A
AshC
I am new to kava. I just purchased some melo melo. What is the best way to prepare this? What does it feel like? Thanks 
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The "best" way is subject to opinion and personal taste. We can give you a lot of different ways of doing it and why we prepare kava the way we do. One method may appeal to you more than the others.
For example, i'm not a fan of using a lot of hot or boiling water to prepare kava. This doesn't mean it can't or shouldn't be done. To me, those methods make the kava taste...bland.
bland? Yes bland! I'm sort of an odd duck though...I actually taste the kava and use tasting notes. 
Whether you use hot/boiling water or not the principle is the same. Put the kava in some kind of material to strain it. (fijian strainer bag, women's nylon, silk screen etc.) Massage, squeeze and knead the kava in the water for 10-20 minutes (or longer). Then you're ready to serve in a cup of some kind and enjoy. From there all other things just come with time.
Oh...and welcome to the forum.
For example, i'm not a fan of using a lot of hot or boiling water to prepare kava. This doesn't mean it can't or shouldn't be done. To me, those methods make the kava taste...bland.
bland? Yes bland! I'm sort of an odd duck though...I actually taste the kava and use tasting notes. Whether you use hot/boiling water or not the principle is the same. Put the kava in some kind of material to strain it. (fijian strainer bag, women's nylon, silk screen etc.) Massage, squeeze and knead the kava in the water for 10-20 minutes (or longer). Then you're ready to serve in a cup of some kind and enjoy. From there all other things just come with time.
Oh...and welcome to the forum.
http://www.kavaforums.com/forum/wiki/techniques/
That should get you started on techniques on preparation. It feels like a very carefree day w/ complete muscular relaxation.
Also
Welcome to the forums!
That should get you started on techniques on preparation. It feels like a very carefree day w/ complete muscular relaxation.
Also
Welcome to the forums!
HerbalDude420
Mr True Colors
I usually knead in room temp water in a decent sized bowl with a Fijian strainer bag till there is no oily feeling left in the kava usually takes me 6-10 minutes(tho im a pretty strong) to accomplish i believe this is the best way because it represents the traditional way. Also while kneading it think positively helps in more ways than one. For your first time try 8 tablespoons kava to 4 cups water and drink 1 cup every 10-15ish minutes on an empty stomach works best. Pineapple chunks, slices, etc make a great addition while enjoying your kava i hope this helps 
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http://kavabyrex.com/makekava.html Good kava making instructions
. http://kavabyrex.com/makekava.html Good kava making instructions
A
AshC
Thanks everyone. I appreciate it
D
Deleted User01
I would do water at around 110-120 if possible. If you have problem with the taste, add coconut water in lieu of water. Don't use coconut creme or milk. Just watery coconut water. Some people use nylon stockings to knead/squeeze and strain, I use a nylon mesh bag that they sell at our local homebrew store. I would not recommend using boiling water until you have more experience. It may make a more potent brew but it comes out thick and gooey and I personally have trouble drinking it. One more thing, I'm big into bottling it and storing it in the fridge for later use. I use those lock cap beer bottles. And cold Kava is a lot easier to stomach than hot Kava. Nuff said.
HeadHodge
Bula To Eternity
I'm not a super experienced Kava user, but I'm working hard to become one.
After all the time and effort I've spent on trying to figure out the best way to prepare Kava, I have yet to find the ultimate way, but I now have some basic concepts I use as my guideline.
I view preparing Kava as a battle between me and the Kava root. The fight is to make the root give up to me as many of the Kavalactone oils as possible that it's keeping from me. The more I get the root to give up it's oils, the closer I get to winning the battle.
The two ways I know of to get the root to give up it's oils is agitation and heat.
Examples of agitation are kneading, pounding, chewing, blending, etc. Examples of heat are various ways of using water at temperatures from room temp. to boiling.
You'll find on this forum many different techniques for doing these two basic things and everyone has there favorite. My favorite is the one where I win the battle and get krunked!!
Right now I'm trying with fairly good success a combination of agitation and heat.
I mix hard boiling water with my Kava into a blender and use the blender to agitate the Kava for about a minute or so.
Then I let the mix sit for awhile to let it cool off enough for me to touch without burning my fingers
I then transfer this to a nylon bag and further agitate by kneading the bag until all the liquid is squeezed out of it. This has the added benefit of filtering the root solids from the oils, so I don't have to consume and digest them. After all, I want the oil not the stingy evil root.
I may take the liquid and put it in the nylon bag (or a Fijan bag which is a finer filter) again for further agitation and root filtering. But in either case, I don't like warm Kava so I put mine in the fridge overnight before I drink it.
