm or deny your assessment.

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

Mr. Blythe of Root of Happiness comes across as a condescending prick. I shall respond in kind.


Either he has never seen kava growing on a farm, or he has and is just lying in order to smear his competitors and their products. Kava isn't irrigated outside of the US. Nowhere other than Hawaii have I seen kava irrigated.
Manure for fertilizer? Manure is used for fertilizer everywhere in the world for all sorts of crops and has been since early man tired of hunting and gathering. That said, I've never seen manure used as fertilizer for kava. Animal manure isn't easy to come by in significant quantities in the South Pacific... in Fiji it's only used (chicken manure when available) for vegetable crops. Occasionally artificial and organic fertilisers (NPK) are used for kava, but this is rare because of the risk of the fertilizer burning lateral roots.



He should speak for himself and his product. What testing is done is entirely up to the buyer. In Fiji, kava is tested (klactone %, chemotype) at the University of the South Pacific. For a bit more $, they'll gladly test for all the scary things he's worried about. Mold is not uncommon, but if you have a good supplier who values their product and your relationship, they'll source good, clean kava for you.


We should ignore the scientists and listen to Mr. Blythe, peddler of product made using ethanol.



He judges the threat posed by some things by the number of reported incidents in which they are culprits... but other things he judges to be "serious threats" despite no reports at all.

I could not have said it better. This guy really does not know as much about kava as he thinks he does. Thanks @kasa_balavu for your thoughts on this matter, like Tyler, I can go on and on too but it would only make him look bad so I leave it at this. Aloha.

Chris

 

[verticity]

E. coli is actually extremely common--and usually harmless--in the intestines of all mammals including humans. Let's not besmirch the reputation of this fine microbe because of a few toxic strains of it. Some strains of it are actually used therapeutically. Seriously. Let us remember that, since E. coli is found in the guts, it is also present in fecal matter ("shit") of all warm-blooded animals, including that of male cattle ("bulls").

 

[kasa_balavu]

Mr. Blythe used to be an occasional on this forum under the moniker "Tyler" You can look up some of his past interactions with us here to confirm or deny your assessment.

I looked around his website. He's quite the marketer... has a very polished online presence that's probably very successful for selling kava.
The cultural ignorance is annoying though. He brands his burogu kava as "Polynesian Gold" but ni-Vanuatu are Melanesian.


Back on topic... I really wish Blythe was right about ethanol. I'd start producing an extract or tincture myself if new scientific studies revealed that ethanol extraction was ok. It'd make things so much easier. The biggest impediment to Pacific Island producers selling kava direct to customers worldwide is the ridiculous cost of shipping. The cost of shipping a kg of kava from Fiji is higher than the value of the kava shipped. Extracts/tinctures allow us to compress kavalactones into tiny little packages.

 

[verticity]

Back on topic... I really wish Blythe was right about ethanol. I'd start producing an extract or tincture myself if new scientific studies revealed that ethanol extraction was ok. .....

He could provide some evidence for that if he tested his tinctures for flavokavains, in addition to the 200+ other things he tests for. That's not actually so far fetched, considering that the COAs for powders on his site do show a FK/KL test.

 

[thewanderingwise1]

S

He could provide some evidence for that if he tested his tinctures for flavokavains, in addition to the 200+ other things he tests for. That's not actually so far fetched, considering that the COAs for powders on his site do show a FK/KL test.

So did anyone find out if this product is good or not

 

[ChristineB]

Yep. I'm interested in this too. We've put a lot of stigma on tinctures so I'd love to see one that destroyed our pre-conceived notions.

Hey man, as you already know, I'm a newbie but I ordered the tincture as well as the paste. I'm not really sure how valid my experience is compared to all of you veterans lol. I can say that what made me order it was it's preparation from what I understood. It's made with glycerin with barely no noticeable alcohol taste, though it does have some in it. I can't remember the specific ratio. But it is listed under the product on the site.

 

[ChristineB]

Hey man, as you already know, I'm a newbie but I ordered the tincture as well as the paste. I'm not really sure how valid my experience is compared to all of you veterans lol. I can say that what made me order it was it's preparation from what I understood. It's made with glycerin with barely no noticeable alcohol taste, though it does have some in it. I can't remember the specific ratio. But it is listed under the product on the site.

