Kava Preparation DIY coconut-kava "paste"

[verticity]

This was with coconut oil. And no, not boiling. I got mine to just over 150F. After raising the temperature, I stirred it a bit and let it sit. It almost looked like it was churning a bit but it could have just been the makas floating to the top. I strained mine using a stocking and leaving it to cool now. Did you stir yours to keep the suspension even or did you let the good stuff sink to the bottom?

I just stirred it periodiacally while heating, and let it sit. I don't think I stirred it while it was sitting, but the makas did not sink to the bottom, they kind of remained suspended. Note the KWK borogu I was using has a very coarse grind. If it is sinking, periodic stirring might be good.

 

[HeadHodge]

A friend of mine has recently told me about this "coconut oil method" of preparing/consuming kava. I am not sure if it's his invention or if he's found it somewhere online, but in case anyone was interested, here's his recipe:

"Basically you blend kava with ample warm/hot water then melt a couple tablespoons of coconut oil into the mix. Give it a very good stir (or blend it again) then pour the whole lot into a tall container. The coconut oil and kavalactones float to the top and the root stock falls to the bottom. Put it in the fridge for half an hour and you end up with a chunk of solid coconut oil that has changed from white to yellow in colour and is full of kava goodness!
If you get it right then a melted teaspoon of the stuff is about equivalent to one shell - and very easy to ingest."

GENIUS!!

 

[HeadHodge]

Ive made grog with coconut oil but never let it solidify. Sounds cool. I've also mixed micro with honey which would be similar I think. It was awful.

I like mixing instant with peanut butter and sticking it under my tongue.

 

[verticity]

I like mixing instant with peanut butter and sticking it under my tongue.

You can use that mixture to get bubblegum out of your hair too.

 

[verticity]

So, this morning, with a clean palate, I took one teaspoon of my coconut oil extract and let it dissolve under my tongue. The physical feeling in my mouth was quite pleasant, because it actually melts "like butter" It tasted like kavalactones, but it was very mild, not too bitter, and there was a very mild numbing feeling. I did feel an extremely subtle "kava feeling", but since it was exactly what I expected to feel and very subtle it was probably within the error bars of the placebo effect. But having said that, I should note that I seem to be much less sensitive to extract effects than others here. For instance I got some extract that others here claimed would knock me on my ass with a rice grain sized serving. It did not knock me on my ass despite eating large globs of it; the effect was pretty mild for me.

 

[Kimmer]

Mine turned out pretty nice too, but lighter on effects. I added a little cinnamon and a touch of honey. Had to stir the honey in good as it solidified but it made it really tasty. I will try it the original way at some point too.

 

[verticity]

Mine turned out pretty nice too, but lighter on effects. I added a little cinnamon and a touch of honey. Had to stir the honey in good as it solidified but it made it really tasty. I will try it the original way at some point too.

Hmm... I wonder if you could actually use honey by itself to do the extraction... I bet kavalactones are soluble in fructose and glucose (which are what honey mainly is) This method would not be suitable for people on a low carb diet!

All I could find is this pretty silly article about the effect of adding glucose to a water solution on emulsification of kavain by soap, which is completely different than it's solubility in pure glucose or honey. Conclusion: if you add soap to your grog, it increased apparent solubility of kavain in water ("apparent" because it is emulsified, not actually disolved in water) by 1000 times, but glucose does not augment this effect. I don't recommend trying the shampoo method of kava preparation, though. Why the heck didn't they try whatever is in soy lechitin, if they are interested in pharmaceutical applications? Is the glucose supposed to neutralize the taste of the soap? idk

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

Thats just gross ... soy lechtin is the edible soap hahah

 

[Mira]

I will definitively try this to make home made chocolate with kava. Would cocoa fat work also, or is the melting point to high for that to keep the kavalactones around?

 

[Kimmer]

You mean like cocoa butter? I wouldn't be surprised if that would work.

 

[verticity]

I will definitively try this to make home made chocolate with kava. Would cocoa fat work also, or is the melting point to high for that to keep the kavalactones around?

Any kind of oil or fat should work. Kavalactones are fat soluble. High melting point is fine, as long as you heat enough so the fat turns liquid during the extraction.

 

[verticity]

Thats just gross ... soy lechtin is the edible soap hahah

So, actually, powdered mustard is a commonly used emulsifier for food. Someone want to see if adding mustard to their grog before kneading makes it more potent? Volunteers? Anyone?

 

[Zaphod]

@Mrbinx69 and @verticity I had some free time this week, while at home watching a sick kid, to finally go back and try both of your methods for extracts. First I started with verticity's method of just oil, and a little bit of heat and was moderately successful. The extract was similar to other extracts but, not really that strong - very mild. It was a bit of a mess trying to filter the kava after being in the coconut oil. The second try was using the suggestion of Mrbinx69:
(1) I mixed ~1/4 cup of kava with 5-6oz of everclear - let sit for 1 hour with occasional stirring
(2) Strained the kava through mesh strainer bag (kavafied bag)
(3) Heated up ~1/4 cup of coconut oil and mixed in with alcohol/kava extract
(4) Placed in water bath and slowly boiled off all the alcohol - this took a long time (~1 hour).
(5) There was still a little bit of plant matter in the bottom of the jar at this point so I carefully poured out 90% of the oil trying to keep the remaining sediment in the bottom - if I good sized baster it would have been easier.
(6) Poured the remaineder in a small tupperware and tossed in the freezer.
Mrbinx69's method made a coconut oil extract that at least to my tastebuds/experience is every bit as strong as some of the 70% CO2 extracts on the market. I have no reasonable way to test the KL% but it is pretty high. I can't say I am a huge fan of extracts but there are times where it is convenient and fits the bill. As long as you are comfortable with an ethanol extract then this is a method to get there cheaper than buying one if you have the time. Since I have a large bag of a so-so kava that is pretty weak on its own and not very tasty I plan to continue making these for occasional usage in a pinch. If one is not comfortable with the ethanol extract then the oil only method was acceptable but probably closer to 1/2 as strong...

 

[Stephanie12]

Hmm. I guess I'm trying to balance not wanting to eat a bunch of oil with using enough to effectively extract maximum kavalactones.

Also, coconut oil has 117 calories per tbsp. Yowza.

But it is a very healthy fat.

 

[Orz[EST]]

Someone want to see if adding mustard to their grog before kneading makes it more potent? Volunteers? Anyone?

I would try lecithin maybe but not mustard.