You know how some foods taste better the next day than right after you cook them? I think leaving the Kava set in the fridge really helps in getting the oils to combine with the water. It makes it taste better and I think makes the oils more digestible (and potent).
Whatever you end up doing I hope you will share your experience and hope you win many battles!!
Regards
Bob
After all the time and effort I've spent on trying to figure out the best way to prepare Kava, I have yet to find the ultimate way, but I now have some basic concepts I use as my guideline.
I view preparing Kava as a battle between me and the Kava root. The fight is to make the root give up to me as many of the Kavalactone oils as possible that it's keeping from me. The more I get the root to give up it's oils, the closer I get to winning the battle.
The two ways I know of to get the root to give up it's oils is agitation and heat.
Examples of agitation are kneading, pounding, chewing, blending, etc. Examples of heat are various ways of using water at temperatures from room temp. to boiling.
You'll find on this forum many different techniques for doing these two basic things and everyone has there favorite. My favorite is the one where I win the battle and get krunked!!
Right now I'm trying with fairly good success a combination of agitation and heat.
I mix hard boiling water with my Kava into a blender and use the blender to agitate the Kava for about a minute or so.
Then I let the mix sit for awhile to let it cool off enough for me to touch without burning my fingers
I then transfer this to a nylon bag and further agitate by kneading the bag until all the liquid is squeezed out of it. This has the added benefit of filtering the root solids from the oils, so I don't have to consume and digest them. After all, I want the oil not the stingy evil root.
I may take the liquid and put it in the nylon bag (or a Fijan bag which is a finer filter) again for further agitation and root filtering. But in either case, I don't like warm Kava so I put mine in the fridge overnight before I drink it.
You know how some foods taste better the next day than right after you cook them? I think leaving the Kava set in the fridge really helps in getting the oils to combine with the water. It makes it taste better and I think makes the oils more digestible (and potent).
Whatever you end up doing I hope you will share your experience and hope you win many battles!!
Regards
Bob
endwatcher
Is there death before life?
Welcome AshC.
I think the best way "especially for newbs" is the blender method.
Use 2 tablespoons per 1 cup liquid.
Boil 3 cups water, put it in the blender, add 6 "or more" tablespoons kava"
Blend...blend....blend baby blend.
When its cool enough to touch, squeaze it through a strainer as hard as you can.
You will see the oils on the water.
Bula!
I think the best way "especially for newbs" is the blender method.
Use 2 tablespoons per 1 cup liquid.
Boil 3 cups water, put it in the blender, add 6 "or more" tablespoons kava"
Blend...blend....blend baby blend.
When its cool enough to touch, squeaze it through a strainer as hard as you can.
You will see the oils on the water.
Bula!
Thanks for the order! For a kava of traditional strength and flavor, make it the traditional way as described on the back label. People in the south pacific have been doing it basically that way for centuries. Use lots of kava (1 part to 3-4 parts water), put it in your durable flexible strainer, immerse it in the water, massage, knead, and squeeze for about 10 minutes and Bob's your uncle. It's super easy and strong. No need to reinvent the wheel, especially when you're first getting into it.
Dingo
Kava Curious
Hi everyone,
I am new to kava, I just got my first order in yesterday, so I am trying to get beyond the RT. I am wondering why Deleted User01 recommends not to use milk for extraction? I tried some melo melo yesterday with warm and then cold water, but I really hate drinking water it makes me bloated and headachy. I tried today with a small quantity of chocolate milk, and it went down much easier and I felt better afterwards. I also tried the BKH instant vanuatu green with chocolate milk (2 tsp to about 100 ml of milk), and that was delicious! But if it is not effective means of extraction, then there goes that idea I guess.
Cheers,
Dingo
I am new to kava, I just got my first order in yesterday, so I am trying to get beyond the RT. I am wondering why Deleted User01 recommends not to use milk for extraction? I tried some melo melo yesterday with warm and then cold water, but I really hate drinking water it makes me bloated and headachy. I tried today with a small quantity of chocolate milk, and it went down much easier and I felt better afterwards. I also tried the BKH instant vanuatu green with chocolate milk (2 tsp to about 100 ml of milk), and that was delicious! But if it is not effective means of extraction, then there goes that idea I guess.
Cheers,
Dingo
violet
Do all things with love
@Dingo I like to add a splash of heavy cream or half-n-half to my water, for me it really smooths out the flavor of a grog that is bitter or piney. As far as taste goes, chocolate milk follows kava particularly well, if you ask me. If you are not a big fan of water you will want to be extra mindful of dehydration, as kava is a diuretic.
