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Fiji Fresh Kava: new kava vendor

Krunkie McKrunkface

Kava Connoisseur
Can you describe the "difference"? I could see how pounded kava would possibly rupture more of the cell walls much like your freezing the makas and possibly make a stronger final beverage then just a grinder...but then again some of those large grinders must crush as well as cut pretty well.
makes it taste better and lighter, IMO and also makes the krunk feel less heavy, more broad spectrum.

I don't think it actually makes a difference in super premium kavas, near as I can tell, but it seems to improve wakas in the low to mid-range quality, bumping the grind up a notch or two, like it could turn a 2.5 star kava into a 3 star
 

fait

Position 5 Hard Support
This sounds very exciting! It's nice to see science guys taking interest in kava.
 

FijiFreshKava

https://fijifresh.com
Kava Vendor
I've also spent years dreaming up ways to make fresh kava available stateside. Considered funding it by selling dry kava first too, but making that lucrative seems hard these days, considering the high market prices for wholesale root...unless you have your own farm or some familial connection to the growers that gets you better prices...
My goals with this company are 1) Make enough money to support my kava habit 2) Meet interesting people 3) Write off trips to the Pacific Islands as a business expense :)

I agree, it's going to be super tough. For example, yesterday I called a taro root distributor who ships frozen taro grown in Fiji all around the world. When I asked if I could use his facility to process and freeze kava he was like 'no, absolutely not!' He doesn't want any rotten kava messing up his other products. From the way he talked, it sounded like a lot of kava even in Fiji is from 'parts unknown'.

At this point, I'm considering to drive out to the farms in a van equipped with a freezer to buy the harvests right on the spot. I'm trying to reach the coordinators of PHAMA to see if there is a way to establish relationships with the farming collectives they are supporting, but so far no response. I'd pay more than the middlemen for freshly harvested roots, plus I'd work with them to develop chemotyping technologies for the farms.

The portable/disposable chemotyping and kavalactone concentration tool might be another way to support the business, but as you note, I might have to take a loss on some of the products. I mean, it's crazy how cheap some kava is on Amazon now.
 

kastom_lif

Kava Lover
@FijiFreshKava I've been growing my own dalo in Alabama for a few years. Mostly Central American varieties that I can score from local bodegas. They love the local soil. Nice sandy loam on top of limestone, with plenty of homemade chicken compost. My local grown roots have a nice pink tint that was never present in the bodega corms. I'm on the lookout for legendary Niuē taro to see how pink it turns out.

Anyway, why would you even need to freeze taro? Just brush it off and stick it in a box. It'll keep for several months, like a potato.
 

FijiFreshKava

https://fijifresh.com
Kava Vendor
@FijiFreshKava
Anyway, why would you even need to freeze taro? Just brush it off and stick it in a box. It'll keep for several months, like a potato.
I don't think so. After the meeting with Mr. Taro I looked around and taro will keep for several weeks. For some reason, in my mind I was thinking about Lotus root. No idea why.

On the positive side, I just got a response from PHAMA and they're willing to introduce me to their farming collectives! I might be going to Fiji soon...stay tuned.
 

FijiFreshKava

https://fijifresh.com
Kava Vendor
One problem you may encounter is the current ban on buying or selling green/fresh kava in Fiji..
Hmmm. Yes, that would be a problem. I see Kasa_Belavu posted about the proposed kava bill in 2015 but also mentioned that plants can be purchased if they are unharvested (then you would need to harvest them yourself).

The bill from Fijian Parliament in 2016 does not discuss illegality of purchasing kava in an undried form. In fact, it includes discussion of fresh kava along side other kava products. http://www.parliament.gov.fj/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Bill-No-24-Kava.pdf
 
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kasa_balavu

Yaqona Dina
Anyway, why would you even need to freeze taro? Just brush it off and stick it in a box. It'll keep for several months, like a potato.
Actually taro can only last a few weeks under ideal conditions. Unlike a potato, it won't go dormant... it'll never stop trying to grow and will eat itself up trying to do so.

Freezing isn't necessary, but refrigeration is. Taro is shipped in reefer containers as it'd turn into a big rotten mess within days in a normal shipping container.

Here's an album of old pics showing taro harvested from our farm and then processed in our facility for export to Hawaii. These are from around 15yrs ago when things were still pretty crude.... GMP and HACCP hadn't quite arrived on Taveuni Island back then :p


I agree, it's going to be super tough. For example, yesterday I called a taro root distributor who ships frozen taro grown in Fiji all around the world. When I asked if I could use his facility to process and freeze kava he was like 'no, absolutely not!' He doesn't want any rotten kava messing up his other products.
Most of the food exporters operating out of Fiji these days are HACCP certified, and bringing in anything new into their facilities would require amending their HACCP plans. A lot of effort for very little payoff.


On the positive side, I just got a response from PHAMA and they're willing to introduce me to their farming collectives! I might be going to Fiji soon...stay tuned.
That's great man.
I don't want to be a wet blanket, but I definitely advise not spending any money on this (specifically the fresh/frozen project) until you've visited Fiji and seen for yourself how the industry works and just how big a goal it is that you've set for yourself. Vendors in the US have a hard time just getting consistent sources of dried kava, let alone fresh frozen kava shipped to the US.


