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Anyone heard of this brand?

The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
I'm not 100% as the lighting may be causing the effect but that looks like a kavalactone enhanced kava root due to the color. I don't have it in my hands so I can't say for sure that's what this is. It could just be a kava high in kavalactones.

Can't really give it an assessment other than the color. Not even any reviews to judge by and the description is pretty normal for kava.

Edit: Color is actually totally ok for 5-Star which we think this is. We can never be 100% sure but it looks to be legitimate.
 
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sɥɐʞɐs

Avg. Dosage: 8 Tbsp. (58g)
Review Maestro
Reading the description on Amazon, I thought it sounded like it was describing 5-Star kava...then I scrolled further and saw this:
8E18426F-0F3E-4DD9-9E54-A906547CF227.jpeg

...Forney Enterprises = Klin Kava/John Fordham...creator of 5-Star kava.
 
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The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
Reading the description on Amazon, I thought it sounded like it was describing 5-Star kava...then I scrolled further and saw this:
View attachment 10376
Forney Enterprises = Klin Kava/John Fordham...creator of 5-Star kava.
Thank you for having better reading comprehension skills than I apparently do. If it was a snake, I'd be bit.

Sounds like it may BE 5 star with that color.
 

Hitch

Kava Curious
Hi Everyone — jumping into this thread with a quick question.

Does anyone know if Forney Enterprise’s Instant Kava is made directly from green kava, or is it dried first, brewed, and then dehydrated to make the instant? I think it’s the former but I’m not sure.

I wonder if the Instant is then better then their 5 Star kava... because the 5 star kava is dried and the Instant kava is (I think) made from fresh green root.

Or is it the case that fresh brewed kava (even if using dry root powder) is better than any sort of instant...?
@capmcrunk
 

sɥɐʞɐs

Avg. Dosage: 8 Tbsp. (58g)
Review Maestro
Hi Everyone — jumping into this thread with a quick question.

Does anyone know if Forney Enterprise’s Instant Kava is made directly from green kava, or is it dried first, brewed, and then dehydrated to make the instant? I think it’s the former but I’m not sure.

I wonder if the Instant is then better then their 5 Star kava... because the 5 star kava is dried and the Instant kava is (I think) made from fresh green root.

Or is it the case that fresh brewed kava (even if using dry root powder) is better than any sort of instant...?
@capmcrunk
I'm not sure if Forney's instant is made from fresh root. I'm of the opinion that all instant should be made with fresh root, unless otherwise stated on the packaging. I also understand that not every vendor has a steady supply of fresh, so they may resort to making instant from batches of prepared dry kava. Being that Forney's company created the 5-Star method in order to attempt to keep it closer to fresh than the regular methods, it's quite likely that his instant is made with fresh...but I can't guarantee it. At one point he supplied Nakamal at Home, he might still, I'm not sure, so you might wanna try theirs 1st if you live in the US and don't wanna deal with the hassle of international wholesale orders with Forney Enterprises.

If his instant is made with fresh root, it would likely be better than even 5-Star...except for in the category of Price Per Pound. (or Kg) ...and assuming it was made from same mixture of source root as the 5-Star.

A batch of dry kava could technically be better than instant, if the instant is too weak or you don't personally like the chemotype/effects. The instant would probably still win the flavor battle though, and of course, the ease of preparation.
 

Hitch

Kava Curious
Thank you for this detailed reply, sakahs! I think that’s your name...? :)

I would think and hope the instant is made with fresh root... why bother drying it if you’re going to be brewing it on-site anyway to then dehydrate the brew. I agree, I guess they’d only use dried root if they had no fresh root available.

What is their “5 star preparation” method? That sounds interesting...

Their Instant sounds great if it’s made from fresh root as the kavalactones are extracted before any drying occurs. I’m going to see if Nakamal at Home has it or the 5 star kava — thank you for the recommendation there!
 

sɥɐʞɐs

Avg. Dosage: 8 Tbsp. (58g)
Review Maestro
Thank you for this detailed reply, sakahs! I think that’s your name...? :)

I would think and hope the instant is made with fresh root... why bother drying it if you’re going to be brewing it on-site anyway to then dehydrate the brew. I agree, I guess they’d only use dried root if they had no fresh root available.

What is their “5 star preparation” method? That sounds interesting...

Their Instant sounds great if it’s made from fresh root as the kavalactones are extracted before any drying occurs. I’m going to see if Nakamal at Home has it or the 5 star kava — thank you for the recommendation there!
The specifics of the 5-Star method are proprietary, but from what they've said, they have a special indoor temperature controlled drying process that allows them to not over-dry it, to help retain as much freshness as possible. It would also only get dried once before being shipped off, where as the traditional chain of distribution might see the kava get dried in the sun two or more times as it gets passed down the chain through village farm, middle men, exporter etc... Getting rained on requires redrying too and every time the sun blasts on it, it looses a little something along the way. 5-Star root is also peeled, most of the bark is removed from the stump and the lateral roots.

5-Star can be purchased from Realkava.com (aka KavaKauai) AND from Nakamal at Home sold as "WOW!". It's also likely that Bula Kava House's 'Nambawan' is the same kava as well, if not, then it seems to be produced in a very similar way. If it is, then it's also quite likely that their vanuatu instant green is from Klin Kava/Forney Enterprises.
 

Hitch

Kava Curious
Fascinating info, thank you for sharing! Forney really does seem to have the process down to create the highest quality kava out there.
 

Palmetto

Thank God!
Wow and Nambawan are definitely not the same kava, even if they might start out similar. Wow is heavier and leaves my muscles feeling sore the next day fro not wanting to move. Nambawan makes me sleep like a baby. They both give me a zoned out feeling that any coherent thought is unlikely if I drink enough of it.
 

Gourmet Hawaiian Kava

Kava Expert
Kava Vendor
Thank you for this detailed reply, sakahs! I think that’s your name...? :)

I would think and hope the instant is made with fresh root... why bother drying it if you’re going to be brewing it on-site anyway to then dehydrate the brew. I agree, I guess they’d only use dried root if they had no fresh root available.

What is their “5 star preparation” method? That sounds interesting...

Their Instant sounds great if it’s made from fresh root as the kavalactones are extracted before any drying occurs. I’m going to see if Nakamal at Home has it or the 5 star kava — thank you for the recommendation there!
If it says instant kava and it is NOT made from fresh undried kava then it is NOT instant. Pure and simple. Others will call it Micronized instant kava powder or micronized instant. It is these kava's that are made from the dry root, they are really only micronized.

John and Forney Enterprises does make his instant from only fresh undried kava root. He uses the same process that I invented over 30 years ago.
The real instant kava has a particle size of less than 75 microns and the instant micronized has a particle size of 150-250 microns.

If it is not made with fresh undried kava root then it is only a simple micronized kava. I hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions at all. Aloha.

Chris
 
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