Kava FAQ Just got FijiVanuaKava's sample pack in the mail, questions for those who've taken any of these strains

[BourbonMac]

Sorry for the caps, just too lazy to do more than copy paste from the site.

LOLOMA WAKA, MALO TONGA, KAVA VANUATU, OLD ROOTS, LEWENA & SANTA CRUZ -- these are the provided strains. I know their Vanatu is good, KWK Loa Waka (is that what the first strain here is or slightly different?)

I won't be trying any until tonight and am unsure which to try. I had Vanatu last time and it was good but icky. Then again they all taste like old shoes lol. I can't find much info on some of these especially this "old roots" one. Malo Tonga sounds like the one I may try tonight, I could mix strains but I don't know if that'd be worth it, I'd rather know what they individually feel like.

 

[Groggy]

LOLOMA WAKA - This is a wonderful blend of lateral and stump root, mellow flavor, on the heady, light side.

MALO TONGA - The most euphoric kava from the lot, very light and pleasant taste, can brew stronger with more root.

KAVA VANUATU - As you know, the heaviest in the bunch, I like to mix this with Lewena or other Fijians, great on it's own at night.

OLD ROOTS - A kava containing a larger amount of lateral roots and therefore it is a bit punchier, with more euphoric and pronounced effects.

LEWENA - light, all stump, great early morning, daytime or kava for mixing.

SANTA CRUZ - Extremely wonderful, somewhere in the more sedative realm, excellent as well.

(I'm lazy too)

 

[BourbonMac]

Seems accurate with the Loloma Waka. It does feel more mild, heady, and the flavor isn't that bad. Freshly warm grog and I was like wow, this is so much more mild tasting than the Vanatu, I almost like it. I'd guess the more bitter the more potent the effect.

Does seem heady though indeed. Although sometimes for some reason I get an almost dysphoric feeling after initial euphoria, I can't really explain it. That's kind of what happened here. It's happened maybe 2-3 times. I felt great, then suddenly I felt kind of flat. Not done with the cup though. I know once I add THC it will bring out euphoria like crazy though, it always does.

I'll probably try Malo tomorrow given it sounds more euphoric in general.

 

[BourbonMac]

The Molo certainly had a lighter flavor. I can't speak about euphoria just yet, I've only been doing 20g though. Sometimes that's been enough, but I think 40g is the sweet spot. I've been trying to balance it with like, 2g extract and then this. The extract really is useless but it seems like it's made the 20g feel more like 40g at times. By itself, nothing. The last time I got an extract it was great, this time around I haven't gotten any effects from it whatsoever.

 

[Groggy]

The extract really is useless

Try to remember this in the future, it is a waste of money.

I am not touting to be any sort of expert on extracts (I use many other types). I speak purely from experience and my own personal journey down this path. It may seem I try to beat this point down peoples throat, but it it simply an attempt to save you all a bunch of trouble, that I have already been through.

 

[ThePiper]

Krunky nailed it. I like the lawena the most. Great for starting a long day where you need to be immersed in what you are doing and not distracted by anxiety

 

[BourbonMac]

Yeah I'll be doing all regular today. The extract as I'd mentioned worked very well the first time I got it but the 2nd time it's just disgusting yellow powder.
Probably aiming for 40g tonight, maybe more. I've read around 50g is good in general. I had 60g of Loa Waka from KWK awhile back and barely felt anything, but FijiVanua's stuff seems to be more potent (also where the extract was from but clearly something went wrong with the 2nd batch). Either way yeah, I'm tossing it. This can't do anything for me at this point. Maybe my body now that it recognizes a proper kava buzz just doesn't really respond well to the extract.

 

[BourbonMac]

Few questions. I strain with hot water and add an ice cube after, then after I have like half the cup (I don't have shells atm, I juse use solo cups), I pour in almond milk to make the rest of it taste better. This shouldn't reduce the kavalactones right? I wouldn't think so given the hot water is what extracts it, and afterwards it should be fine. Some people use room temp water, but I heard about the ice cube awhile back.

Had 20g of Molo, currently sipping on another 20g of Santa Cruz. Feeling pretty sedated and calm so far. So much more natural feeling than the extract. With the last extract, at one point I kind of took way too much by mistake and I felt like I was on MDMA and then it turned sedative, the extracts are wildly unpredictable. It FELT similar to MDMA but it was nowhere near, and that level of euphoria felt unhealthy to me. It's hard to explain, I really don't want that out of kava. I just want to chillax, really. So far, feeling pretty chillaxed. Maybe I'll add another 10g of Vanatu after this depending on if I'm too krunk lol.