The portable/disposable chemotyping and kavalactone concentration tool might be another way to support the business.
Have you seen the True Kava field testing kit? It's a simpler version of what you seem to have in mind (it only tests for nobility, not chemotype). G.Stoner has done quite a lot of work in this area and I definitely recommend having a chat with him.
 

SelfBiasResistor

Persist for Resistance!
Have you seen the True Kava field testing kit? It's a simpler version of what you seem to have in mind (it only tests for nobility, not chemotype). G.Stoner has done quite a lot of work in this area and I definitely recommend having a chat with him.
Buying from the farmers, wouldn't the chemotype testing be more valuable since fijians don't grow tudei/isa?
 

kasa_balavu

Yaqona Dina
Buying from the farmers, wouldn't the chemotype testing be more valuable since fijians don't grow tudei/isa?
I was neither making a comparison nor suggesting he drop his plans for a chemotype test kit because there's an acetone test kit. I merely assumed that being a scientist dabbling in kava+science, he'd be interested in chatting with someone who has been working in that little niche for a few years and who could also potentially introduce him to the leading scientists in this field (Dr. Lebot, Dr. Schmidt, and others). There's a lot of knowledge locked up in the brains of industry people that one can unlock with a coffee and a chat.
 
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FijiFreshKava

https://fijifresh.com
Kava Vendor
Have you seen the True Kava field testing kit? It's a simpler version of what you seem to have in mind (it only tests for nobility, not chemotype). G.Stoner has done quite a lot of work in this area and I definitely recommend having a chat with him.
Yes, that's a good point. I'm also going to run acetone tests for each of the products. By the way, there have been some reported false positives in acetone testing. From what I understand the principle behind the test is to observe the concentration of some pink or red chemicals that are unique to tudei. However, some roots also have molecules that also change the UV/VIS spectrum even though they are not tudei.

A major gap pointed out by some of the PHAMA reports is the lack of tools to improve kava farming methods [1]. For example, farmers will often choose strains that may grow fast but may not have a high kavalactone profile. If farmers had the ability to select particular plants based on other metrics, e.g. their chemotype and kavalactone concentration, it should dramatically increase the quality of kava production and enable tailoring of the plants to achieve certain flavor or effect objectives. As it is now, I don't think many or any of the farmers have quantitative feedback like this about their kava.

[1]http://phama.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/PHAMA_Kava_Posters_ecopy.pdf
 

kasa_balavu

Yaqona Dina
I could be wrong, but it sounds like this is a local law that pertains to the Island of Taveuni where apparently there has been a lot of kava theft happening. I'm following up with Fiji's IKEC.org representative to see if that same ban extends to all of Fiji.
The ban is supposed to apply just in Cakaudrove Province. Cakaudrove includes Taveuni and significant swathe Vanua Levu but in practice it is ignored outside Taveuni, and often even on Taveuni due to the lack of enforcement. Buyers often work around it by effectively buying the farm instead of the kava. You show up at a village and pay for a patch of kava and then pay the former owner to harvest it for you.

In any case, I would strongly advise working with a single farmer instead of going out and buying from randoms. Otherwise you will end up inadvertently buying stolen kava and while the law won't catch you, you might find yourself getting beat up by angry farmers wielding cane knives.

Yes, that's a good point. I'm also going to run acetone tests for each of the products. By the way, there have been some reported false positives in acetone testing. From what I understand the principle behind the test is to observe the concentration of some pink or red chemicals that are unique to tudei. However, some roots also have molecules that also change the UV/VIS spectrum even though they are not tudei.
This is a rare but solved issue. AFAIK there are no unknown false positives. There are one or two cultivars that are known to produce false positives and when this happens, a different test is used to confirm nobility. This is why I suggest a chat with GS. He did a lot of work on this and can explain it all in terms that you chemistry geeks can understand... some of this stuff goes a little bit above my head :)

A major gap pointed out by some of the PHAMA reports is the lack of tools to improve kava farming methods. For example, farmers will often choose strains that may grow fast but may not have a high kavalactone profile. If farmers had the ability to select particular plants based on other metrics, e.g. their chemotype and kavalactone concentration, it should dramatically increase the quality of kava production and enable tailoring of the plants to achieve certain flavor or effect objectives. As it is now, I don't think many or any of the farmers have quantitative feedback like this about their kava.
The fact of the matter is that the average farmer doesn't care about any of that stuff because he hasn't needed to. His market doesn't care and there is no other incentive for him to care. That's not to say that having those tools wouldn't be greatly beneficial... just to point out that there isn't a market for such test kits. This is the kind of thing that the Fiji Agriculture Ministry should be working on. They should grow a couple of different fields of kava, test different cultivars, and provide advice to farmers based on that advice. We spend millions of dollars every year doing just that for the Sugar Industry here. Sugarcare farmers don't need to be running experiments, just given advice based on studies that the Sugar Research Institute has performed.

