Below are pictures of all the 13 kava varieties available in Fiji. Check it out. I managed to get these pictures off the Ministry of Agriculture after so much persuasion and reminders. Government officials i tell u!
As @kasa_balavu mentioned in earlier posts, its very difficult to get a specific variety of kava from Fiji. The Fijian government through The Kava Act 2016 is trying to push for labeling of the kava exported from Fiji. They want at least the region where it came from (Taveuni, Savusavu, Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Kadavu) and the variety (out of 13 above) to be labeled before being exported. This is an almost impossible feat to achieve, mainly because the farmers are mixing up the names of the cultivars they grow in different regions and most are ignorant of the variety and only know that it is 1 thing (yaqona). They dont separate varieties which is why most Fijian kava vendors will have blended Fijian cultivars. The only place which seems to have some consistency is in Taveuni. It probably must be the same case with other pacific countries if they are selling on a commercial basis (get whatever noble variety and just keep planting).
We have established a strong working relationship with a few sensible farmers. Basically as my first check i would ask if they know the variety of kava being grown and then ask them to show the plants to me when i visit. Its a stringent check which at times has backfired on me because farmers really dont care about the variety and know that if i wont buy, some other middle man would at a near price so they just get impatient. There has been a major power shift from Buyers to the farmers after the cyclone in Fiji and due to the heavy demand some farmers have developed an attitude despite how polite you are with them. Competition in Savusavu (the most desired location of kava in Fiji) is so tight that if someone were to pay eg $75/kg of waka and have it loaded on their truck and within the same time another buyer comes and offer $80/kg, the farmers will just return the money from initial buyer, offload the truck of their harvest and load it onto highest bidder's truck. Its that bad!
The quality of kava is still there, but there is a lot of moisture content when buying. This means that if you buy waka for $75 a kilo, with the weight loss in drying to process into powder could end up costing you about $95 - 100 per kilo. Anyways, from my personal observation, most farmers have plantations with mixed cultivars and they mix it with harvest depending on maturity. Its pretty hard to get it separated but at least with educating them, they are able to advise whats the most significant of the variety they harvested when they send their harvest to me in Nadi for processing. I have to place a higher bid than the average market price to compensate for the farmers inconvenience and secure their harvest because middle men are ever ready to go directly to the farmers house in the interiors to collect the kava whereas i ask them to pack and send the kava over after we have gone through the selection process. Kava being sold from farm-gate is really going to the highest bidder now, which is why im amazed as to how some vendors are keeping their prices so low. Im sure the operating expenses in US are way higher than Fiji and 3PL services combined!
Anyways this was just to provide some insight on the varieties available in Fiji, whats happening with your favorite kava and a bit of my operations.
BULA!
As @kasa_balavu mentioned in earlier posts, its very difficult to get a specific variety of kava from Fiji. The Fijian government through The Kava Act 2016 is trying to push for labeling of the kava exported from Fiji. They want at least the region where it came from (Taveuni, Savusavu, Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Kadavu) and the variety (out of 13 above) to be labeled before being exported. This is an almost impossible feat to achieve, mainly because the farmers are mixing up the names of the cultivars they grow in different regions and most are ignorant of the variety and only know that it is 1 thing (yaqona). They dont separate varieties which is why most Fijian kava vendors will have blended Fijian cultivars. The only place which seems to have some consistency is in Taveuni. It probably must be the same case with other pacific countries if they are selling on a commercial basis (get whatever noble variety and just keep planting).
We have established a strong working relationship with a few sensible farmers. Basically as my first check i would ask if they know the variety of kava being grown and then ask them to show the plants to me when i visit. Its a stringent check which at times has backfired on me because farmers really dont care about the variety and know that if i wont buy, some other middle man would at a near price so they just get impatient. There has been a major power shift from Buyers to the farmers after the cyclone in Fiji and due to the heavy demand some farmers have developed an attitude despite how polite you are with them. Competition in Savusavu (the most desired location of kava in Fiji) is so tight that if someone were to pay eg $75/kg of waka and have it loaded on their truck and within the same time another buyer comes and offer $80/kg, the farmers will just return the money from initial buyer, offload the truck of their harvest and load it onto highest bidder's truck. Its that bad!
The quality of kava is still there, but there is a lot of moisture content when buying. This means that if you buy waka for $75 a kilo, with the weight loss in drying to process into powder could end up costing you about $95 - 100 per kilo. Anyways, from my personal observation, most farmers have plantations with mixed cultivars and they mix it with harvest depending on maturity. Its pretty hard to get it separated but at least with educating them, they are able to advise whats the most significant of the variety they harvested when they send their harvest to me in Nadi for processing. I have to place a higher bid than the average market price to compensate for the farmers inconvenience and secure their harvest because middle men are ever ready to go directly to the farmers house in the interiors to collect the kava whereas i ask them to pack and send the kava over after we have gone through the selection process. Kava being sold from farm-gate is really going to the highest bidder now, which is why im amazed as to how some vendors are keeping their prices so low. Im sure the operating expenses in US are way higher than Fiji and 3PL services combined!
Anyways this was just to provide some insight on the varieties available in Fiji, whats happening with your favorite kava and a bit of my operations.
BULA!
