Kava available in Australia

[the_wilderness]

Any tips? I have a nut milk bag and plan to do traditional method. I hope to get a mild buzz but mainly to help with anxiety at the moment. What dose would you recommend? How many grams of powder to how much water?

I am not at all a normal case (probably the benzo-addled brain) as often have a month of reverse tolerance even just switching strains. I tend to find a kava I like and stick with it for years for that reason.
There's a heap of good prep info on the forums incl video tutorials, they'll show you the way.
Main thing I'd say is be patient, pay attention, and consider yourself an apprentice to the kava...

 

[the_wilderness]

by the way, @Sunset_squash67, how long did the amazon kava take to arrive?

 

[Sunset_squash67]

I am not at all a normal case (probably the benzo-addled brain) as often have a month of reverse tolerance even just switching strains. I tend to find a kava I like and stick with it for years for that reason.
There's a heap of good prep info on the forums incl video tutorials, they'll show you the way.
Main thing I'd say is be patient, pay attention, and consider yourself an apprentice to the kava...

Ok thanks man. I was asking more around dosage (in grams and water vol). I'm thinking of doing 3TBSP in 300ml water. I'll split that into 3 serves and do 100ml "shells". Do you think this would be ok?

 

[Sunset_squash67]

by the way, @Sunset_squash67, how long did the amazon kava take to arrive?

It was very quick. I ordered it on Monday arvo, and it arrived around half an hour ago on my doorstep!

Still waiting on FijiKava though...

 

[The Kap'n]

I think it's time for a dedicated area for Aussies to discuss their options.

Edit: Created subforum for Australia here: https://kavaforums.com/forum/forums/australia.374/

I've stickied this post to the top.

 

[Sunset_squash67]

I think it's time for a dedicated area for Aussies to discuss their options.

Edit: Created subforum for Australia here: https://kavaforums.com/forum/forums/australia.374/

I've stickied this post to the top.

Great idea, thanks kap!

 

[the_wilderness]

Ok thanks man. I was asking more around dosage (in grams and water vol). I'm thinking of doing 3TBSP in 300ml water. I'll split that into 3 serves and do 100ml "shells". Do you think this would be ok?

Is gonna be an individual thing so just experiment. I have 6-8 tbsp but many have around 4 I believe. Blender methods worthwhile particularly to start, so you know what you're aiming for. Little milk helps too. Don't forget to do second wash and krunkie's frozen makas method worth looking up. Experiment with method, quantity and delivery, I have to drink all mine in one go, later shells do diddly squat except give me nausea.

Fijikava had packaging supply chain issue. I'm waiting on theirs too. I've had their takimai product which before and it's bad tasting but strong enough.

 

[Sunset_squash67]

Is gonna be an individual thing so just experiment. I have 6-8 tbsp but many have around 4 I believe. Blender methods worthwhile particularly to start, so you know what you're aiming for. Little milk helps too. I use over a litre of water, but eyeball it. Don't forget to do second wash and krunkie's frozen makas method worth looking up. Experiment with method, quantity and delivery, I have to drink all mine in one go, later shells do diddly squat except give me nausea.

Fijikava had packaging supply chain issue. I'm waiting on theirs too. I've had their takimai product which before and it's bad tasting but strong enough.

Thanks for the response. I read it a bit late though, I ended up preparing 3tbps in 500ml (accidentally, overshot the water lol).

I used traditional kneading and squeezing prep using a nut milk bag. Got some choco milk looking stuff lol. I'll wait til the missus gets home from work to look after the little one and I'll sink some shells. Hopefully it's not too watered down

 

[TheKavaSociety]

Our Vanuatu collaborators and friends (with whom we've worked on developing the rather famous single cultivar range) will be opening an Aussie retail operation sometime soon under their Root and Pestle brand. You'll be able to get all the co-branded single cultivar powders we sell in NZ through their local outlet.
We may be a bit biased, but truly believe this is the best kava money can buy

 

[the_wilderness]

Our Vanuatu collaborators and friends (with whom we've worked on developing the rather famous single cultivar range) will be opening an Aussie retail operation sometime soon under their Root and Pestle brand. You'll be able to get all the co-branded single cultivar powders we sell in NZ through their local outlet.
We may be a bit biased, but truly believe this is the best kava money can buy

Yaaaaaaaaas Henry!!

