So I got my Deep Awa this week. It's the strongest of the varieties offered by Noble Clouds. They claim 120mg of kavalactones per 1mg of liquid.
Vape History
I've been a stress-smoker for years. I started when I was 23, and primarily smoked when I was out drinking. After I got my first high pressure job in the games industry, I would smoke during times in the project that were stressful, and more or less quit in between. Four years ago, I stopped with combustion entirely and switched to e-cigarettes. I'm not a super-tweaker when it comes to e-cigs. I use a pretty standard battery (Joyetech eGo 650mAh) and pretty standard tanks (Kanger Protank II mini and Kanger Protank aero mini) with anywhere between 1.8 Ohm to 2.2 Ohm atomizers.
I settled into vaping about 2ml a day, of a mix between 18mg/ml e-liquid and 12mg/ml e-liquid for a nicotine level of 15mg/ml on average. I've been consistently doing this for years. So I'm an old hand, but I never got into the high performance stuff like mod batteries, or rebuildable atomizers, and I'm not into the really big clouds and high wattage vaping. I'm happy with where I am.
Preparation and Taste
Not really preparation so much as filling my 2ml Kanger Protank II Mini with the opaque yellow fluid. The fluid as it comes out of the dropper bottle is not homogenous and shows small amounts of clotting on the outside of the dropper. Warmed slightly in my hands, the solids went back into liquid form.
The fluid is a thick, slightly more viscous than e-liquid, yellow. It reminds me of a little dab of kava paste I had via the Muad Dib vaporizer when I visited the Melo Melo Kava Bar in Berkeley and Nic saw that I vaped and shared a little bit of the pure kavalactone paste he had in his.
The smell and taste are the same: kava extract combined with flavors and scents of lavender, cardamom and sandalwood, is what I get. The first time I vaped it, there was flavor system shock since my favorite vape flavors are all fruit flavors (mango, berries, peach, etc.) It's not an unpleasant flavor, but it's definitely a strong earthy flavor. I know that there's some lemongrass and valerian in there too, but I get lavender, cardamom and sandalwood. Not a sweet flavor, but a savory flavor. It grew on me.
Vaping Tips
I found that at higher voltage (4.8) with my 2.2 Ohm atomizers, it was too intense. Strong throat hit with some burning in the very back of the throat. I dialed down the voltage to 3.4v, and it was much more pleasant to vape. I have one Variable Voltage (VV) battery I use for special occasions. I heard they recommend 10 watts+ for vaping this liquid, but I was fine at around 8 watts.
The first session I had with it, I vaped as I would normally and didn't feel any effects. It was just after I got home from work, and was still in Work Brain. I vaped on and off for about 5 minutes somewhat casually and didn't really feel anything.
The second session, I was just back from the gym, and I vaped with purpose and intent for a full five minutes, combining drags to just my mouth and nasal passages with full lung inhalation. Again, I really didn't notice much, though when I came inside after my concerted 5 minutes, I did feel a little bit of the kava awareness... slight soft focus, easing of tension. Minor, but definitely there. The full-on "let's vape this stuff" approach yielded tangible results after approximately 0.5ml of fluid (or 60mg of kavalactones by their measure.) Orally, 60mg of kavalactones would have taken me much farther, I think, so the absorption is lower than oral ingestion. And there may be some kavalactone breakdown because of the vaping temperature, which is probably near boiling, or slightly below. I'm not exactly sure.
Starting in with Shells
I pondered the effects while I brewed up a batch of Hanakapi'ai/KavaBoy mix, and half an hour I was done with my brewing and had my first shell.
Here's where things got interesting for me.
After 30 minutes and my second shell, I pulled out the Deep Awa again and had a few puffs. *FOOM* I felt a wave of euphoria and relaxation balloon up in my head, and then slowly dissipate as it ran down my spine. I had another big lung puff of Deep Awa, and *FOOM* there it was again. It was in like a lion and out like a lamb, lasting maybe 2-3 seconds at most. But it was LOVELY!
I'm at three shells now, and as I continue to puff off and on, the experience is the same. I can feel a wave of euphoric calm bubble up from my chest into my brain, and then it goes running down my spine and hides. At this point in my kava shells, I have a good baseline effect from the drink and am at the easy-grin calm-waters, light sensitive point, so the Deep Awa is icing on the cake.
Overall Impression and Final Thoughts
So if you were looking to get a full kava effect from vaping, I don't think it's going to happen. At least not for me. You CAN get in the kava mood in about 5-10 minutes if you bear down and vape like there's no tomorrow and get through maybe 1ml of the fluid. That should Get You There. I truly believe this.
If you're vaping it during a shell session, it's freaking brilliant and lets you turn it up to 11 for a few seconds here and there and it's wonderful.
I wasn't sure what to expect with kava e-liquid, since kavalactones are fat-soluable and not water soluable, but there's kava in this bottle and you can get at it with a battery. No mixing, kneading, stinkyfingers necessary. With some determination, you can bring on a light kava buzz in pretty short order. As an alternate route of administration during a normal session of kava shells, it's wonderful punctuation to an already great mental state.
