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Frozen fresh kava

Skinskava

70-80 g to 1 Liter-Day Dreamer- My Roots Run Deep-
Is it worth trying Root of Happiness Fresh Frozen Kava? Im curious to see if fresh kava actually causes less dry skin/ dehydration. Is there a better fresh frozen vendor to purchase from...? Thanks yall bula
 

fait

Position 5 Hard Support
Root of Happiness has pretty good frozen fresh kava. I ordered it last winter once and it was an experience. Because of its price, I recommend getting people together to share this. If you drink a lot, one or two friends to share with should suffice. You get the most out of the price by sharing since I'd consider the pricing for special occasions only. It's not cost-effective at all for daily drinking like medium-grind would be. The only way fresh kava is viable is if you grow it yourself! So if you don't live in the Pacific...

I personally had the Hanakapi'ai and that's become a favorite Hawaiian cultivar for me to drink. They do a rotation last time I checked RoH's website.

I have no idea how quickly they've improved, but when I ordered, I ordered in the winter, so the kava largely kept during shipping and they even included a single-use ice pack. The kava was thoroughly contained inside a generic plastic resealable bag, inside of an insulated package with their label on it, inside of the shipping envelope. Looking back, the plastic bag is a concern but I gave forgiveness points since frozen fresh kava is still a very new thing. Like I said before, I also ordered during a Minnesota winter, so the kava wouldn't go bad while it sat on my doorstep. I'm curious if they've improved on packaging since then, especially for when customers want to order it in the warmer months where you don't have frigid temperatures to keep it cold.
 

Sonder

Newbie
Root of Happiness has pretty good frozen fresh kava. I ordered it last winter once and it was an experience. Because of its price, I recommend getting people together to share this. If you drink a lot, one or two friends to share with should suffice. You get the most out of the price by sharing since I'd consider the pricing for special occasions only. It's not cost-effective at all for daily drinking like medium-grind would be. The only way fresh kava is viable is if you grow it yourself! So if you don't live in the Pacific...

I personally had the Hanakapi'ai and that's become a favorite Hawaiian cultivar for me to drink. They do a rotation last time I checked RoH's website.

I have no idea how quickly they've improved, but when I ordered, I ordered in the winter, so the kava largely kept during shipping and they even included a single-use ice pack. The kava was thoroughly contained inside a generic plastic resealable bag, inside of an insulated package with their label on it, inside of the shipping envelope. Looking back, the plastic bag is a concern but I gave forgiveness points since frozen fresh kava is still a very new thing. Like I said before, I also ordered during a Minnesota winter, so the kava wouldn't go bad while it sat on my doorstep. I'm curious if they've improved on packaging since then, especially for when customers want to order it in the warmer months where you don't have frigid temperatures to keep it cold.
Once Kava is frozen does it not keep well?
 

fait

Position 5 Hard Support
If you want to go to the source--( if the link does not work try searching same).
https://puuohoku.com/the-farm/
I tried e-mailing them a while back since at the time it didn't look like they had an e-tailer web front to buy from. There was some correspondence for a bit but at some point they stopped messaging. I figured they were a wholesaler and didn't want to sell to me, an end consumer. I may have to try them again. I have freezer space now!
Once Kava is frozen does it not keep well?
What they do is they get the kava chopped and frozen while it's fresh. Since RoH is a mainland company, they most likely get it frozen. From there, I don't know if they need to thaw the kava to reportion it for sale or if they cut off frozen hunks, measure it, then package. Either way, they eventually ship it out to you. The kava keeps while frozen but you'll have to thaw it before you knead with it. Unlike dried medium grind, you'll most likely use an entire pound to make a grog of decent-strength. Get the most out of your grog with multiple kneads using the same root material.
 

Sonder

Newbie
I tried e-mailing them a while back since at the time it didn't look like they had an e-tailer web front to buy from. There was some correspondence for a bit but at some point they stopped messaging. I figured they were a wholesaler and didn't want to sell to me, an end consumer. I may have to try them again. I have freezer space now!

What they do is they get the kava chopped and frozen while it's fresh. Since RoH is a mainland company, they most likely get it frozen. From there, I don't know if they need to thaw the kava to reportion it for sale or if they cut off frozen hunks, measure it, then package. Either way, they eventually ship it out to you. The kava keeps while frozen but you'll have to thaw it before you knead with it. Unlike dried medium grind, you'll most likely use an entire pound to make a grog of decent-strength. Get the most out of your grog with multiple kneads using the same root material.
Oh okay, I see what you mean now when it comes to money-efficiency.
 

Zaphod

Kava Lover
Is it worth trying Root of Happiness Fresh Frozen Kava? Im curious to see if fresh kava actually causes less dry skin/ dehydration. Is there a better fresh frozen vendor to purchase from...? Thanks yall bula
It was pretty darn good. I got the Nene over the winter - I was bit skeptical about ordering to the East coast during the summer since it will likely not stay frozen. Fresh kava tastes fantastic and I got great euphoria off of it. If I remember correctly 1lb of fresh kava equals about 1 gallon of good drinkable grog. It came conveniently ground up to a level that was easy to break off and put into a blender and strain. Definitely worth trying.
You can read up on others experiences from these threads:
http://kavaforums.com/forum/threads/frozen-fresh-kava.15430/
http://kavaforums.com/forum/threads/fresh-hawaiian.15293/
 

sɥɐʞɐs

Avg. Dosage: 8 Tbsp. (58g)
Review Maestro
I love fresh kava, but the fresh hawaiian 'awa I've gotten RoH (and elsewhere) has been incredibly weak. I ordered some again recently and mixed .75 pounds for one batch, drank it all and barely felt anything. A couple days ago I upped the dose to 1.25 pounds and it was similarly mild, so mild that one shell of a proper strong kava has a more noticeable effect on me than drinking 5 or 6 shells of my 1.25 lbs batch of fresh.

