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Has anyone heard if Pouni Ono will ever be available again?

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Kavaguy

Kava Enthusiast
Does anyone know if due to the shortage in Tonga if there will ever be Pouni Ono available again? I havent been able to find anything that is quite as heady, even gHK moi. Emailed KWK a few weeks ago and havent heard back, but I imagine he is probably understandably overwhelmed by inquiries.
 

Kavafied

Kava Vendor
Tongan Kava prices are crazy right now...most are asking around $50-$55 USD a Kg in Tonga at the moment. US (Mainland) street prices and at Kalapus are selling Kava Tonga anywhere from a $100 USD to $200 USD a kg. Cheapest place to get Kava Tonga right now is in Hawaii where you can get it around $80 a Kg. Hard to know if other Kavas are mixed in though to get the price down.
 

nabanga

Kava Enthusiast
A friend just got back from the whale conference in Nukualofa and told me that he was asked for US$100/kg. The shops and petrol stations that used to sell 100g baggies for 5 pa'anga ($3) are now $10.
At this rate by the time I get back there in October I'll have to take some with me.
What are these German pharma companies doing with it all anyway? Are they really making some miracle medicine, or are they all holed up in someones garage drinking shells 24/7?
 

Kalm with Kava

Kava Vendor
Great question @Kavaguy and a definitely an email we get a lot, apologies if I missed yours! Here's the skinny: Kavafied is absolutely right, at present the Tongan prices are through the roof (that price is without shipping and packaging added in) and quality has dropped significantly. Our Pouni farmer sold us everything he had left about 5 months ago that was old enough to harvest but he may have some plants maturing by Nov/Dec. We tried a couple neighboring sources but the kava tested very high in chlorophyll and very low in kavalactones I.e. they are using too young of plants and mixing stalks in. For now we're just waiting for the original source to mature.

In the meantime, we've tried out a few new varieties from Fiji and Vanuatu - one which is very promising. Hoping to work out a deal soon and roll it out in the coming months to see if its a good replacement :)
 

Kavaguy

Kava Enthusiast
Sounds good, thanks a lot. If anyone has any they would like to sell to me at a higher price, let me know.
 

Ricardo Piquant

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Great question @Kavaguy and a definitely an email we get a lot, apologies if I missed yours! Here's the skinny: Kavafied is absolutely right, at present the Tongan prices are through the roof (that price is without shipping and packaging added in) and quality has dropped significantly. Our Pouni farmer sold us everything he had left about 5 months ago that was old enough to harvest but he may have some plants maturing by Nov/Dec. We tried a couple neighboring sources but the kava tested very high in chlorophyll and very low in kavalactones I.e. they are using too young of plants and mixing stalks in. For now we're just waiting for the original source to mature.

In the meantime, we've tried out a few new varieties from Fiji and Vanuatu - one which is very promising. Hoping to work out a deal soon and roll it out in the coming months to see if its a good replacement :)
Thank you for being thorough and curating good kava for us all. I, for one, sincerely appreciate it, as in sure everyone else does too!
 

wormwood

Kava Enthusiast
Great question @Kavaguy and a definitely an email we get a lot, apologies if I missed yours! Here's the skinny: Kavafied is absolutely right, at present the Tongan prices are through the roof (that price is without shipping and packaging added in) and quality has dropped significantly. Our Pouni farmer sold us everything he had left about 5 months ago that was old enough to harvest but he may have some plants maturing by Nov/Dec. We tried a couple neighboring sources but the kava tested very high in chlorophyll and very low in kavalactones I.e. they are using too young of plants and mixing stalks in. For now we're just waiting for the original source to mature.

In the meantime, we've tried out a few new varieties from Fiji and Vanuatu - one which is very promising. Hoping to work out a deal soon and roll it out in the coming months to see if its a good replacement :)
Thanks for refusing to sell subpar product. Another reason why you are one of the best in the business.
 