I've gotten pretty krunk a few times, mostly with the micronized before, but I don't really want to try that form again. It may be a bit more potent but it causes dermopathy easier I believe. Straining it would also cut the potency since it's supposed to be more potent. I'd been doing it unstrained before and good God was this not cool with my stomach after awhile, and was utterly dreadful to drink. Clumpy mud water that made my mouth and throat go numb for almost 10 minutes and I couldn't taste anything to mask it.

Had a brutal headache earlier and I think it's helping. It hasn't eliminated it but it's helped. Wisdom teeth related, I'm getting them out on March 13th, at least the top 2. Bottom 2 are impacted but no issues from them and I'd prefer to only get the problematic ones out right now. Kava will probably be off the menu in that case, but who knows. If I strain it well enough I can't imagine getting root/dirt in the holes unless I'm chugging the last sip which always seems to settle. So if I don't do that, I should be good I think.

Update: doing 20g more of the old root, so I'll be at 60g. Pretty high dose so I hope I don't feel sick or something lol. I have an iron stomach though. I'm mostly just sedated, and I kind of spaced out each drink by about 30 minutes. Is this good or bad? I've heard staggering in such a way can be good. I have strainer bags but I use an AluBall mostly because I don't notice much difference between the two. The bag is slightly more potent, but the ball is so handy. Problem is I only have one, I need to buy another ball so I can do 40g in one drink instead of having to keep cleaning it out. Although I guess if I put more in even if there's remnants, it should be no issue. It's just extra slush with a tiny bit of kavalactones left.

Update part 2: yeah I think I should've just done 10g this time, I feel like, really lethargic. Relaxed, but lethargic. I should do only the heady kava next time, but 40g is more than enough to feel good.

 

[Groggy]

I strain with hot water and add an ice cube

Sometimes I wish I could go back and change all my posts (I can but I won't) to reflect that a cold water extraction is the actual proper way to go. I fell victim early on, to the notion that hot water extraction was more effective when in reality I was slightly altering the beverage and frankly not getting the traditional experience.

Is there anything wrong with hot water extraction? In theory no, it works the same and some will argue it may make it more potent, because hot water seems to more easily dislodge kavalactones from the kava makas or fiber. I don't know if that is entirely true, maybe @The Kap'n or @Alia can weigh in on the actual details, but I find cold water extraction to be the truest reproduction of how it was meant to be consumed.

On a personal note, cold water extraction makes for a much better tasting experience than any other method I have used.

 

[Alia]

Sometimes I wish I could go back and change all my posts (I can but I won't) to reflect that a cold water extraction is the actual proper way to go. I fell victim early on, to the notion that hot water extraction was more effective when in reality I was slightly altering the beverage and frankly not getting the traditional experience.

Is there anything wrong with hot water extraction? In theory no, it works the same and some will argue it may make it more potent, because hot water seems to more easily dislodge kavalactones from the kava makas or fiber. I don't know if that is entirely true, maybe @The Kap'n or @Alia can weigh in on the actual details, but I find cold water extraction to be the truest reproduction of how it was meant to be consumed.

On a personal note, cold water extraction makes for a much better tasting experience than any other method I have used.

I always go back to the Journal of the American Medical Association's 2010 editorial
on why the FDA should reconsider those kava safety warnings
(get shut of them):
"the traditional kava beverage is pre-
pared by cold water extraction of its roots. Historic use shows
that kava is safe under the strict control of the rituals of Pa-
cific cultures. The traditional beverage is consumed on a daily
basis without apparent adverse effects, and kava cultivars
considered as noble ones have a long tradition of safe use."
My personal experience is that the only times I ever got dry skin or nausea after drinking kava
was when I drank it prepared with hot water.
The original Codex alimentarius Kava Standards stated "cold water" but cold got dropped
and only "potable" remained.
Potable water has an array of definitions - springs, water wells, etc.

 

[BourbonMac]

Well I know one thing.... I can NOT do 60g. That was way too much. I actually felt something like a hangover, ableit not as long lasting, but it came with the side of a major panic attack. I'm not someone who gets them, but I woke up breathing heavy, lethargic, nauseous. Phew, 40g and that's my limit. I don't need to get krunk. I just need to feel nice. I can at least say that the sum of long-term sleep deprivation can't help much, I mean I've been doing better lately but still. Multiple things at play here. I just think regardless, 60g is going over the limit by far.

I haven't felt any ill effects while actually on it. So cold water is just as good, then?

 

[_byron]

I always go back to the Journal of the American Medical Association's 2010 editorial
on why the FDA should reconsider those kava safety warnings
(get shut of them):
"the traditional kava beverage is pre-
pared by cold water extraction of its roots. Historic use shows
that kava is safe under the strict control of the rituals of Pa-
cific cultures. The traditional beverage is consumed on a daily
basis without apparent adverse effects, and kava cultivars
considered as noble ones have a long tradition of safe use."
My personal experience is that the only times I ever got dry skin or nausea after drinking kava
was when I drank it prepared with hot water.
The original Codex alimentarius Kava Standards stated "cold water" but cold got dropped
and only "potable" remained.
Potable water has an array of definitions - springs, water wells, etc.