D
Deleted User01
Welcome Dingo. I have never used plain milk in Kava so I have no opinion on that. However .....
The other day I posted that I use Coconut Water and not Coconut Milk or Creme. The coconut water is lighter for me and takes care of the taste. One day I ran out of Cocowater so I used a brand that was more like Creme or Milk. I heated it up and it may have gotten too hot. I dumped it in the Kava, squeezed and kneaded, and the result was a very thick and slimy Kava. I could barely drink it because the texture was so nasty and it didn't matter how cold it was. It was very potent and so I eventually finished the 16oz bottle but it was a task. Perhaps the fat in the coconut turned to slime. Once you meet the Kava Slime Monster, you will see what I mean. I also got slimy Kava when I followed a recipe that calls for the boiling of Kava. It is supposed to aid in extraction but the slime factor turned me off to that technique.
Violet, tell us if you add the creme during extraction or after extraction? If during extraction, do you heat it up and to what temperature? As Kavadude says, we no longer believe that adding a fatty substance to the Kava will aid in Extraction but people add different things to deal with the taste and that is totally understandable.
The other day I posted that I use Coconut Water and not Coconut Milk or Creme. The coconut water is lighter for me and takes care of the taste. One day I ran out of Cocowater so I used a brand that was more like Creme or Milk. I heated it up and it may have gotten too hot. I dumped it in the Kava, squeezed and kneaded, and the result was a very thick and slimy Kava. I could barely drink it because the texture was so nasty and it didn't matter how cold it was. It was very potent and so I eventually finished the 16oz bottle but it was a task. Perhaps the fat in the coconut turned to slime. Once you meet the Kava Slime Monster, you will see what I mean. I also got slimy Kava when I followed a recipe that calls for the boiling of Kava. It is supposed to aid in extraction but the slime factor turned me off to that technique.
Violet, tell us if you add the creme during extraction or after extraction? If during extraction, do you heat it up and to what temperature? As Kavadude says, we no longer believe that adding a fatty substance to the Kava will aid in Extraction but people add different things to deal with the taste and that is totally understandable.
Dingo
Kava Curious
Thanks for the replies. I think I will stick with the milk, though I am sad it doesn't help but glad it doesn't hinder. I read somewhere when I was first investigating kava that some of the kavalactones are oil/fat soluble. I am thinking of trying to soak some in oil, then use it to make some numbing lip balm, just to try it out. Does anyone have some information on oil solubility? It doesn't seem like too many people think the fat/oil helps. Are there any studies on this?
D
Deleted User01
Good luck with finding the studies Dingo. I think we have beaten that subject to death (I'm tired of the dead horse analogy, poor horsy) and I still don't think we have any concrete conclusions. I stopped using the soy granules a few months ago. I need to ask Chris with GHK about the fat soluble issue, he seems to be a Kava Authority around here (he's a grower) and he seems to be surrounded by researchers in Hawaii. Maybe he will reply to the post. Just to reiterate, I have no issues with milk and I think other members also use it and maybe adding some chocolate would make it extra yummy. When you apply too much heat, beware of the slime monster.
D
Deleted User01
Not a good idea, watch. "We've beaten this slime monster till the slime and goo has splashed all over our faces and is oozing all around us." Yikes, better get the slippery when wet sign out. I think I need a shower and quick. Oh man, this was my favorite shirt.
infraredz
BULA!
It's my understanding that all the kavalactones are not readily soluble in water, which is the reason why one can't simply steep the root in water (which is why you need to physically agitate the material). Solubility does increase with temperature, which could explain why boiling water yields a more potent grog.
I came across this which I thought was interesting: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1208/s12249-008-9064-6/fulltext.html
The idea behind using lipid-rich substances like cream is that they would help emulsify the kavalactones, although as many above have said, from the overall anecdotal evidence, it doesn't help any, but it doesn't hurt either.
I came across this which I thought was interesting: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1208/s12249-008-9064-6/fulltext.html
The idea behind using lipid-rich substances like cream is that they would help emulsify the kavalactones, although as many above have said, from the overall anecdotal evidence, it doesn't help any, but it doesn't hurt either.
HeadHodge
Bula To Eternity
I second a vote to extract the Kavatones with water only, and afterwards add milk, cream, or whatever your preference is to that.
I also like just drinking the Kava extracted with water and then using a fatty chaser after drinking some. It will help with the bad taste in your mouth, and also gets the fatty chaser to where it belongs (in your stomach).
I also like just drinking the Kava extracted with water and then using a fatty chaser after drinking some. It will help with the bad taste in your mouth, and also gets the fatty chaser to where it belongs (in your stomach).
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