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Is it normal to have a lot of powder on the bottom, after preparation, and regardless of prep method ?

Plantacious

Kava Enthusiast
As the subject says, no matter how I prepare the kava, the beverage usually has a significant amount of powder on the bottom of the beverage.
I'm not sure if this is normal, or if something went wrong, and it simply "leaked" and did not dissolve or emulsify ?
And I'm not sure if this is not meant to be consumed, or if it's okay to consume, either as is, or find a way for it to dissolve ?
I remember a while back, people used to talk a lot about emulsifiers, like Lecithin. That seems to be what would be the answer to this issue.
But people no longer talk about kava emulsifiers, that I'm aware of. Is there a reason for this ? Did they discover something bad about it ?
I got the impression, that they realized it did not actually potentiate the kava, as they originally believed.
Is that the only reason they don't use it anymore ? So is it good to use something like lecithin for the purpose of emulsifying ?
Or maybe something else ?
Any thoughts on this ?
 

Kalm with Kava

Kava Vendor
1) The powder at the bottom is good stuff. Swirl the water around each time you pour yourself a shell so that the powder disperses throughout the drink. You want to consume that stuff.
2) Emulsifiers aren't needed, although some people find that soy lecithin or milk help extract kavalactones. The vast majority of people only use water, because there doesn't seem to be much of a benefit of using emulsifiers... Except @Edward , who loves to use milk when mixing kava. I think he's crazy, but I also hope to share shells with him one day because he's super cool. Just no milk in my shell, please. ;)
 

Plantacious

Kava Enthusiast
1) The powder at the bottom is good stuff. Swirl the water around each time you pour yourself a shell so that the powder disperses throughout the drink. You want to consume that stuff.
Thank you, I was just hesitant due to the fact that it's technically medium grind powder, which isn't usually recommended to be consumed.
But I will take your word for it, and assume that it must have gone through enough "prep", to be fit to be consumed.
Thank You !
 

Kalm with Kava

Kava Vendor
Thank you, I was just hesitant due to the fact that it's technically medium grind powder, which isn't usually recommended to be consumed.
But I will take your word for it, and assume that it must have gone through enough "prep", to be fit to be consumed.
Thank You !
Medium grind is the best stuff to consume. There are two parts to medium grind, though. The powder that falls through the strainer as you prepare the drink, and the makas, which are the leftover woody bits that stay in your strainer. You want to consume the powder; you don't want to consume the makas.
 

nabanga

Kava Enthusiast
Whether the amount of sediment in your bowl is good is a question of degree - there is nothing wrong at all with some fines on the bottom of your kava bowl as KWK says, but too much of that, whilst giving you a good kick, is going to make you slack and groggy the next day, and after a week or two of nightly sessions will dry you out like a prune. A good strainer is essential and 80-100 microns seems to be the favourite. If you do a search on "strainer" there is lots of experiences and advice on where to get good ones.
 

Plantacious

Kava Enthusiast
A good strainer is essential and 80-100 microns seems to be the favourite. If you do a search on "strainer" there is lots of experiences and advice on where to get good ones.
You can get a great one, from the gentleman who posted just above you !
 

Edward

Aluballin' in the UK
Kava Vendor
1) The powder at the bottom is good stuff. Swirl the water around each time you pour yourself a shell so that the powder disperses throughout the drink. You want to consume that stuff.
2) Emulsifiers aren't needed, although some people find that soy lecithin or milk help extract kavalactones. The vast majority of people only use water, because there doesn't seem to be much of a benefit of using emulsifiers... Except @Edward , who loves to use milk when mixing kava. I think he's crazy, but I also hope to share shells with him one day because he's super cool. Just no milk in my shell, please. ;)
Milk is more of an immediate potentiate rather than an emulsifier although I think it does help extract a few more kl's. I saw it here first...
Also the potentiate thing is a definite. If I drink without milk then drink milk after I get an immediate rush that can't be controlled, could be great, could be headspin nausea. Drinking the kava with the milk I can control the effects I get a lot better.

But @Kalm with Kava I'll hold the milk for you!
 

AlexisReal

Kava Enthusiast
Milk is more of an immediate potentiate rather than an emulsifier although I think it does help extract a few more kl's. I saw it here first...
Also the potentiate thing is a definite. If I drink without milk then drink milk after I get an immediate rush that can't be controlled, could be great, could be headspin nausea. Drinking the kava with the milk I can control the effects I get a lot better.

But @Kalm with Kava I'll hold the milk for you!
I agree with you Edward about the potentiation, although I can't take milk.

I do feel adding lecithin to the blender or aluballs does inctease the potency.

This vide was a dejavu for me. It must be the same guy, I saw an identically scripted video by, saying all the same things, except using lecithin instead of milk.

For the record, I like to call the "powder" sediment.

As said above, most vital is a sifficient strainer, not too low micron.

That done, the more visible sediment settled on the bottom, the better, IMO.
 

Plantacious

Kava Enthusiast
Milk is more of an immediate potentiate rather than an emulsifier although I think it does help extract a few more kl's. I saw it here first...
Also the potentiate thing is a definite. If I drink without milk then drink milk after I get an immediate rush that can't be controlled, could be great, could be headspin nausea. Drinking the kava with the milk I can control the effects I get a lot better.

But @Kalm with Kava I'll hold the milk for you!
If I remember correctly, you use Almond Milk instead of dairy milk, is that right ?
 

Jacob Bula

Nobody
Back when I was scared to drink my tap water, I would make kava with whatever I had in the fridge. When I ran out of bottled water, I used whole milk to knead the kava in as a substitute for water. It made a strong brew, and it actually tasted pretty good--similar to malted milk. I still prefer room temperature, plain water though.
 
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