In addition to this the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) specifically still includes cold water.

I really wish the hot water prep was wiped from the internet. Making kava with hot water and calling it kava is like making cold brew coffee and just calling it coffee.
Even the place where this was started from Bittenbender's CTAHR method was misunderstood. In his papers he determined 98 degrees Fahrenheit was the max temp suggested.

As far as I know there haven't been any studies to show that there is a different kavalactone ratio being pulled out with hot water, but that is what I believe we would see if such study existed.

 

[BourbonMac]

I'll have to try it with cold water. It obviously tastes way better this way and saves me time from microwaving water.
But yeah... damn. That was some kind of overdose. I awoke to a severe panic attack. I know it wasn't all the kava, more my erratic sleep schedule. Either way, 60g is excess, I only need 40g to feel good, and that's all I really want. I don't need to get fucked up on the stuff in an alcohol like way. I've been sober from booze for 3 years next week.

Trying Lewena tonight. WOW does this one taste good, or like, extremely mild, the most mild I've had so far. Definitely on the headier side, I can see daytime use good for it. But honestly at this point I think I don't want to do it every night. I've only stuck to it because I'm pretty positive it helps my tinnitus a lot, but I have to stop it a few days to really be sure. I'm like, 70% sure it's helped my ears be generally better but then I'll still have awful days anyway. The fact is my ears were way better today overall after that 60g. Could be coincidence, but I don't know. When I did micronized for weeks my T was lower by a lot. I run out, it seems to come back worse. Even with the extract it helps, but ugh, don't remind me of that disgusting piss tasting yellow clumpy crap. "dissolves in water" ...yeah, no, it doesn't lol.

Also a weird side effect, it lowers the pitch of sound/music. Not a ton, in fact it's probably equalizing it. I've tended to hear things in a slightly higher pitch. I have perfect pitch so these things really stand out to me. Prednisone, that steroid, does this even worse. There's this medium low pitch I have now, and there's the Prednisone low pitch where music becomes unlistenable. I end up having to download songs, go into sony vegas and raise the pitch myself. I have an equalizer extension as well on Edge but it can distort the audio slightly.

 

[JohnMichael]

In addition to this the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) specifically still includes cold water.

I really wish the hot water prep was wiped from the internet. Making kava with hot water and calling it kava is like making cold brew coffee and just calling it coffee.
Even the place where this was started from Bittenbender's CTAHR method was misunderstood. In his papers he determined 98 degrees Fahrenheit was the max temp suggested.

As far as I know there haven't been any studies to show that there is a different kavalactone ratio being pulled out with hot water, but that is what I believe we would see if such study existed.

Yes. Although cold water in Melanesia probably meant, historically, around 80* F.

 

[Alia]

Yes. Although cold water in Melanesia probably meant, historically, around 80* F.

Yes, good to add that @JohnMichael . By "cold" it's like what comes out of the tap or a water-well head like what I have.
Another point about "hot water" extraction...depending on the temperature could it be detrimental to beneficial volitales in kava??
We all may remember the recent study-- "Investigating volatiles as the secondary metabolome of Piper methysticum...".
Some of those include anti-cancer and anti-anxiety .
One that comes to mind is camphene.

 

[BourbonMac]

My tap water is freezing so that's out, I do have a brita though. Kavafied recommends to use room temp water when I've seen him talk about the AluBall. My house is freezing in the winter so I usually microwave it until it's at least warm.

 

[BourbonMac]

Combined Lewina and Malo tonight, finishing up the Malo. Great synergy, pretty euphoric and a bit stimulating. No rash to speak of so this clearly isn't from kava itself but the other factors. I mean I've heard of dry hands from kneading and I don't really get any issues with that, though I usually use the AluBall. It's slightly less potent, but I don't really care about the difference for convenience.

Update: my upper chest/neck area is suddenly very irritated and itchy, it wasn't before. Looks like I'm getting dermopathy after all :/ this sucks. I mean it's not scaly but it is red and prickly. Damn. This stuff is the miracle for my tinnitus and great for anxiety but apparently I can't use it every day even though I have been for over 2 months now in various forms. Micronized, extract, gaia herbs tincture (noble actually). How could medium prep cause me more skin problems than micro or the extract? My most itchy irritated lower area doesn't itch now though so I'm confused. The upper chest/lower neck region is seriously bad right now though. I've never had an outbreak after consuming it. Maybe it depends on the strain or something, Idk. Guess I have no choice but to take some days off or just have 20g at night to help with my tinnitus in general. I was fine until I finished the extra 20. Holy hell this is uncomfortable.