First Kava Purchase (in years)

[Winterfr3sh]

Thanks to everybody on these forums first of all. I found the reviews & recommendations to be very helpful.
I went with Fiji Vanua's "VanCruz Gold" value pack. I am so excited it's here. Shipping was really fast, too.

I could not resist opening the Vanuatu package to smell it. Man, it smelled great.
My goal will be to brew my first batch two nights from now. From there I plan to drink 1-2x per week. My wife & I have decided to try making these 2lbs last the rest of the year (budget related). So we will have to really go easy on the grog.

 

[yiki]

Oh nice, but you have to know that current Kava is not very strong so if you want to make 4 doses a week for you and your wife at 50g, thats already 800g per month. Good luck sticking to your plan though

 

[Mixnpickngrinnin]

as far as potency goes, that vanuatu is really something. I use less of it than other kavas because it is really strong IMO. That said, the Santa cruz is one of my favs, still quite potent but a little more pleasant.

 

[Winterfr3sh]

Oh nice, but you have to know that current Kava is not very strong so if you want to make 4 doses a week for you and your wife at 50g, thats already 800g per month. Good luck sticking to your plan though

Thanks. One question: what do you mean that current kava is not very strong? Maybe there's a post about it I missed that you could link?

 

[yiki]

Thanks. One question: what do you mean that current kava is not very strong? Maybe there's a post about it I missed that you could link?

It's just my experience that after cyclone pam kava became weaker. Maybe a lot of older root got destroyed? I think someomne said that kava gets harvested earlier these days to satisfy demand. I recently added a bit of old kava to my strainer and that gave it a punch for sure. But maybe i just used more before since kava was much cheaper. Hope it will meet all your needs, but for me personally, 10-20g doses would be too little. But then it depends on what you are trying to achieve. A calm session with a relaxing kava does not need that much to be successful and pleasant.

edit: I'm so sorry, i did not mean to taint the joy of anticipating your first shell after such a long hiatus. I'm just a bit frustrated about the quality that is available to me and i let that out on you. Please do report back on your kava adventures

 

[Winterfr3sh]

It's just my experience that after cyclone pam kava became weaker. Maybe a lot of older root got destroyed? I think someomne said that kava gets harvested earlier these days to satisfy demand. I recently added a bit of old kava to my strainer and that gave it a punch for sure. But maybe i just used more before since kava was much cheaper. Hope it will meet all your needs, but for me personally, 10-20g doses would be too little. But then it depends on what you are trying to achieve. A calm session with a relaxing kava does not need that much to be successful and pleasant.

edit: I'm so sorry, i did not mean to taint the joy of anticipating your first shell after such a long hiatus. I'm just a bit frustrated about the quality that is available to me and i let that out on you. Please do report back on your kava adventures

Thank you. Here is my experience report:
Prep: 40g in 3.5 cups (~850 ml)
Temperature: 150 degree F water. Blended for 1 minute, 3 times in a bullet-style blender. Squeezed for 7 minutes out of a muslin bag to release liquid. Then, Kneaded for 7 minutes immediately afterwards.

First shell at 6pm. (1 shell = ~3/4 cup)

Second shell at 20min

Third shell at 45 min

4th shell at 75 min

5th shell at 85min

I’m feeling very buzzed. My anxiety is way down. I’m feeling a tiny bit of nausea. I haven’t eaten in 5 hours. I exercised (ran a 40-min hill workout) prior to consumption. Feeling really great.
Love the taste of this kava. Very tolerable. Don’t even need a chaser. Started drinking water to stay hydrated.

I feel body heaviness and mild euphoria. I’m less worried than usual, able to make plans and talk with less difficulty.

At 2 hours, I have trouble keeping my eyes open and having a serious conversation with my wife. I’m very chilled out.

3 hours in: feeling a gentle persistence of the effects. Relaxed, feel like sitting still. Wanting to chat with people and make connections.

5 hours in: mild diarrhea, reduced appetite, still relaxed and content. Did some therapy work I’d been procrastinating for weeks.

Taking very deep breaths every once in awhile feels good. Happy with this experience. A lot more body-heavy than any previous kava experiences. By far the most potent experience with kava. Looking forward to the next time.
-Winterfr3sh

 

[yiki]

By far the most potent experience with kava.

Amazing...happy for you