Kavaguy

Kava Enthusiast
Yeah, Mike offers great customer service as well as an excellent product. Mike, I have tried Loa Waka, but its body effects are too much for me to function in the daytime. Can you tell me how Vula Waka compares to Pouni in terms of Head/Body effect?
 

Kalm with Kava

Kava Vendor
Yeah, Mike offers great customer service as well as an excellent product. Mike, I have tried Loa Waka, but its body effects are too much for me to function in the daytime. Can you tell me how Vula Waka compares to Pouni in terms of Head/Body effect?
It's tough to say as everyone responds a bit different to each kava, but I would suspect the Vula would be too heavy for you as well then. I would suggest trying a Lawena possibly as the people in Fiji routinely use those for daytime drinking.
 
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Kojo Douglas

The Kavasseur
The way I understand it, the way a lot of customary systems work in Melanesia (yes, I know Tonga is Polynesian) leads farmers to avoid maximizing yield for economic gain. Wealth is perceived as something to be "shared." So rather than plant more to meet obligations, farmers will plant "enough" to meet obligations.

In other words, capitalism is not alive and well in Melanesia.
 

Bula Kava House

Portland, OR
Kava Vendor
Kava Bar Owner
Not sure what cultivar "Pouni Ono" was/is. I don't see that as a recorded Tongan Kava name, though different regions will call the same plant something else. We have two new amazing Tongans coming up later this week. They're single cultivar, with no stems, from 3.5 year old plants, which is nearly impossible to get right now from Tonga. This is exclusive stuff, and is absolutely amazing. A little on the expensive side, but reasonable for the level of quality. We'll be sending out a more detailed description in our newsletter Tuesday or Wednesday.

Sorry to hijack the thread a little bit, but some people are very particular about which kavas they drink. Maybe one of our new ones is what you're looking for.
 

Kavaguy

Kava Enthusiast
Any suggestions for a Lawena would be appreciated. BKH, looking forward to hearing about the new kava's.
 

wormwood

Kava Enthusiast
Not sure what cultivar "Pouni Ono" was/is. I don't see that as a recorded Tongan Kava name, though different regions will call the same plant something else. We have two new amazing Tongans coming up later this week. They're single cultivar, with no stems, from 3.5 year old plants, which is nearly impossible to get right now from Tonga. This is exclusive stuff, and is absolutely amazing. A little on the expensive side, but reasonable for the level of quality. We'll be sending out a more detailed description in our newsletter Tuesday or Wednesday.

Sorry to hijack the thread a little bit, but some people are very particular about which kavas they drink. Maybe one of our new ones is what you're looking for.
Is this a heady kava Mike?
 

Kavafied

Kava Vendor
The way I understand it, the way a lot of customary systems work in Melanesia (yes, I know Tonga is Polynesian) leads farmers to avoid maximizing yield for economic gain. Wealth is perceived as something to be "shared." So rather than plant more to meet obligations, farmers will plant "enough" to meet obligations.

In other words, capitalism is not alive and well in Melanesia.
That's spot on for Tonga. Only way to ensure any supply is to farm it yourself. Hopefully others follow suite once they see all the work we are putting into our Kava farm. However Kava Tonga will always be limited when you consider Tonga's size in comparison to Fiji and Vanuatu. Tonga is about 5% in landmass compared to Fiji or Vanuatu.
 

Edward

Aluballin' in the UK
Kava Vendor
That's spot on for Tonga. Only way to ensure any supply is to farm it yourself. Hopefully others follow suite once they see all the work we are putting into our Kava farm. However Kava Tonga will always be limited when you consider Tonga's size in comparison to Fiji and Vanuatu. Tonga is about 5% in landmass compared to Fiji or Vanuatu.
I didn't know that although looking on a map now it looks obvious.
 

Bula Kava House

Portland, OR
Kava Vendor
Kava Bar Owner
Is this a heady kava Mike?
I assume you meant Judd? Yeah, they're both going to be pretty heady. The Akau a little more so, I think, with the Kula being a little more balanced overall.

I actually have a third coming that I'm keeping under wraps for a couple more weeks. Oooooohhhh you guys are in for something special....
 
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