TribalCulture
Krunkonomicon
Within the last year I noticed a spike, including on Amazon where I noticed what could be bought last year for 20-30 range nearly doubled.
The price that the growers sell kava for has more almost tripled in Vanuatu and Fiji over the last three or four years. Tongan kava is up 300-400% over the same period.Within the last year I noticed a spike, including on Amazon where I noticed what could be bought last year for 20-30 range nearly doubled.
I could only find one grower willing to leave out stems. I can guarantee our Tongan is all good though.Yep. Another problem is that while the prices have been going up the quality has been going down. This is one of the main reasons why we stopped getting our kava in Tonga. The price increase has been massive, but most suppliers also started paying less attention to processing their kava properly. I know there are still many who do care, but most people don't bother as in the current market they can make big $ by selling just about anything.
Asia or Central America farms would likely be safer from theft too, I'd like to see someone who truly cares about kava try something like that.I think most people agree that prices were artificially low a few years ago, due to the post boom glut of kava and the stickiness of the prices on the local market. Most people would also agree that currently prices are unsustainably high, in part due to the fact that many people are reluctant to sell hoping for higher prices in the future. Prices had to go up for the industry to remain healthy, but the current situation is a classic example of reduced supply,increased demand and speculation coming together. According to my sources people r planting kava like crazy around the Pacific right now so I dont think the prices will keep going up. They might eventually plateau or fall. If not, then we will most certainly see kava plantations in Asia and Central America. The profit margins (for farmers) and potential for productivity increases are just too high not to attract new players
Here's what I'm wondering, can we really expect the price to ever come down, or have we just created a new baseline kava price? I feel like the prices have less to do with any cyclone damage and more with the increased popularity, interest and awareness of kava and kava bars, coinciding with the revitalization of pharmaceutical interest. That's not to say that cyclone crop damage hasn't played any role, but when mature crops are replenished in 3-5 years, I doubt we'll see any significant drop in price. I think the word is out, there's money in kava again and farmers are surely aware of how much we're apparently willing to pay for it -- they're gonna want that price. I'm guessing price decreases will only happen after 10+ years, if ever. Depending on if the 'kava fad' fades out, or if it maintains a fairly good user base, higher than the base of 2003-2013. Hopefully I'm wrong and every farmer's new cash grab kava crop matures soon, leaving so much surplus of kava on the market that it'll have to come down to be competitive.
$50/lb. sounds about right. I feel like prices are plateauing now. The increases aren't sustainable and people are starting to question if kava is worth what us vendors need to sell it for. I think we're at the limit. I've spoken with a major Vanuatu distributor who told me that within a year, he expects prices to drop. He said that he didn't feel like they should drop too much though because growers need to feel that they're getting paid well so they'll continue to plant. A Fijian farm I work with keeps telling me that the price increases are temporary, and that they'll drop the price once supply increases. So, I guess I'm skeptical but hopeful that at least Vanuatu and Fiji prices will drop by maybe 20-30% in a couple years. And if Vanuatu and Fiji drop their prices, Samoa and Tonga will have to follow suit to compete.Anyway, would you say the average retail price for kava right now, per pound, is about $50 USD? If you were going to guess, what do you expect the average to be in 2020, 2023 & 2025 ? I'd like to see Judd's guesses too.
Last time I bought Best Fijian Kava Lawena it was $36/lb and still is. I drink it regularly. I bought 7 lbs in one order. Yes, the top shelf gourmet kavas are expensive, but you can still get drinkable kava for under $40 https://www.bestfijikava.com/view_details.php?id=18I haven't purchased kava in a while due to budgetary restraints. It's been a while. I just started looking again and realized that I'm pretty much priced out! I really can't justify spending 60 bucks a pound on kava. I wish I could but it's just not possible.
I really wish I could grow it here. Hopefully the increased price will push farmers to not only produce more, but innovate growing methods. It would be amazing to see some more hardy, perhaps genetically modified, kava plants on the market.
I'm the same way. The benefits of kava always outweigh the price for me. I can't say it's the best way to go if you're trying to be frugal, but I love kavaI try to factor everything in. With kava I spend zero on alcohol, half on food, nothing on black panties, far fewer silly impulse purchases. On the whole kava saves me me money and pays for itself from the savings. Plus how does one put a price on what it dif for me and for my wife? We would have gladly paid 10x what kava cost us for those effects.
That is great advice for people who are new to kava or not really responding to any kava. But in cases where you use the same prep methods and only a few varieties are useful, it's more than that. I know it's very unpopular to negatively review most of the trusted vendors but we do need to hold them to the high standards that we are accustomed to and know they can provide.Good prep and consumption is the key to making your powder more effective. I use 40 or so g per session these days (used to use much more), because I use higher water temp, knead it for longer and then consume it a la Vanuatu, i.e. take two large servings, wait for the kava magic and then just top up with small servings. After 1-2 hours I eat a warm meal (which keep the kava going) and enjoy the rest of the evening blissfully relaxed.
I think @SelfBiasResistor is my closest analogue on the Kava Forums, his opinions and experience about the kavas we drink almost always mirrors mine. I know some of it is our genetics and/or circumstantial experience, but at least 1/3rd of the problem is flat out weak kava(which is now expensive). I know there are many kava drinkers here who just naturally feel strong effects from smaller doses, or some drinkers who have never 'fully' felt what kava is capable of, and therefor don't have a fair reference point to compare their experience to(I used to be one). But, I think I can safely say, as someone who has traversed many different stages of kava consumption, dosage, frequency and expectation -- beginning in 2003 -- that the current era of retail kava is generally the weakest potency, compared to it's price.I wouldn't mind the price increase as much if the quality also improved. I'm now paying much more and need to greatly increase the dosage while not getting the effects that I used to get. I've always needed high doses to get effects but now it's getting ridiculous. I've stopped purchasing anything that requires 12+ Tbsp a session (which includes most of my old favorites from KWK/GHK). At this point, I already know I'm wasting my money unless I'm buying Nangol, Kava Supreme or Vanuatu Select.
For a while, I've been thinking that it must just be me until I went back to an opened 4 year old bag of BKH Borogu that I stopped using back then because I considered it too weak. Even after being open with a now failed seal, it was much more potent and enjoyable than most of the purchases I've made in 2017.