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A Few Questions About Kava

awakenedspirit

awakenedspirit

Peace
I only discovered kava a few day ago when I was researching relaxing herbal teas online. An article I read on the topic mentioned it as being very effective at relieving anxiety but didn't go very far into what exactly kava was. I went to the local grocery store and while I was picking up a few things saw that they had kava tea bags so I decided to pick some up to try and having not really researched kava at this point, I didn't expect anything but perhaps a relaxing cup of tea. I brewed it when I got home and about halfway through my second cup of it I thought to myself "what did I just drink?" not only did I feel relaxed but I actually felt like I was in a mild and pleasant altered state. This inspired me to research kava online which I have been doing quite a lot of over the past 2 or 3 days. I went and purchased a pound of root powder which should be here on Wednesday of this week and I am extremely excited to try it out. (I experimented with drinking numerous cups of kava tea the next day and was in love with the effect that it had on me!)

I spoke with the owner of an online kava retailer who told me that the fact that I was able to feel the effects of kava after having only drank a couple of teabags (which I've come to gather are not very effective for most people) and the fact that I felt the effects the first time I tried kava means that it really works well with my system.

I have become very fascinated with kava and have the feeling that this is the beginning of wonderful and long relationship with this beautiful plant ;)

Before I start to get REALLY into kava drinking and culture, I would like to ask a few questions if you would be kind enough to help a newby out :)

The first thing on my mind is: how frequently is it okay to drink kava? I'm the type of person that could enjoy something like this quite often, I don't like to abuse any given substance but I have no problem enjoying a substance like this close to daily in moderate amounts. Is it safe to use kava this frequently as long as one takes breaks from time to time? what would be the effects of long term frequent consumption?

The next question is about tolerance. a decent amount of what I read suggests that a reverse tolerance develops with kava consumption. How long/ how frequently does one consume kava before this reverse tolerance comes into effect for an individual? What is the scope of this reverse tolerance? how much does it build and does it continue to build?

I'm sure I will have more questions very soon but for now my last few questions will be: how affordable is kava to use regularly? How many servings of kava does a pound typically make? and How many of those servings should a beginner like myself take over the course of an evening session of kava drinking for pleasant effects?

Thank you all in advance for helping me out and I look forward to many afternoons with a few shells and some pleasant conversation with you all <3
 
infraredz

infraredz

BULA!
awakenedspirit said:
The first thing on my mind is: how frequently is it okay to drink kava? I'm the type of person that could enjoy something like this quite often, I don't like to abuse any given substance but I have no problem enjoying a substance like this close to daily in moderate amounts. Is it safe to use kava this frequently as long as one takes breaks from time to time? what would be the effects of long term frequent consumption?
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It's okay to drink noble kava every single day without any issue other than some dry skin which we call "kava dermopathy" which is totally harmless and can be very well treated, especially if caught soon.

awakenedspirit said:
The next question is about tolerance. a decent amount of what I read suggests that a reverse tolerance develops with kava consumption. How long/ how frequently does one consume kava before this reverse tolerance comes into effect for an individual? What is the scope of this reverse tolerance? how much does it build and does it continue to build?
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I think you might be misinterpreting reverse tolerance. What it means is that some people don't experience any kava effects (or those that do have very, very mild effects) for a couple days, up to a month. Since you got an effect from yogi tea (absolute rubbish compared to what you're in store for), that means that you are in a good situation. This is what the owner was saying was so good about your experience and why it "works well with your system" since you won't have to worry about drinking kava every day without getting any effect which no one likes. In fact, you might find you will need slightly less over time, but it generally levels out after a while.

awakenedspirit said:
I'm sure I will have more questions very soon but for now my last few questions will be: how affordable is kava to use regularly? How many servings of kava does a pound typically make? and How many of those servings should a beginner like myself take over the course of an evening session of kava drinking for pleasant effects?
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Depending on how much kava you end up needing (some need only 2tbsps, some need a full cup (18tbsps), and how often you drink kava and what variety, it can vary. Check out the census results which address a lot of this.

According to that, the vast majority of people spend 50-100 dollars or less on kava per month. A pound of kava is equal to ~.5kg. Consider that an average tablespoon is 7g. Consider that the majority of people use 4tbsp which translates roughly to 28g. That means you will get about 18 servings out of a pound, but again, these are based on assumptions from the averages of the census.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1_bSMp821t_Jb2i0o0Rcx-PZqii52jBOMSq4Fwppm2xs/viewanalytics
 
H

Hyperion

Kava Enthusiast
If you can get any effect from those tea bags, and you ordered some quality kava from one of the approved vendors here, you might want to take a very conservative approach and maybe start with one tbsp.

Seems to be different with everyone, but it took me a month to get much of any effect at all from kava. Reverse tolerance is very real.

For some, myself included, the anti-anxiety effect is quite effective. I can't really put a value on just how much it has has helped me with stress/anxiety relief.

There are some side effects I guess, the only one I know of is the dermopathy, that infraredz mentioned. I have it after a couple of months of daily use, but it doesn't really bother me, or outweigh at all the positive effects. It only appeared after a couple of months of use. Maybe it will go away, not sure, it's mild and I'm not worried about it
 
Roaddog

Roaddog

Kava Who?
@Hyperion the ol Dermopathy, sticks around. It took me a couple months use to get it good too. But the harder you use the worse it gets. Like today, I get a mess of it, because the wife and I have been hitting it hard all day. It will simmer down after a couple days regular use, but I have it constant. Much love. Roaddog....
 
awakenedspirit

awakenedspirit

Peace
infraredz: Thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions :) This was very helpful and I really appreciate it. That's pretty much what I gathered about reverse tolerance but I probably didn't do the best job at presenting my question about it. I was attempting to ask if the reverse tolerance continued in a way that one would continue to need less and less until eventually it took virtually nothing to get a strong effect or if it leveled out at a certain point, which you answered for me. Wow, if the yogi teabags are absolute rubbish I think I'm in for a real treat when my pound of root powder comes in the mail in the next couple of days. I am thoroughly looking forward to this weekend. :happy:

roaddog: Thank you for the welcome :) I think I will enjoy this community.

Hyperion: yes, I will proceed carefully with my kava exploration.The anti-anxiety effects will be very desirable to me especially for social occasions. I tend to become quite anxious around larger groups of people. Thank you for you're response :)

Oh, man, now I am REALLY looking forward to trying the real thing this week! I will definitely be posting about my first real kava experience here on the forums.

Another question that pops into my mind is, when I go to have my first shell, how long is it typical to wait before going for another if it is desired? how many shells are typical of a session for a beginner? I am aware that everyone's biochemistry is totally different but it will be nice to have at least a ball park approximation.

Any other tips to help enhance my first real kava experience this week?
 
Roaddog

Roaddog

Kava Who?
A shell every half hour, I believe is the going rate. I usually do my whole dose at once. Just me. And where to go. I like the couch. Maybe a pool, would be cool. Maybe chatting with us online, may be your thing. You shall figure it all out. Much love. Roaddog....
 
D

Deactivated Account

awakenedspirit said:
Another question that pops into my mind is, when I go to have my first shell, how long is it typical to wait before going for another if it is desired?
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Everyone is different as with expectations & kavas can be very different. Some complete rubbish & others bloody top shelf.

Also into play big time is how full of food your stomach is. I won't eat 6-8 hours before kava & will drink 2 x 600ml jugs maybe 20-30 min apart. I'm very very used to it though.
 
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