Anyone tried kava with juice?

[kl..]

I see this mentioned in recipes on line and was thinking of trying it with orange juice.  To be honest, the mix doesn't sound intuitive to me, but I thought I'd give it a try.  Any warnings/suggestions before I do?

 

[kl.Gray Owl]

I shouldn't cause any problems, but hypothetically if you mix kava with something that is too acidic it could hydrolyze the lactones and render it inactive, it wouldn't be harmful just potentially wasteful. It sounds like a worthwhile experiment, though, if you don't mind finding out if it deactivates the kavalactones.

 

[kl..]

Hm...orange juice is pretty acidic. I might try it anyway, but I think I'll wait a bit since I'm not really convinced the flavor will be good. I'm kind of used to my usual mix now and sometimes more flavor isn't always better. Thanks for the info, Gray Owl, I wouldn't have known otherwise.

 

[kl.robtotten]

Try a sweet non-citrus juice like apple maybe?
I mixed it with root beer once.  The sugar really helped cut the astringency and made it taste better, and that's coming from someone who generally avoids sugary drinks.  The acidity didn't seem to affect the potency, but I drank it within 90 seconds of mixing it.

 

[Vekta]

Citrus anything with kava is horrific to drink. It tastes so bad. (smiley: sick) YMMV though. I did it once...never again. *shivers*



Apple Juice is pretty good with an quality instant kava though.

 

[kl.robtotten]

So you made it with juice rather than making it with water and adding juice?
To clarify my last post, I made the kava as usual with water then cut it with root beer.

 

[Vekta]

So you made it with juice rather than making it with water and adding juice?
To clarify my last post, I made the kava as usual with water then cut it with root beer.

Yes. I either use just water or just juice.
Apple and Coconut juice is the norm if I'm going to use juice at all.

 

[Prince Philip]

Root powder and juice? No way. However, I've used instant formulas like Fire Island and Shaman, and especially Kava King, in juice. My current favorite instant is Kava King Berry (discontinued, so I purchased 36 tins at a huge bulk rate last April and am about 70% done), mixed with Life Extension Foundation's Neuro-Mag powder, which has a lemon taste. Both are flavored with stevia. The sour of the lemon and the bitter of the kava mix with the citrus and berry to have a rather interesting flavor. They both promote an increase of IQ and a reduction of PTSD.

 

[kl..]

I've never tried instant kava, though others on this forum recommend them highly. I do like a lemony taste, but I don't know. I usually just use water or 2% milk. I don't usually drink apple juice. I appreciate the feedback, I think I may skip this experiment. It's good to hear everyone's experiences.

 

[kavalover]

Hey katiedid, just wondering because I hear you like mixing kava with milk, do you find that the milk brings out the peppery aspect of kava's taste 10 fold? I tried mixing my kava in 1 cup milk and 2 cups water the other night, and it caught me off guard how incredibly peppery that was. Almost put me off finishing the shells. It might have just been the kava I was drinking, which is pretty peppery in the first place.

 

[kl..]

Yeah, the milk does change the flavor. With the really peppery kava's I've tried I just use water, but I usually drink Tongan Pride or a mix with Borogu and in those cases, I kind of like the flavor with milk or a milk water mix. I tried Fiji Waka last night and had to add a bit of chocolate syrup because the flavor was a bit much for me. I also usually only drink two shells  (most I've ever had was 4) so the strong flavor isn't a problem for long. I'm a small person and if I haven't eaten for awhile before drinking kava, it usually hits me pretty quickly. I don't want to say I really like the peppery flavor, but I'm coming to associate it with positive kava experiences.