Menu
What's new
By:
Filters

Blender vs. Handpress

K

kl.Gregor

Kava Curious
Looking for a consensus on this one:  noticed some literature suggesting throwing kava into blender - but most preparation seems to be handpress.
I've made about 7 batches now and 2 have been blender - haven't noticed a difference, really...
Is there a benefit to the handpress over the blender - or is it pure nostalgia/old school "earn your kava" that warrants the elbow grease?
-pax-
(clarification:  I'm using fine ground kava - N@H Stone, Solomon and KBR Tongan Pride)
 
kavalover

kavalover

Outsider
It's believed that throwing your kava in a blender before the press and strain allows the kava to mix with the water much easier, thus allowing the straining and hand pressing to be more efficient in extracting. I've tried both with powdered kava and honestly see no difference with or without a blender. Plus, I like the feeling of "earning the experience" and find the hand pressing to be as stress relieving as the kava itself.



I don't really like to use a blender at all, even when I bought whole rootlets it was recommended to grind the root into a fine powder, but I enjoyed chewing them into a pulp and then extracting with water much more ;)



So yeah, I don't see a difference when using a blender. I know a lot of people who say the drink is stronger from a blender but personally, I don't see it.
 
K

kl.rcoz

Kava Enthusiast
A researched concluded that blender (with warm water?) does extract more kavalactones than by hand and posted the data. I don't think any one else tried to duplicate it to confirm his findings...



I use both methods,  and I can't say one method is "Wow" over the other.
 
K

kl.chuckboycejr

Kava Curious
people have been kneading their kava roots by hand for about 3,000 years.  I'd go with that.
get a large nylon strainer for your bowl to knead with and a small nylon strainer on your pitcher to do a second strain.
If you have 10 minutes to spare, you can't beat the traditional method in my opinion.
 
Steve973

Steve973

Kava Curious
I'll just take a second to add a personal anecdote here for whatever it's worth. I'm still fairly new to kava, but I have gone through a few iterations in my preparation process. Originally, I was using one cup of kava and two cups of water, along with some soy lecithin. I soaked the kava for 30 minutes and then squeezed, then blended for a bit, and squeezed again. Many times the result was very potent, but I went through a LOT of kava in a short period of time. After experimenting a bit, I have come to my current preparation method. Now, I use 1/4 or 1/3 cup of kava to 2 cups of water and I use a pinch of soy lecithin. I get my water pretty warm, and I soak and squeeze it over and over for about 20 minutes. I find that this method yields kava that is at least as potent as using an entire cup. Personally, I don't like what a blender does to the kava, and I haven't seen a benefit to the method. It seems like the best thing you can do is let your stomach empty before you drink your kava.
 
K

kl.Project460

Kava Enthusiast
I agree with Steve973. The blender method is good, but you have to use more kava to get a potent drink. Hand kneading (or pressing) the kava extracts more kavalactones out of less kava. I use a little over half a cup in 7 cups of water and it yields really strong effects. I also keep "most" of the fibers in. If you decide to keep alot of fibers in, its best to eat about an hour before your kava session, or it will really irritate your stomach. The whole empty stomach thing does work, but as long as your food is starting to digest you will feel it. Pretty much, hand kneading saves you alot of kava in the end, but I only knead for about 6 minutes until the kava dosent feel oily anymore and becomes more firm. Just my 2 cents.
 
K

kl.Gregor

Kava Curious
all good banter, exactly what I wanted to get a bead on - while soaking the suggestions in, I came across Vesuvio/Kavasseur's video demo comparing 2 hawaiian Nene and Mo'i - and picked up the "knead until not oily" trick you mention above, Project460. Seems to be pretty key to me, the 3 batches I've done since picking that up have been happy results.



The key out of all this has been that you can save kava by handmethod, which is the road I think I'm going to travel. I have found that fibers in my grog have caused a lot of twisted stomach, but will try it with food an hour before and see what happens.



thanks all
 
K

kl.Project460

Kava Enthusiast
Yes the fibers from handpressing do cause a turn in the stomach. What ive noticed for a good kava session is eat alot an hour or 2 before, instead of going on a empty stomach. This causes you to not get much of a stomach ache at all. Also running the kava through the strainer again will cause alot of the fibers to not get in, but in my brews i like a little fiber to increase potency, allowing you to use less kava.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top