 

[Sunset_squash67]

Just thought I would share my first kava experience for others in a similar boat.

Kava: BiloVinaka platinum blend (from Amazon).

Prep: 3tbsp in 500ml water. Traditional prep with a nut milk bag.
Did a second wash with 200ml water and a few dashes of milk.

Last meal was 4.5hrs ago.

I consumed the first wash in 4 shells over 1hr. After that I consumed the second wash in one shell.

Taste: like mud, with a solid amount of bitterness.

Effects: first shell had my mouth very numb, more than I was expecting. Didn't feel too much in the head/body, but felt more relaxed considering I had a very bad day. Effects peaked with shell 2 and 3, I felt quite calm, body felt heavy, and my thoughts were more clear/coherent. I didn't feel too much for shell 4 and 5 but still felt nice.
It's around 3 hours after my last shell and I still feel a bit relaxed, and quite sleepy.

Only negative I have is that I did feel a little nauseated which I wasn't expecting. Also curved my appetite somewhat. Nothing too major though, I still had dinner and my stomach is fine now.

Overall a very good first experience, I really enjoyed the calming relaxed effect without being intoxicated. When I try tomorrow, I will make it stronger with less volume - probably 4tbsp in 300ml water and consume over 3 shells. It seemed like shell 2 and 3 peaked for me so this may work better.

 

[Agador]

Thought I'd start a thread for known sources to buy kava from in Australia, now that commercial imports are allowed. I only know of two so far:

https://fijikava.com/collections/noble-kava-root-powder - taking pre orders for delivery in January 2022, $200 per kg. I would expect Chemist Warehouse to begin stocking the powder, as they do the capsules, at a hugely marked down price (eg 60 caps are $20 in CW, compared to $60 direct from Fijikava).

https://www.facebook.com/KavaCalmAustralia - taking pre-orders, but not payments. Don't know what the price will be, but having ordered from them before from NZ, should be comparable at around $150 per kg.

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B08LD4Q269/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_glt_i_5SG03KWG7209SYY2ZFQ0
The first vendor on Amazon to ship from Australia!

Products

An online store that sells Kava from Tonga.

kunanikava.myshopify.com

Tongan kava, shipped from Brisbane. I might give the 100g/$30 a crack and report back. Hope their family and friends are safe and well after the tsunami that hit...

Bula Premium Fijian Noble Kava

Kava has been Fiji’s traditional choice to promote better sleep and relaxation for over 3000 years. Thanks to its naturally occurring composition of kavalactones and chemical makeup, it’s considered the purest and safest form of Kava. Each Noble Kava plant is nurtured throughout the years to...

www.paulsliquor.com.au

Online booze shop, might not be some people's preferred choice, but there you go!

I feel like we're close to the point where we'll be able to go to a local shop and grab some..! There's a Fijian supermarket in Newtown, Sydney - I'm going to pay them a visit soonish (I'm in Queensland right now), see what they have.

Anyone know of any others?

Yaaaaaaaaas Henry!!

Hi all,

Thought I would introduce myself. I have been a kava drinker for around 20 years now. Before the kava import ban I used to enjoy fijian, tongan and vanuatu powdered and instant kava. Can't wait for the legal supplies to come through now.

In terms of preparing kava I would like to share a quick and easy method.

Simply use a 750ml iced coffee plastic bottle. Cut about 12cm of a pantyhose leg and tie a knot in one end. Put however many tablespoons of kava powder in the pantyhose section (for me 2 to 3 tablespoons of good quality kava does the job) and tie off the top in a knot. Place the "kava ball" in the plastic coffee bottle and fill with chilled water 80%. I then add a little full cream milk to help release the kavalactones. Screw the lid on and shake vigourously about 100 times. Pour into drinking cup/glass and re-fill bottle again and repeat the process. After that retrieve the "kava ball" and wring it out to get the last of the goodness to drink.

This is a really quick, handy and portable method of preparing your evening drink, especially if travelling and space is an issue.

I have purchased some Tongan Kunanikava which originated from Tofua island and I will do a review of it when it arrives in the next couple of days. I suspect like a lot of tongan kava, this bad boy will demand respect. Cant wait!