Oh crap, lol I just realized how old this thread was. Oops..
.nevermind

 

[Groggy]

Hey man, as you already know, I'm a newbie but I ordered the tincture as well as the paste. I'm not really sure how valid my experience is compared to all of you veterans lol. I can say that what made me order it was it's preparation from what I understood. It's made with glycerin with barely no noticeable alcohol taste, though it does have some in it. I can't remember the specific ratio. But it is listed under the product on the site.

I'll add the product so you can leave a review for it, if you'd like. Doesn't matter how long you have been drinking kava, what's important is how it works for you

 

[ChristineB]

I'll add the product so you can leave a review for it, if you'd like. Doesn't matter how long you have been drinking kava, what's important is how it works for you

Thanks KrunkyMonkey

 

[Groggy]

Thanks KrunkyMonkey

Anytime

 

[mjazzguitar]

I ordered the tincture and the bottle wasn't full. The pump didn't work, and when I opened it, there was a gloopy mess clinging to the stem. I tried de-obstructing it
and managed to pump a drop or two out and it came out like little balls that just sunk to the bottom of the soda I put it in. There was no way it was going to dissolve. Maybe I just got one where the shrink wrap hadn't adhered right, air got in, and it evaporated. I topped it off with a little bit of gin, thinking it may thin it out a little, but it still doesn't work.
I probably should have sent it back.

 

[mjazzguitar]

. The biggest impediment to Pacific Island producers selling kava direct to customers worldwide is the ridiculous cost of shipping. The cost of shipping a kg of kava from Fiji is higher than the value of the kava shipped.

It would probably grow in a state like Florida, and some south American countries.
Is this essentially a monopoly, where it is impossible to get cultivars because they don't want any competition?

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

It would probably grow in a state like Florida, and some south American countries.
Is this essentially a monopoly, where it is impossible to get cultivars because they don't want any competition?

Actually it is not very easy to grow in Florida, Isa is a tudei kava and it has a hard time growing in Florida so Noble kava is even harder.
It has also bee tried in China and South America and a few other places with no success. I do not know why but kava seems to like certain areas and does not like others. Aloha.

Chris

 

[mjazzguitar]

Actually it is not very easy to grow in Florida, Isa is a tudei kava and it has a hard time growing in Florida so Noble kava is even harder.
It has also bee tried in China and South America and a few other places with no success. I do not know why but kava seems to like certain areas and does not like others. Aloha.

Chris

Thanks. I didn't know that. Maybe greenhouses would do the trick- it would be an expensive proposition, though, and probably take a lifetime before you saw any profit on your investment.

 

[Groggy]

I ordered the tincture and the bottle wasn't full. The pump didn't work, and when I opened it, there was a gloopy mess clinging to the stem. I tried de-obstructing it
and managed to pump a drop or two out and it came out like little balls that just sunk to the bottom of the soda I put it in. There was no way it was going to dissolve. Maybe I just got one where the shrink wrap hadn't adhered right, air got in, and it evaporated. I topped it off with a little bit of gin, thinking it may thin it out a little, but it still doesn't work.
I probably should have sent it back.

Please leave a review so that future members can benefit from your experience
Here is the link;
http://kavaforums.com/forum/threads...ype=SmartTagArticle&TagName=ProductProfileTag

 

[mjazzguitar]

Please leave a review so that future members can benefit from your experience
Here is the link;
http://kavaforums.com/forum/threads...ype=SmartTagArticle&TagName=ProductProfileTag

Ok. I'll have to wait and try it alone to be able to write about it's effects. I decided to taste a few dabs while drinking kava.

 

[Dust]

I tried the Co2 70% kavlactone extract Polynesian Gold brand and was real unimpressed. At a standard dose (their recommended size) I had nothing but a numb mouth. I experimented with progresivly larger doages over the course of a few weeks and all that ever did was make me feel gross once I hit a point where it was doing something other than numb my mouth. If their tincture quality is anything like that extracts quality I'd stray away. I actually contacted them via email saying I wanted to get the "real" kava experience (because I had tried their instant kava which wasn't bad but wouldnt try again) and whoever responded to my email told me to go for an extract Im upset I did that and wish i had just tried standard root