Next time I go to the kava bar, I'll be bringing this in tow!
Vape History
I've been a stress-smoker for years. I started when I was 23, and primarily smoked when I was out drinking. After I got my first high pressure job in the games industry, I would smoke during times in the project that were stressful, and more or less quit in between. Four years ago, I stopped with combustion entirely and switched to e-cigarettes. I'm not a super-tweaker when it comes to e-cigs. I use a pretty standard battery (Joyetech eGo 650mAh) and pretty standard tanks (Kanger Protank II mini and Kanger Protank aero mini) with anywhere between 1.8 Ohm to 2.2 Ohm atomizers.
I settled into vaping about 2ml a day, of a mix between 18mg/ml e-liquid and 12mg/ml e-liquid for a nicotine level of 15mg/ml on average. I've been consistently doing this for years. So I'm an old hand, but I never got into the high performance stuff like mod batteries, or rebuildable atomizers, and I'm not into the really big clouds and high wattage vaping. I'm happy with where I am.
Preparation and Taste
Not really preparation so much as filling my 2ml Kanger Protank II Mini with the opaque yellow fluid. The fluid as it comes out of the dropper bottle is not homogenous and shows small amounts of clotting on the outside of the dropper. Warmed slightly in my hands, the solids went back into liquid form.
The fluid is a thick, slightly more viscous than e-liquid, yellow. It reminds me of a little dab of kava paste I had via the Muad Dib vaporizer when I visited the Melo Melo Kava Bar in Berkeley and Nic saw that I vaped and shared a little bit of the pure kavalactone paste he had in his.
The smell and taste are the same: kava extract combined with flavors and scents of lavender, cardamom and sandalwood, is what I get. The first time I vaped it, there was flavor system shock since my favorite vape flavors are all fruit flavors (mango, berries, peach, etc.) It's not an unpleasant flavor, but it's definitely a strong earthy flavor. I know that there's some lemongrass and valerian in there too, but I get lavender, cardamom and sandalwood. Not a sweet flavor, but a savory flavor. It grew on me.
Vaping Tips
I found that at higher voltage (4.8) with my 2.2 Ohm atomizers, it was too intense. Strong throat hit with some burning in the very back of the throat. I dialed down the voltage to 3.4v, and it was much more pleasant to vape. I have one Variable Voltage (VV) battery I use for special occasions. I heard they recommend 10 watts+ for vaping this liquid, but I was fine at around 8 watts.
The first session I had with it, I vaped as I would normally and didn't feel any effects. It was just after I got home from work, and was still in Work Brain. I vaped on and off for about 5 minutes somewhat casually and didn't really feel anything.
The second session, I was just back from the gym, and I vaped with purpose and intent for a full five minutes, combining drags to just my mouth and nasal passages with full lung inhalation. Again, I really didn't notice much, though when I came inside after my concerted 5 minutes, I did feel a little bit of the kava awareness... slight soft focus, easing of tension. Minor, but definitely there. The full-on "let's vape this stuff" approach yielded tangible results after approximately 0.5ml of fluid (or 60mg of kavalactones by their measure.) Orally, 60mg of kavalactones would have taken me much farther, I think, so the absorption is lower than oral ingestion. And there may be some kavalactone breakdown because of the vaping temperature, which is probably near boiling, or slightly below. I'm not exactly sure.
Starting in with Shells
I pondered the effects while I brewed up a batch of Hanakapi'ai/KavaBoy mix, and half an hour I was done with my brewing and had my first shell.
Here's where things got interesting for me.
After 30 minutes and my second shell, I pulled out the Deep Awa again and had a few puffs. *FOOM* I felt a wave of euphoria and relaxation balloon up in my head, and then slowly dissipate as it ran down my spine. I had another big lung puff of Deep Awa, and *FOOM* there it was again. It was in like a lion and out like a lamb, lasting maybe 2-3 seconds at most. But it was LOVELY!
I'm at three shells now, and as I continue to puff off and on, the experience is the same. I can feel a wave of euphoric calm bubble up from my chest into my brain, and then it goes running down my spine and hides. At this point in my kava shells, I have a good baseline effect from the drink and am at the easy-grin calm-waters, light sensitive point, so the Deep Awa is icing on the cake.
Overall Impression and Final Thoughts
So if you were looking to get a full kava effect from vaping, I don't think it's going to happen. At least not for me. You CAN get in the kava mood in about 5-10 minutes if you bear down and vape like there's no tomorrow and get through maybe 1ml of the fluid. That should Get You There. I truly believe this.
If you're vaping it during a shell session, it's freaking brilliant and lets you turn it up to 11 for a few seconds here and there and it's wonderful.
I wasn't sure what to expect with kava e-liquid, since kavalactones are fat-soluable and not water soluable, but there's kava in this bottle and you can get at it with a battery. No mixing, kneading, stinkyfingers necessary. With some determination, you can bring on a light kava buzz in pretty short order. As an alternate route of administration during a normal session of kava shells, it's wonderful punctuation to an already great mental state.
Next time I go to the kava bar, I'll be bringing this in tow!
Last edited by a moderator:
