a few noob observations

[violet]

A little more than two weeks into my experience with kava, and I have reached the end of my first bag, a half-kilo of Boroguru. I had taken a bottle of capsules in the week or two prior to beginning kava drinking. While I’m not sure I would recommend this, I think it helped with reverse tolerance.

I seem to be a little inconsistent with my kava making. I’ve been kneading traditionally with a juice strainer. Second washes go in the vitamix, then kneaded and squeezed with a double strainer. I had a second wash batch come out strongest of all so far, I think that was the one I let soak in the fridge overnight. I started a fresh batch last night, soaked a little and kneaded before putting in the fridge, and there is a wonderful amount of yellow on the surface of the bowl today. I believe it was in the strong batch where I saw this the last time I let it soak, so my kava will be overnighting in the fridge from here out.

Coffee - just before beginning kava I had cut back to about four mugs per day. Kava made that go to just one; I hope to completely cut it out as I think it has begun to really aggravate my anxiety. I don’t miss it one bit.

My increase in anxiety symptoms has in the last few months brought me severe daily chest pain. The Boroguru makes this disappear quite nicely, along with my other symptoms. However, the anxiolytic effects don’t seem to last very long for me, a few hours maybe. Could this still be RT? I don’t want to begin fully trying other kavas until I’ve gotten my technique down so I’ll be able to properly gauge the effects. Perhaps I may want to lean towards a more “heady” kava? I do have some Koniak coming with my next bag of Boroguru, I’m going to try substituting small amounts of it to see if it will give the Boroguru some more “staying power.”

I am so grateful for all the wonderful information I have found in this forum !

 

[Akava]

great to hear violet,

kava is a proven anti-craving agent so the decrease in coffee consumption makes sense

Something to make note of is that the main anxiolytic effects should wear off in about 4 hours,
but when people talk about a lasting effect for a couple days, the anxiolytic effect is less significant,
I didn't notice this until I stopped having kava for a few days,
by day 3 I noticed the my anxiety was way worse then then if i only missed one day,
sometimes you forget how bad it was to begin with

Koniak is more of a DHM kava which will help your chest more and muscles, but the main anti anxiety kavalactones are Kavain, and DHK
Boroguru is heavy with those, so that ones good for anxiety

You should consider having an instant kava in the morning or in between your root sessions if you're looking for more benefits without going through that long process you describe, I used to strain like that but it was too much of a hassle so now I'm all instant

heady kavas are very good for anxiety as well, they improve your mood and make you care free (or at least bring anxiety sufferers back to normal)
and that way you can have in the morning because you get the kavain relaxation in your brain without feeling tired from DHK or DHM

 

[Bula Kava House]

Violet- Thanks for the order! Glad to hear it's working out for you. Our prep instructions on the bag are pretty intensive. Next time we print more we will be making them much more basic. The more I make kava, the more I see how simple the process can be. Just put the dry root in a strainer bag, immerse in water, squeeze and knead the hell out of it until your forearm's sore (about 15 minutes). Do this and you'll get consistently strong kava.

Koniak is a long lasting kava and using a combo that has some in it should make for more lasting effects.

And, Akava, FYI, the kavalactone in highest concentration in Koniak is DHK. DHM and Kavain follow closely.

 

[Akava]

Ok interesting,
however, Koniak is still a PNG, therefore it is still higher in DHM than "nobler" varieties,
Its spectrum is not as ideal for anti anxiety as other nobler kavas

 

[meow]

I always like to put a dose in the blender with some coconut oil and blend on and of for a half hour or so then strain and save the root to continue using it in the blended kava like traditional prep and its always consistently potent as hell lol

 

[violet]

Thank you all for the replies!

Instant is definitely on my list when I am able to place the order for it. The convenience of it sounds unmatched and I think it would be a fantastic addition to kava consumption. Akava, do you ever miss the variety that all the different kavas have to offer? I'm still new at this, but I don't think I would ever be happy with just one or two types of kava, it's awesome there seems to be one that is more ideal for one situation than another and I don't think you could ever have too much on hand. I think I would also miss the work I put into it.

@BKH you're welcome and thank you! I don't think the instructions on the bag are too bad. I didn't follow them exactly, but I do refer to them, whether I am squeezing or using the blender. I think the traditional method is by far the least complicated.

I like what the Koniak did for my kava mix yesterday. After reading so many reviews on it I was a little concerned by how a small amount might affect me, so the total amount of kava I used was about half what it usually is. I still felt slight effects, and they came on very quickly, don't know if that was me or the Koniak. I slept somewhat decent last night. I'll add the rest of my Boroguru back into today's mix.

I have to experiment more with how I use my blender. I think using it on low speed for an extended period of time might be best, if I crank it up any higher it blends the kava too much, making it difficult to continue blending and even more difficult to strain or squeeze.

 

[meow]

yea i ended up getting some instant to try it out and i was greatly surprised by how awesome it was. just perfect for panic attacks or if you just don't feel like making kava lol with the blender i don't rele have that problem because i use a like micronized built in coffee filter thing idk how to describe it right, but i strain my kava through that thing and then put all the sludge in w.e you use to kneed it and then kneed it in the kava you just strained so it hasn't ever been a problem for me.

 

[meow]

https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...a=X&ei=oP1vUuiaGsiL2wXG8YGwDQ&ved=0CHsQ8wIwAA i use something like that.

 

[violet]

Does it take very long for the kava to strain? Even with using a coarse strainer, I feel like I'd have to let it sit all night for the liquid to strain through. Blending turns all my kava into sludge before straining. I don't think I've just let it run at length on a low speed, I will try that next. When I crank it to high kava becomes instant sludge, my blender liquefies everything

 

[meow]

i take a spoon and pour some in there to fill that think and then stir it around so that it drains through easily, kinda time consuming but Ive never cared because making the kava is just as much a part of the experience as drinking it lol so i can see that its not for everyone but i enjoy the potency on regular from it.