 

[the_wilderness]

Welcome, @Agador! I'll be using this method camping this year after my aluballs gave up the ghost. same principles and far cheaper heh.
Tongan kavas are ones I'm looking forward to trying, it's gonna be a whole new world of being able to select kava rather than clutching at whatever I can get my hands on when a neighbour's friend's dog goes to Fiji do you have a link for the tongan?

 

[Groggy]

I think it's time for a dedicated area for Aussies to discuss their options.

Edit: Created subforum for Australia here: https://kavaforums.com/forum/forums/australia.374/

I've stickied this post to the top.

I moved the rest of Aussie's threads over, setup permissions on smarttags etc...Good to go.

 

[the_wilderness]

fantastic you got effects first sesh, @Sunset_squash67 !

 

[Sunset_squash67]

fantastic you got effects first sesh, @Sunset_squash67 !

Yeah I wasn't expecting much but definitely felt some of the effects. I'm still suprised at the mouth numbing..I was expecting it but damn it was my lips, tongue and even my throat lol. Was not as mild as I thought it would be. Looking forward to a bit more of a potent session tonight

 

[Agador]

Welcome, @Agador! I'll be using this method camping this year after my aluballs gave up the ghost. same principles and far cheaper heh.
Tongan kavas are ones I'm looking forward to trying, it's gonna be a whole new world of being able to select kava rather than clutching at whatever I can get my hands on when a neighbour's friend's dog goes to Fiji do you have a link for the tongan?

Thanks for the welcome, it's great to be with a like minded community of kava lovers! Here's the link for tongan kava https://kunanikava.myshopify.com/collections/all which is the same as was posted in earlier threads.
The vendor has just increased his prices which were already at the upper end, which is a shame. Once the market opens up shortly I think he will be forced to correct downwards. Tofua island is only about 60kms from the erupted volcano, so I suspect the kava crops there will be ruined by volcanic ash fallout, so that particular type might be the last batch for a while. Perhaps you could purchase a few hundred grams as a 'taster'?

Like many of us, during the 'kava prohibition' I was forced to source kava from returned pacific island travelers....sometimes advertised on gumtree. Quality was wildly variable, exacerbated by some very severe cyclones which destroyed a lot of kava crops and increased demand from limited stock and fueled rising prices.
The result of this situation was on some occasions, part substitution of kava with fillers of unknown origins. One bag I tried was almost like sawdust! The moral of the story is the age old adage, that generally you get what you pay for.
My advice would be to be patient as there are some quality professional kava suppliers emerging for the Australian market. With competition comes competitive pricing. Methinks we are all about to partake in some wonderful choices of reasonably priced quality kava.....thank God for that I say!!!

 

[Sunset_squash67]

Strangely enough my second experience with kava was quite a milder than my first. I actually prepared with an extra TBSP (4 in total) and slightly less water (450ml). Thought I would get a more potent grog?

The mouth numbing effect was much milder aswell. I will say my head did feel slightly heavier than the first time.


Apart from the difference in dose, the only other minor thing is that I prepared it the second time with quite warm tap water. Definitely not "hot" but pretty warm. Wonder if that affected the potency? Also, I prepar d it hours earlier and put it in th fridge. Could this decrease potency?

I'll try again this evening with room temp water like the first time.

 

[Groggy]

Apart from the difference in dose, the only other minor thing is that I prepared it the second time with quite warm tap water. Definitely not "hot" but pretty warm. Wonder if that affected the potency? Also, I prepar d it hours earlier and put it in th fridge. Could this decrease potency?

Warmer water does make it stronger, it is more effective in extracting the lactones from the root fiber, as the water passes through the material. Preparing in advance is perfectly fine (preferably drinking it within 24 hrs.)

I'll try again this evening with room temp water like the first time.

Don't ever expect every single experience to be exactly the same every time, it won't always be amazing, sometimes it's just meh. Also consider your body is getting accustomed to kava atm, think of kava as an SSRI, it takes a while for you to feel it's full effects but be sure to continue to drink often (or everyday) to get to that point. Fine tune along the way and eventually you will have it dialed in perfectly for your needs.

 

[Nodsey]

I moved the rest of Aussie's threads over, setup permissions on smarttags etc...Good to go.

I once had a parcel from the US end up in Austria, then back to the US, then to Australia after about a month! Two different countries, very very far apart!

Tldr looks like you shifted an Austrian thread over...