I'm not sure if this is a problem with how my body processes fresh hawaiian root or if the kava is just genetically weak...or maybe they are pulling up young plants that haven't gotten a good concentration of kavalactones built up yet.?! In Vanuatu the fresh stuff was SO MUCH more effective. I've had fresh Hawaiian about 4 or 5 times in the last few years, from a few different sources, and they were all varying degrees of mild. This most recent round cost my $80+ and I feel like all I bought was cucumber juice. That's the only benefit I got from it, was that it smelled and tasted like normal fresh kava and I got to let some people sample it who have only had dry powder. I also felt clear headed the following mornings...but that's probably largely to do with the fact that it did almost nothing to me, buzzwise.

I froze my 2 lbs of fresh makas and blasted them in my Ninja blender today...I'm hoping that pulled a little something extra out, cuz I only hand kneaded it before.
 

sɥɐʞɐs

Avg. Dosage: 8 Tbsp. (58g)
Review Maestro
I suspect this could be in part due to extremely generous water to root ratio that has been suggested here by their assistant. In Vanuatu people mix fresh root with water at 1:1 ratio. What has been suggested here is that this kava (in itself unlikely to be aywhere near the potency of Vanuatu fresh) should be mixed at a 1:6 ratio.
Not sure what ratio I use with fresh, but i typically only use just enough water to submerge the enormous mound of fresh pulp and do my normal style kneading...while still having enough water outside the strainer to keep a good flow transfer going in/out of the bag as I squeeze.

Todays 2lbs fresh (used) makas that i blended with warm water in the high speed blender resulted in .75 L of juice. When the stuff was new I probably used a similar about of water, but for half the quantity of fresh root.
 

Margaret

Newbie
I recently ordered fresh frozen kava from RoH. The website didn't specify the cultivar, but I assumed it would be noble. When it arrived it was labeled "Isa". Unfortunately I do not tolerate Tudei well and so have left it untouched in the freezer :-( But as far as the timeliness of the order fulfillment and the condition of the frozen kava when it arrived, all was well!
 

sɥɐʞɐs

Avg. Dosage: 8 Tbsp. (58g)
Review Maestro
Update: Blending it in a high powered blender definitely increased the potency a bit...and that was with 2 pounds of makas that had already been kneaded.
I'm guessing if I had used the Ninja blender when I first got the root, it probably would have made a more potent grog. The packaging actually suggests using the blender to prep...but obviously, it shouldn't really be a requirement, since strong batches have been made with traditional methods for ages. ::KavaChug::
 

Zaphod

Kava Lover
Not sure what ratio I use with fresh, but i typically only use just enough water to submerge the enormous mound of fresh pulp and do my normal style kneading...while still having enough water outside the strainer to keep a good flow transfer going in/out of the bag as I squeeze.

Todays 2lbs fresh (used) makas that i blended with warm water in the high speed blender resulted in .75 L of juice. When the stuff was new I probably used a similar about of water, but for half the quantity of fresh root.
Interesting. The nene I tried was plenty strong. I did it in two batches. I broke off half of the frozen block, thawed it in roughly a half gallon of hot water, then tossed it in the blender (ninja) and blended on and off for 3-4 minutes. Then I strained it in my normal strainer. It was not very heavy - almost all head buzz euphoria for me, but still plenty strong. I probably drank 3/4 of that half gallon and my wife had the the other 1/4 of it.
 

fait

Position 5 Hard Support
I recently ordered fresh frozen kava from RoH. The website didn't specify the cultivar, but I assumed it would be noble. When it arrived it was labeled "Isa". Unfortunately I do not tolerate Tudei well and so have left it untouched in the freezer :-( But as far as the timeliness of the order fulfillment and the condition of the frozen kava when it arrived, all was well!
That's interesting and peculiar. Since I discovered their fresh frozen last year, they've only offered Hawaiian varieties. I had Hanakapi'ai and it said so on the website when I ordered. I periodically check their website to see the current offerings and the last time I checked (probably yesterday or Sunday), it let me choose from a list of three options (Hanakapi'ai, Nene, and Spotted Hiwa), all Hawaiian varieties.
 

The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
I recently ordered fresh frozen kava from RoH. The website didn't specify the cultivar, but I assumed it would be noble. When it arrived it was labeled "Isa". Unfortunately I do not tolerate Tudei well and so have left it untouched in the freezer :-( But as far as the timeliness of the order fulfillment and the condition of the frozen kava when it arrived, all was well!
Well that's not okay. I really wonder if they managed to get the wrong sticker on that package.
 

Zaphod

Kava Lover
I recently ordered fresh frozen kava from RoH. The website didn't specify the cultivar, but I assumed it would be noble. When it arrived it was labeled "Isa". Unfortunately I do not tolerate Tudei well and so have left it untouched in the freezer :-( But as far as the timeliness of the order fulfillment and the condition of the frozen kava when it arrived, all was well!
It sounds like a mix up - everything indicates they are getting their frozen kava from Hawaii. The only tudei they sell is their isa from PNG, which is medium grind. That said if it is by some strange chance the isa - it is a "mild" tudei in my humble opinion. I would have no problem drinking it, if in smaller amounts than normal.
 

The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
Root of Happiness only sells Isa if it is labeled Isa.
I believe the issue is that they possibly used an incorrect sticker. Then again, I could be out of the loop. Do you know if they're selling fresh frozen isa as a novelty product to customers who request it? I can see it being swapped up if that's the case. Just guessing :)
 
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