What happened to Squanch Kava?

[AvaCat]

Went to go get me some squanch and the site is no longer. Itd be a shame if i didnt know i just finished my last bag of squanch : ( Hes the man i hope everything is okay

 

[Stocky007]

Ya know - I legit went on a Google quest to try to figure that out myself. I had been out of the loop for a while and just noticed they were out of business.

 

[Kava Mike]

The last pound of squanch I got was very weak. Didn’t get anything out of it. That’s the first time that ever happened with squanch. In my experience all the formally potent Fijian kavas that I used to get are either not available or are much weaker than they used to be. It really is unfortunate. The frustrating part is nobody is saying much about it.

 

[Groggy]

The last pound of squanch I got was very weak. Didn’t get anything out of it. That’s the first time that ever happened with squanch. In my experience all the formally potent Fijian kavas that I used to get are either not available or are much weaker than they used to be. It really is unfortunate. The frustrating part is nobody is saying much about it.

I suspect as demand and prices go up the mass producers may accept younger plants as regular stock. I have no idea if that is accurate but it could track. You can still find premium kava but the price tag will match.

 

[AvaCat]

Bummer, maybe Joe himself can chime in? Last ive seen him was march, he posted on Instagram.

 

[Kava Mike]

I understand that the tariffs were 32% for a little while and that would certainly explain certain things. I heard that a lot of good quality Fijian kava was being sent to Australia instead of the USA. However, the current tariff rate is 15%. I would have no problem paying extra for good quality kava but if retailers are selling poor quality they are going to lose consumer confidence and that might be what’s happening here. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve wasted money on kava that does nothing. It’s getting to the point that I only stick with a few suppliers and currently three of them have nothing for sale.

 

[AvaCat]

I've been through well over 100lbs of squanch haha, it will be missed greatly. I wish i had a bag or sticker to remember it

 

[Kava Mike]

I’ll miss it too. It was one of the few places I left more than one positive review.
Kava Time was also excellent with the sealed bricks they had
Every single variety was good but nothing has been available here in the US for a long time.

 

[nabanga]

I’ll miss it too. It was one of the few places I left more than one positive review.
Kava Time was also excellent with the sealed bricks they had
Every single variety was good but nothing has been available here in the US for a long time.

I was in Fiji in April and Kavatime have a modern facility near Nadi airport - but they were low on stock. I got the impression after emailing their manager trying to orgase a bulk airport pickup that they now send most stock to Australia because of a combination of the dumb US tariffs and relaxation of the Aussie kava rules.

 

[Kava Mike]

That’s exactly what I heard. I wouldn’t mind paying the 15% tariff as the consumer to get Santo’s Pride again, or anything else they offered.

 

[kasa_balavu]

Yes, sourcing has become difficult because supply can't keep up with demand right now.

The smaller vendors (like Squanch) can't get decent kava at all, and even the big vendors who have years-long relationships with serious exporters are having a hard time.

I was in Fiji in April and Kavatime have a modern facility near Nadi airport - but they were low on stock. I got the impression after emailing their manager trying to orgase a bulk airport pickup that they now send most stock to Australia because of a combination of the dumb US tariffs and relaxation of the Aussie kava rules.

KavaTime are shutting down. Or at least that's what I'm assuming, as they started selling off all their plant machinery (worth around usd$150k) in April.

 

[Stocky007]

This is unfortunate. Has Kava's popularity just skyrocketed to the point that demand is outpacing supply or are other factors impact it?

 

[AvaCat]

This is unfortunate. Has Kava's popularity just skyrocketed to the point that demand is outpacing supply or are other factors impact it?

I have noticed quite the uptick for kava sold on social media platforms, many different companies. Most selling instants or extracts as alcohol replacement ect

 

[kasa_balavu]

In Fiji the problem is low supply due to farmers being unable to stomach the risk of heavy losses due to a combination of kava dieback disease (CMV) and theft.
I can't speak to the situation in Vanuatu but I assume the extract market (evil blue bottle company and their ilk) is behind the high demand there.

Fiji is the worlds largest consumer of kava, and the reduced domestic production combined with reduced imports (by volume) of Vanuatu kava means supply is really low here. Low supply means prices are high. When local processors can make just as much money supplying the local market (with low production costs) as they can exporting (high production cost to meet foreign standards), foreign buyers really have to work hard (and pay more) to keep supply going.

BTW I'm not involved in the industry at any level, so this is just conjecture on my part. Perhaps a vendor will chime in.

 

[AvaCat]

Unfortunate, art of kava has been low on stock as well. Nakamal at home is pretty stocked but pricey. What's everyones go to place nowadays?

 

[Alia]

In Fiji the problem is low supply due to farmers being unable to stomach the risk of heavy losses due to a combination of kava dieback disease (CMV) and theft.
I can't speak to the situation in Vanuatu but I assume the extract market (evil blue bottle company and their ilk) is behind the high demand there.

Fiji is the worlds largest consumer of kava, and the reduced domestic production combined with reduced imports (by volume) of Vanuatu kava means supply is really low here. Low supply means prices are high. When local processors can make just as much money supplying the local market (with low production costs) as they can exporting (high production cost to meet foreign standards), foreign buyers really have to work hard (and pay more) to keep supply going.

BTW I'm not involved in the industry at any level, so this is just conjecture on my part. Perhaps a vendor will chime in.

I was just thinking of posting something similar to what you wrote! There you have already written it. The part I was going to stress
is that if there were no/or less kavalactone extracts -specifically solvent extracts in little bottles, etc. There would be more kava
available for the traditional beverage market.