Personally I'd love to be able to test for chemotype and Kl% relatively cheaply. It costs us $500 (~USD$250) for a single test at the university here and for a proper study, I'd have to run dozens of tests every year.
 

SelfBiasResistor

Persist for Resistance!
The fact of the matter is that the average farmer doesn't care about any of that stuff because he hasn't needed to. His market doesn't care and there is no other incentive for him to care. That's not to say that having those tools wouldn't be greatly beneficial... just to point out that there isn't a market for such test kits.
I think this is why he is wanting to get the farmers an easy way to identify chemotype and work to change this situation so the optimal cultivars can be grown. The future market consumers are going to want more information and it will be in the farmers best interest to modify their practices. The acetone test was a great tool 5 years ago but we need to be looking beyond that now and that is exactly what this vendor seems to be trying to accomplish.
 

FijiFreshKava

https://fijifresh.com
Kava Vendor
Well, the point is though that there are few people as qualified as G.Stoner to consult when it comes to kava testing. He's managed to develop an amazing field testing kit, pretty much by himself.
If everything is based on good science (as I am certain it is), then the test kit should be something I can replicate. I've always been a bit of an outsider in the fields I work in, so I'm okay with floundering for a little while if it helps me to generate a greater understanding. If I'm lucky, then maybe I'll stumble on some crazy stuff that has unexpected impacts.

Imagine this: If farmers across Fiji were to track their cultivar's chemotypes, this would enable a kind of regional fingerprinting to happen. Then, measurements of your waka could be used to look up which region your kava was grown in. Also, if you test of chemotype at home didn't match anything, then you'd know that it was mixed with stuff from other islands or was anomalous in some way. The incentive is that farmers could charge higher prices if their kava met certain criteria or were particularly representative of a region's kava.

That said, I hear anecdotally that chemotype may play less of a role than one might think. One guy I was recently talking to says it's more about the soil than anything else. Some islands with highly phosphorylated soil grow bigger plants, but yield low kavalactone % per kg.
 

kastom_lif

Kava Lover
@FijiFreshKava, do you mean phosphorylated as in PO3? I'm not familiar with the action of physphoryl in soils.

This might be related to phosphate absortion in soils. That's when phosphate, PO4, is bound up in the soil and made unavailable to plants. This can happen with metal oxides in weathered volcanic soil, and also in calcareous soils where the phosphate groups replace calcium cabonates.

I'm not sure where to look for older volcanic soils or calcareous soils that may be growing kava. Maybe on flat areas of the older Hawaiian islands for weathered volcanic soil. Maybe uplifted coral islands like the Torres group or the flat top sections of Erromango... or even Niue. It kinda makes sense though, because the major kava islands are volcanic high islands-- that means young volcanic soil. Even in places like Micronesia, right? They grow kava on the hills of Pohnpei yet not on any of the low atolls. Tahiti and the Maraquesas had kava, yet I never heard of kava from the Paumotus.

Anyhow, as for the shelf life of kalo... I cook the ones I plan to eat right away, or cook and smash them into paʻiʻai and freeze for poi later. Corms for the next growing season go into bins in a cool dry cellar. They always seem to come back the next year, though you're right, I wouldn't eat an old one!
 
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kastom_lif

Kava Lover
Actually taro can only last a few weeks under ideal conditions. Unlike a potato, it won't go dormant... it'll never stop trying to grow and will eat itself up trying to do so.

Freezing isn't necessary, but refrigeration is. Taro is shipped in reefer containers as it'd turn into a big rotten mess within days in a normal shipping container.

Here's an album of old pics showing taro harvested from our farm and then processed in our facility for export to Hawaii. These are from around 15yrs ago when things were still pretty crude.... GMP and HACCP hadn't quite arrived on Taveuni Island back then :p



Most of the food exporters operating out of Fiji these days are HACCP certified, and bringing in anything new into their facilities would require amending their HACCP plans. A lot of effort for very little payoff.



That's great man.
I don't want to be a wet blanket, but I definitely advise not spending any money on this (specifically the fresh/frozen project) until you've visited Fiji and seen for yourself how the industry works and just how big a goal it is that you've set for yourself. Vendors in the US have a hard time just getting consistent sources of dried kava, let alone fresh frozen kava shipped to the US.



Have you seen the True Kava field testing kit? It's a simpler version of what you seem to have in mind (it only tests for nobility, not chemotype). G.Stoner has done quite a lot of work in this area and I definitely recommend having a chat with him.
You're right. I only cook fresh dalo. Then it goes directly in my belly, or gets pounded into paʻiʻai and frozen for poi later on.

After a winter in storage the old corms are not good to eat, though they still regrow when I plant them. I leave the little keikis attached to the big corms until it's planting time so they can share resources during their winter hibernation. Then I split them apart. The old big ones are good for leaves and take off quickly. The little ones grow more slowly, and have tastier roots.

All done dryland style, on sandy loam. Dressed with chicken poop compost and crushed oyster shells, then once the leaves come up I mulch with a thick layer of bamboo leaves.
 
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