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Is warm/hot water Evil?

tribal1209

Kava Enthusiast
Why is it warm/hot water isnt traditionally used? Is it a safety thing? Is it a taste thing?

What im really asking is, if I prepare Kava in a traditional method BUT with water thats warmed a bit to help make a stronger grog....have I just turned my batch into a liver melting brew from hell that will cause me to become a Simpson character (get it? Jaundice?)?
 

The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
I'd say it was more of an issue of having a hot water source around. It produces a much stronger tasting brew, so people have gone with room temp or cold to reduce the bitterness in recent times. I've always thought that the bitterness coincided with the effectiveness or strength of the kava.

To answer you question though, no, you'll be just fine. I've used 120°F water for over a decade and while it does make a more vile tasting kava, it also makes for a stronger kava. As we are becoming aware, the price of kava isn't headed south, so to me it's about strength and getting the most for your buck.
 
D

Deleted User01

There was a study done that said that 120 was ideal for potency. The taste sucks of course. If I am also blending, I will use 130 to blend. By the time I get to the kneading, then the temp is at around 120. I rarely do traditional Kava, but when I do, I use every trick in the book to maximize potency.
 

Kojo Douglas

The Kavasseur
Recently I've been using cold water to make Kava. As in, actual cold water. After messing around with the recipe for years, I think I've finally come to the conclusion that it makes little to no difference. It's much more important to have not eaten than to use warm water in prep
 

Groggy

Kava aficionado
Admin
I never measured the water temp when I knead, but I always use hot water from the tap, my tap water gets pretty hot, so much so, I recently bought a pair of thick dish washing gloves that I reserve for kneading kava. Plus it helps diminish that wrinkly old man's hand I get from constant kneading.

I only use cold water in the Aluball.
 

Vladimir Lemon

Kava Curious
Similar to others, I use moderator warm water (maybe around 120F) for kneading but just normal cold tap water for the aluball.
 

Krunkie McKrunkface

Kava Connoisseur
seems no doubt that warm water will extract more of the kavalactones and possibly even more types that are in the root.

what may be in doubt is whether or not that's what you want. Is more better for all purposes?
 

RevRad

Kava Curious
Do not use water above 115-120f unless you want to end up with a ball of jello that is completely unstrainable because it has dissolved starches.

I ruined half a sample sized bag of Vula Waka from KWK by putting 135 degree water through it. Made it completely unusable.
 

yiki

Kava Enthusiast
I have tried this numerous times but will stop using warm/hot water. The reason is simple:

seems no doubt that warm water will extract more of the kavalactones and possibly even more types that are in the root.
It does seem to extract more sedating lactones therefore destroying a more pure, heady effect.
 

Krunkie McKrunkface

Kava Connoisseur
I have tried this numerous times but will stop using warm/hot water. The reason is simple:



It does seem to extract more sedating lactones therefore destroying a more pure, heady effect.
That is my general experience so far. Cold for headiness and krunk, warm/hot for heavy and body. No "right" or "wrong" it just depends on what you want.
 

bupkys

Newbie
I'm just going to chime in and echo what krunkie mckrunkface has been considering. I believe that cold to warm is going to provide a more thorough extraction of the good, without going to far and extracting all the oopsie. And the more you go from cold to warm to cold to warm the more you will extract. Obviously it's kind of pointless unless you are seriously trying to conserve. Warm to cold to warm might be the best but I've yet to try that.

I'm no expert and fairly new to kava in general. First experience was probably in like 2017, so take what I say with a grain of salt.
Using an aluball:
I've found that if you'd start with cold + have a fatty substrate, whole milk works best, but some coconut oil does the trick. Agitate and let sit in the freezer or fridge for a bit until you start to see the oil solidify. Agitate and wait (or not. doesn't take long). (Before you let the solid oil bits melt, if you take a spoon and scrape them off the sides you'll notice they pack a punch.) Then take it out and continue to agitate and you will notice the solid oil bits start to melt slowly over time. They will begin to combine into an oil. This seems to do something, not sure what, but you will notice a thick film of oil forming at the top.

So my conclusion is that it's definitely not either/or, it's for sure both and ultimately preference, convenience, etc. I do notice that there are various "qualities" to the potion, some I'm sure have more to do with body composition and gut microbiome diversity than what you're getting out of the agitation. However, there does seem to be more euphoric and uplifting forms that the KLs take and also more sedating and trippy they take as well. It's not mutually exclusive, but for me the sedating feelings are more "trippy" and the uplifting feelings are more "euphoric". I might just be saying nonsense so I'll shut up for now and see what kind of response I get.


Oh shit and I just realized this thread is from 2017 so probably none, lol
 

IberiKava

Atlantic KavaLover
However, there does seem to be more euphoric and uplifting forms that the KLs take and also more sedating and trippy they take as well. It's not mutually exclusive, but for me the sedating feelings are more "trippy" and the uplifting feelings are more "euphoric". I might just be saying nonsense so I'll shut up for now and see what kind of response I get.
I honestly have the same feeling. Sometimes I want the trippy sedating feeling but some other times it's not what I need..
the thing is that the times that I did with warm or more hot water (not sure the exact temperature to be honest) the results were not better and I had more stomach distress, so since that happen more than once I stopped using warm water. Probably with warm water is more consistently powerful but also more consistently nauseauting (at least for me).
 

yiki

Kava Enthusiast
I only use cold filtered water now, I learned with Alia and just keep it traditional but it also tastes a hell of a lot better.
I know before you also tried boiling it and were kind of intrigued. I also experimented with this a few days ago and it was fascinating how much "spent" kava would still yield. But i also got very very nauseous and that feeling lasted for at least 24h.
 

kavakarma

Kava Enthusiast
I use cold water for traditional prep, except rebrews. I store my leftover kava in the freezer, and it needs to be thawed somehow. Last night I heated up some water as if I was making oats, scooped frozen roots into the strainer, and grabbed into the hot water to begin kneading.

I remembered the water was blazing hot, so I then put my hand inside the strainer and used the frozen roots to cool the water. It reached hot bath temp by the time most ice chunks were gone and room temp when all were melted. If I end up with it too hot, it will taste starchy and not so great, which if it is more potent doesn't help me because I achieve potency by drinking more kava, haha.
 

kw2292

Kava Curious
I have an electric kettle and usually heat my water very briefly up to like 100-110 degrees. It seems to give me an easier extraction, and by the time I drink it’s back to room temp
 
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