1st timer, Kava Kuai.. Much love to forum.

[kl.mirostan]

Hey folks,

  My vanuatu kava kuai came in today and I had very limited effects, mostly a bit heady and mellow. My buddy had same effect. Had 2 cups before eating (was famished), then I had 4 more after my fish and sauerkraut...mmmm..lol. Its all I have in fridge, don't hate I wonder if you kava veterans can point me in the right direction. Here was my process:

1.) 3 tbsp per 3 cups, let sit for 10 mins (short?)
2.) poured in strainer and kneaded in water for 5 minutes (prob short again?)
3.) squeezed the life out of it, strainer was two paint strainers (one inside other)
4.) poured over ice into glass (no coconut bowls yet...)
5.) drank at 10-15 minute intervals, my cup was appr 6 oz.
6.) relaxed to Marley documentary, amazing individual.. More Marley = Less Hate + More Love

Now I know that it was my first batch so the 'reverse tolerance' deal is definitely a major component, but it really felt like the kava was about to sort of 'break through' but it just stayed at minimal effects, maybe my process is lacking? Soaking overnight better? I have no blender, investing in a 'good cheap-o' good idear? I have NO problem with taste, kind of enjoy it, except the last cup with all the fine grit in the bottom...wowza. Wish I'd found the forum earlier, would have gone with different kava... I do have Fu'u on the way though. Anyway, any advice is greatly appreciated, love the forum what a wealth of info! You guys are the bees knees of kava kava. Sorry so dang long but more info the better I always say. Peace and Love,

 

[Vekta]

You will find a wide variety of ways to prepare kava here. In my opinion no one way is better than any other. That is more a matter of preference, trial and error and perhaps a little bit of ritualistic routine.
1.) Your ratio of 1 tbsp to 1 cup of water would be a little light for me. I normally use 2 tbsp per 8-10 oz of water. But as a beginner there is nothing wrong with that ratio and some may prefer to use a smaller amount of kava for whatever reason.
2.) Some kava doesn't need more than 5 minutes...some need over 40 minutes to extract it's full potential. Your hands are likely to tire long before that mark though. This ties into #3
3.) Like I said before, some kava only needs 5 minutes of squeezing. (a bare minimum) I'm my opinion this has a lot to do with the grind of the kava. A fine grind is going to sift through your strainer material more freely. You may notice that a very fine grind kava reduces by half or a little more after a few minutes of squeezing. You're not going to gain much more after most of it has been squeezed through the strainer material.
In my experiences a course grind kava benefits from soaking for at least 30 minutes to a full hour. Think of a sponge. The kava will soak up some water and be like a firm sponge. More of the good stuff is likely to leech out of the root now that the root has actually had a chance to soak up some water. Kavalactones are not water soluble so squeezing or putting it through a blender is more or less the best way to get it out. Soaking the root just makes this a little bit easier.
4.) Ice? If that's your thing...have at it.
5.) No rush anyways.
6.) Yeah, good times.
Some people use blenders. I don't. But again that's just my preference  and you may develop your own prep method with which you do like to use a blender. For me it's just one more thing to clean up and I prefer to feel the kava in my hands. Feeling the oil come out of the kava can be a useful indicator of the effectiveness of your method. Some kava strains are more oily than others though so it doesn't work 100% of the time.  
PS- Welcome to the Kava Lounge

 

[Paradise Kava]

Welcome!

Kava and Marley are so synergistic and think I've watched the same documentary a bit krunked myself. Good choice!

Quick note, instead of two paint strainers (think that still too coarse) try a panty hose next time. Works really well I think.

Cheers!

Adil Ghiasi

 

[kl.mirostan]

Excellent, thanks for the replies gentlemen.. Looking forward to more pleasurable nights with this miracle root. I don't recall any oily juice out of my squeeze, just liquid. The grind was pretty dang coarse, thought I was going to get a splinter when squeezing...hah. Thanks for the informative response vekta, Adil I think I will give panty hose a shot next time, doubling up on paint strainer did get most but not all the bits. I read a lot about your CO2 Extract, once I break my tolerance level and begin to appreciate Kava, I will have a go at it for my work related stress. Peace.

 

[kavalover]

Vekta pretty much nailed it there.



About the ice, I do the same thing. Ice is awesome if you make stronger kava because chugging that gritty sludge is always gross. Chilling your shells with ice makes it awesomely bearable. As for blending, it really does come down to preference. Do what feels good for you. I personally love using the blender because I get this amazing "kava foam" or as Adil has called it "kava crema" like from an espresso. It's nice. What I do is soak the kava in the blender for a short while, blend, then I squeeze and knead the blended kava as you would without the blender. I try to get the most out of it.



But anyway, welcome! And by the way, the kava you picked (Vanuatu kava root from kava kuai) is one of my all time favorites!

 

[kl.mirostan]

Thanks kavalover, I actually did just that yesterday (blend, let sit for ~3hrs then knead & strain). Interesting outcome though, I drank 6 cups in course of 2 hrs, only because I felt nothing except a light head buzz... so I figured I'd keep drinking, I got a bit tired after a while and strolled to bed. Woke up perty dang krunk...lol dizzy to point of nausea, hard to focus vision, heavy & partially numb limbs, not sore but feel like I ran a marathon yesterday.. Lovin it but wish id felt it last night since I wanted to be productive this morning but i can't drive with great confidence. Is this at all common? I haven't read anything about not feeling anything then getting whalloped the next day.. At least I know this kava (kava kuai) is Good, just wish there wasn't a 10 hr delay..lol. thanks again guys and gals.

 

[Vekta]

6 cups as in 48 fluid ounces or 6 "shell" cups? It'd be hard for me to get past a 3rd cup let alone six 8 oz. cups. That's a lot of kava. I've only had that happen to me a couple times.I got everything you did except the nausea and dizziness. I felt like my body was made out of lead noodles. It happened once with Isa Kava and once with KBR Tongan pride. The fact that I fell asleep sitting up in my computer chair probably didn't help much.(smiley: laugh) 
It definitely  happens. I don't think it's common...yet not uncommon either if that makes any sense. 
What is it? Like 150-250 mg of kavalactones per cup of kava? So with 6 cups were talkin in the range of... 900-1500 mg of kavalactones? Technically one 70-150mg dose is enough to help control social anxiety. I average about 500mg pr session. That's around less than half of what you're starting out with. That's just to help put it into perspective. Your body may be adjusting to consuming kava and was given just a tad more than it can handle. There is still the reverse tolerance thing to consider. After a while you may not need nearly as much to feel something. After a little over a year of using kava I can start feeling it before I drain my first shell.

 

[kl.mirostan]

Hey vekta.. My cups were roughly 5oz a piece. It was an educational morning, I teased kava and she put me in my place for sure. I have some (at times debilitating) social anxiety so that is great to know, about 1-2 cups? Will have to do some field testing I remember you (..I think recommending Fu'u was especially good for that, as a euphoric and anxiolytic blend... I'll stick to 4 (4-5oz) cups @ 3tbs per two Cups for now. I hugely appreciate the feedback guys, great to have knowledgeable people to ask about a (for now) kind of obscure root. Have a nice weekend!

 

[Vekta]

I hope you find your groove mirostan. Yeah, I'm also in the social anxiety boat. It was the reason I started using kava.

 

[The Kap'n]

Lead noodles. Perfect.