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Powdered Kava Review Beqa's Sanctuary 16 Oz

Ricardo Piquant

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Im of mixed opinion on this kava. I don't favor the smell of the light cocoa/greyish colored grinds, which is absent the slight sweet aroma which I associate with fresh good kava. Its very uninspiring in aroma. Taste follows through... very flat and woody and blah. None of that nice cashewy flavor (like tevueni secret has and which I love). I also experience a bit of nausea with this one, whereas again to compare to tevueni secret I can drink without any nausea whatsoever. Maybe just doesn't mesh with me as well.
Having said all this, the effect is strong and nicely heady. It seems to have a really wonderful uplifting effect where you just feel happy and in a good mood. I also like that it doesn't drain you. .. nice during the day. No sleepy feelings. It's definitely above average potency too. I noticed good effect after only one shell. And the come on is smooth and nice.
So in conclusion, the flat taste and aroma and slight nausea turn me off, whereas the heady uplifting effect might be redeeming because it really is nice. Hence Im ultimately not sure if I will add this permanently to my collection. But I'm very glad to have tried it and would say it's good kava. JMHO.
 
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Kava Time

Fiji
Kava Vendor
Sorry to hear that you experienced nausea, I wonder what caused that :unsure: I agree with you, the Beqa doesn't seem to have any appealing smell like how you get from the Savusavu (Taveuni has a very slight aroma). As for the taste I guess its because for some reason the grind of the Beqa gets much more finer than other strains we have. We're not exactly sure why this is so but believe me it was a nightmare trying to vacuum seal the powder. I wouldn't exactly say that the Beqa is stale, i mean it was vacuum sealed after processing.
I'm surprised that you found the Beqa peppery though. Did you find any difference with the prep methods? Aluball compared to 50 micron traditional? Perhaps the aluball let the fine makas slip through which caused the nausea?
Anyways the Savusavu will be on its way tomorrow and boy are you in for a treat!
 

Ricardo Piquant

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Sorry to hear that you experienced nausea, I wonder what caused that :unsure: I agree with you, the Beqa doesn't seem to have any appealing smell like how you get from the Savusavu (Taveuni has a very slight aroma). As for the taste I guess its because for some reason the grind of the Beqa gets much more finer than other strains we have. We're not exactly sure why this is so but believe me it was a nightmare trying to vacuum seal the powder. I wouldn't exactly say that the Beqa is stale, i mean it was vacuum sealed after processing.
I'm surprised that you found the Beqa peppery though. Did you find any difference with the prep methods? Aluball compared to 50 micron traditional? Perhaps the aluball let the fine makas slip through which caused the nausea?
Anyways the Savusavu will be on its way tomorrow and boy are you in for a treat!

The nausea is me, not the kava. My friend tried it and was totally fine, and preferred this to the teveuni! It's so subjective. I will say that I wake up completely fine, no issue. No question of nobility! I didn't seem to notice a difference in prep, other than the texture which was better with the bag. Seemed smoother indeed, which could be due to grind size as you say. I found the taste peppery yet not boldly so and without much bittering, quite different from the peppery taste I've found from Vanuatu. Taste is so subjective... I checked every review for this by our other fellow members and noticed most people put it more on the mild side, with only one other reviewer also noting peppery flavor. And no mention of nausea by anybody else so I am certainly an outlier in that regard.
Looking forward to trying the savusvu, I'm sure it will be great. I read all the reviews before I review, because I think it's interesting how kava seems to affect us all differently... and I like to see if my experience is consistent with others. Thank you for offering all these great kavas. I think that you being in Fiji, and having such extensive knowledge of the locale, allows you a more intimate awareness of the local kava which equates to you ending up getting better kava... plus the vacuum sealing.... makes you a very nice niche and a specialist. I think you have a really good thing going on here and wish you the highest success! I'll be a customer forever and tell everyone I know how they should give you a try
 

Ricardo Piquant

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Btw, I removed the word "stale" because I realized it was inarticulate. I didn't intend to mean not that fresh... but more flatness which was wrong word to use hence I removed that word.

Thanks!
 

Kava Time

Fiji
Kava Vendor
The nausea is me, not the kava. My friend tried it and was totally fine, and preferred this to the teveuni! It's so subjective. I will say that I wake up completely fine, no issue. No question of nobility! I didn't seem to notice a difference in prep, other than the texture which was better with the bag. Seemed smoother indeed, which could be due to grind size as you say. I found the taste peppery yet not boldly so and without much bittering, quite different from the peppery taste I've found from Vanuatu. Taste is so subjective... I checked every review for this by our other fellow members and noticed most people put it more on the mild side, with only one other reviewer also noting peppery flavor. And no mention of nausea by anybody else so I am certainly an outlier in that regard.
Looking forward to trying the savusvu, I'm sure it will be great. I read all the reviews before I review, because I think it's interesting how kava seems to affect us all differently... and I like to see if my experience is consistent with others. Thank you for offering all these great kavas. I think that you being in Fiji, and having such extensive knowledge of the locale, allows you a more intimate awareness of the local kava which equates to you ending up getting better kava... plus the vacuum sealing.... makes you a very nice niche and a specialist. I think you have a really good thing going on here and wish you the highest success! I'll be a customer forever and tell everyone I know how they should give you a try
Vinaka :) We look forward to getting some more unique fijian strains for everyone to try!
 

jdhari

Newbie
I had just purchased the Aluball and some of the Beqa's Sanctuary after watching Mr. La Rose's reviews. I ripped the packages open and immediately popped "two heaping tablespoon" into the ball, filled the container with 500ml of lukewarm water and shook the heck out of it for thirty seconds. I was a bit dismayed at the color and, after pouring and tasting, I was pretty turned off by the flavor. It was watery and thin and tasted a bit like sour dirt. The effects were quite pleasant and mild but... that flavor. I decided to empty the pulp from the ball into a container to fully knead later along with two more tablespoons from my next attempt. (measuring spoons, not dinner spoons). That night, four tablespoons kneaded for about 7 minutes produced a *much* darker liquid and the taste was so much better. Kava isn't my favorite flavor but this was more akin to eating a whole pecan or walnut with the bitter part as well... and dirt. ^^ I started putting less kava in the ball, trickling water over it to saturate before closing and the result is much more pleasing. I have been using two non-heaping tablespoons in the ball once early in the day and once later in the afternoon, saving the pulp in a plastic container and then, a few hours before bed, kneading the whole thing producing a wonderfully dark and potent beverage which tastes much better than my first attempt. Hope that helps!
 
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