Kava Time contacted me about reviewing their Savusavu, which is a heady kava. I like heady kava. A lot. In fact, all of my favorites are heady. I drink Kava for anxiety and depression and heavy kava is great for the former, but not so great for the latter. This one was 75% heavy and 25% heady. More heady than I expected! I bought their sampler to try the Savusavu but because of a bag malfunction, I can only really review the Kadavu.
This is excellent kava.
Preparation and Taste
I did my usual standard prep, which is to use 3 heaping tablespoons of medium grind to 3-4 cups of water. I strained it through a 75 micron screen strainer, more porous than my previous strainers as I've acclimated to the insoluble fiber now. No need to go for the 10 micron madness. It's so much easier to strain with a more porous strainer!
Taste is very mild. Like most yaqona (Fijian kava) it has the typical sandy/earthy flavors, but not a lot of bitterness. It was very easy to drink, unlike some kava from Vanuatu. Fijian seems to be the mildest tasting on average of the kava I've had from any country, including Vanuatu, Tonga, Fiji, and Hawaii. A good kava for first-timers.
The powder was very light colored, but the brew was slightly reddish. Not as reddish as a lot of Tongans but more red than some of the Fijian wakas I've had.
Onset and Effects
I've been drinking kava for 2 1/2 years now, and fairly regularly, so I felt effects at 30 minutes. I'm pretty sensitive to the stuff now. It slowly built from the 30 minute mark to about an hour where I was feeling the full effects. I was feeling relieved, happy, gregarious, open, amused---all feelings that had eluded me all day. It was remarkable how the kava brought down the walls and engaged my heart again. One of the things I love about this stuff.
At first I noticed the loose-limbed feeling I get from body kavas. It felt like my bones weren't entirely connected all the way at my joints. Moving around felt very loose and a little off balance. I was experiencing eye-lag as well, about 45 minutes into my session. This settled out into a more generalized looseness from head to toe. My chair felt super comfortable and I felt very relaxed in it.
Second Day Effects
I got mild to no second day effects. In fact, I was able to get up and go about my morning without too much of a gravity well from my bed. It reminds me a bit of Mahakea from GHK in terms of second day effects, though not as much. This is not heavy like Papa Kea, this is a mixed effect kava that doesn't drag you out the second day.
Overall Impressions and Conclusions
This is a great kava! I like it the same way I like Borongoru from KWK and Boroguru from GHK. It's a balanced kava that's predominantly heavy but with enough headiness to keep me moving and avoid gravity-furniture. I was surprised it was as strong as it was given the kavalactone percentage, but it was quite strong. I had an absolutely lovely kava session and I would recommend this one to anyone. A solid product from Kava Time!
Edit: I forgot to mention how clear-headed I felt. It was a really loose body, but a completely clear head. Like the clouds that I didn't know were there were lifted. Interesting effect. I very much like this effect.
Praise Yaqona!
This is excellent kava.
Preparation and Taste
I did my usual standard prep, which is to use 3 heaping tablespoons of medium grind to 3-4 cups of water. I strained it through a 75 micron screen strainer, more porous than my previous strainers as I've acclimated to the insoluble fiber now. No need to go for the 10 micron madness. It's so much easier to strain with a more porous strainer!
Taste is very mild. Like most yaqona (Fijian kava) it has the typical sandy/earthy flavors, but not a lot of bitterness. It was very easy to drink, unlike some kava from Vanuatu. Fijian seems to be the mildest tasting on average of the kava I've had from any country, including Vanuatu, Tonga, Fiji, and Hawaii. A good kava for first-timers.
The powder was very light colored, but the brew was slightly reddish. Not as reddish as a lot of Tongans but more red than some of the Fijian wakas I've had.
Onset and Effects
I've been drinking kava for 2 1/2 years now, and fairly regularly, so I felt effects at 30 minutes. I'm pretty sensitive to the stuff now. It slowly built from the 30 minute mark to about an hour where I was feeling the full effects. I was feeling relieved, happy, gregarious, open, amused---all feelings that had eluded me all day. It was remarkable how the kava brought down the walls and engaged my heart again. One of the things I love about this stuff.
At first I noticed the loose-limbed feeling I get from body kavas. It felt like my bones weren't entirely connected all the way at my joints. Moving around felt very loose and a little off balance. I was experiencing eye-lag as well, about 45 minutes into my session. This settled out into a more generalized looseness from head to toe. My chair felt super comfortable and I felt very relaxed in it.
Second Day Effects
I got mild to no second day effects. In fact, I was able to get up and go about my morning without too much of a gravity well from my bed. It reminds me a bit of Mahakea from GHK in terms of second day effects, though not as much. This is not heavy like Papa Kea, this is a mixed effect kava that doesn't drag you out the second day.
Overall Impressions and Conclusions
This is a great kava! I like it the same way I like Borongoru from KWK and Boroguru from GHK. It's a balanced kava that's predominantly heavy but with enough headiness to keep me moving and avoid gravity-furniture. I was surprised it was as strong as it was given the kavalactone percentage, but it was quite strong. I had an absolutely lovely kava session and I would recommend this one to anyone. A solid product from Kava Time!
Edit: I forgot to mention how clear-headed I felt. It was a really loose body, but a completely clear head. Like the clouds that I didn't know were there were lifted. Interesting effect. I very much like this effect.
Praise Yaqona!
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