Just got my first Aluball. And some unanswered questions.

[Plantacious]

Gonna give this Aluball a go. Trad prep always seemed a huge time investment, so this thing may come as a relief.

However it did not come with any washing instructions at all.
Am I right to assume it's not dishwasher safe, since the box warns : "Do not use with hot water or in any manner not specified"
Although, I assume it's mainly referencing using it to make super hot drinks like coffee or tea, but I don't know if it can handle temperatures that are "less hot" than scalding coffee. What about warm or hot water from tap ?

Also, what cleaning detergents are safe ? Mild dishwasher soap okay ? Would it hurt to use vinegar to clean ?

It also says to replace the ball every 2 months. But if properly and regularly cleaned, would it hurt to keep them longer ?

And one question I've been wondering for a long time : Is there any downside at all, to using the Aluball,
versus Trad Prep ? Like potency, etc. ?

 

[kastom_lif]

I could be wrong, but the hot water warning is probably because shaking a sealed bottle heats up the air in the bottle. It can make the lid pop off as the air expands.

The balls are easy to wash with soap and water. They keep working fine unless you get a torn screen. The screen is same kind of woven stainless steel cloth used in "permanent" coffee filters.

Trad prep will get the most out of your kava powder. Some aluballers here seem to use balls for the first 2 washes and then store the makas in the freezer for trad prep.

 

[Plantacious]

Thanks.
How's this for an idea on how to clean it.
Follow the exact same instructions for making the kava.
Follow them exactly, to a T, with the only difference being, instead of putting kava inside the ball, put a couple drops of dishwashing liquid inside it.
Thank, shake, shake, shake, shake.
And rinse.

 

[Plantacious]

Does shaking it for more than the recommended 30 seconds get more out of it ? Or any particular techniques or levels of vigor that affect it ?

 

[kastom_lif]

To clean the balls I just rub them with soapy fingers and rinse. They are super easy to clean.

You'll figure out how long to shake once you get your balls. It depends on the shaking style and fineness of the grind. 1 minute is my standard, with 2 balls at once, side-to-side shaking only.

 

[Zaphod]

I use mine with hot tap water (and my tap water is pretty darn hot). Yes shaking causes a bit of pressure in and it sometimes leaks a bit because of it - but no big deal. I typically shake mine for 30-40 seconds, let it stand for a minute, then shake again. I can usually get two washes out 1 aluball filled 1/2 way. I have had mine for over a year with no tears in the screen and I use it 3-4 times per week. The rest of the time I do traditional prep.

 

[Plantacious]

I was kind of disappointed with it.
It makes weak kava. Not just due to the extraction method, but other factors.
For example, instructions say, to prevent ball from cracking while shaking, to fill it with liquid, over half full. That minimum liquid amount, ends up being about 16 oz, and way out of proportion with the maximum kava amount you can put in the ball. So it's a very diluted kava. And you end up drinking much more liquid by the time you finish, to the point your stomach can feel bloated from too much liquid.
Plus, the diameter of the balls is significantly smaller than the diameter of the bottle. The balls could have been made bigger, to fit more kava, and still be able to shake it.
The balls also feel flimsy, like they could easily break, if not handled with extreme care.

 

[Noname]

Aluball to me is just like for the heck of it type of thing. Just like smoking green Tabacco from a gas mask. Visually appealing but useless lol

 

[Plantacious]

I typically shake mine for 30-40 seconds, let it stand for a minute, then shake again. I can usually get two washes out 1 aluball filled 1/2 way.

It's very difficult for me to conceive the science of how you could get more kavalectones out of a 2nd wash.
If you're shaking it for that long the first time. then pour it out and simply just add another bottle full of water, and shake it the 2nd time, what kept the kavalectones that are released the 2nd time, from being released the first time ?

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

It's very difficult for me to conceive the science of how you could get more kavalectones out of a 2nd wash.
If you're shaking it for that long the first time. then pour it out and simply just add another bottle full of water, and shake it the 2nd time, what kept the kavalectones that are released the 2nd time, from being released the first time ?

insufficient maceration. More maceration will release more kavalactones. Up to a point.

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

Aluball to me is just like for the heck of it type of thing. Just like smoking green Tabacco from a gas mask. Visually appealing but useless lol

Using the combined AluBall plus trad prep method I get a yield of 24:1 on my grog, vs what I was getting with trad prep alone at 12:1 or 13: and that was using 4 washes, or what most people get, which is maybe 7:1 or 8:1 or as little as 4:1 or even 3:1.

Which means AluBall makes my grog potentially up to 8x cheaper than wha other people get, and twice as cheap as my very best methods without it. Plus it makes good grog quickly and with little effort. It's really hard to make a litre of decent grog with only 4 TBS in under 5 minutes by any other method. Plus, with the subsequent washes that ultimate yield on 4TBS will come in at a litre and a half. That is 6 large shells or 12 small ones from 4 TBS. To get 6 large shells a lot of other people have to use 16 TBS of grind, aka one cup.

The AluBall is a miracle, a work of genius.

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

I was kind of disappointed with it.
It makes weak kava. Not just due to the extraction method, but other factors.
For example, instructions say, to prevent ball from cracking while shaking, to fill it with liquid, over half full. That minimum liquid amount, ends up being about 16 oz, and way out of proportion with the maximum kava amount you can put in the ball. So it's a very diluted kava. And you end up drinking much more liquid by the time you finish, to the point your stomach can feel bloated from too much liquid.
Plus, the diameter of the balls is significantly smaller than the diameter of the bottle. The balls could have been made bigger, to fit more kava, and still be able to shake it.
The balls also feel flimsy, like they could easily break, if not handled with extreme care.

You can vary the number of balls and amount of water to make the grog as strong as you like. When I want a really strong grog I will put 6 TBS in 3 balls, 2 TBS in each ball because you never want to put in more than 2 TBS per ball and 1.5 TBS is ideal IMO, and shake with about 400ML of water. I assure you, that is strong grog. It is the only way I can entice euphoria out of nambawan, but it is a euphoria on par with any of the more notorious euphoria kavas. I didn't even know namabawan could be euphoric until I triple balled it.

 

[NileKinnick]

I don't have an aluball and haven't tried, but it seems as if the makas from aluball wash would be much better for a second or possibly third wash in traditional prep. Does the aluball do anything other than allow water in and out? Seems like you could get a lot more out of that powder if you aluball once, then throw it in with a traditional prep and actually knead it. I don't think this Borogu I have would do very well at all in aluball. The grind is a lot less fine than Borongoru or Supreme.

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

I don't have an aluball and haven't tried, but it seems as if the makas from aluball wash would be much better for a second or possibly third wash in traditional prep. Does the aluball do anything other than allow water in and out? Seems like you could get a lot more out of that powder if you aluball once, then throw it in with a traditional prep and actually knead it. I don't think this Borogu I have would do very well at all in aluball. The grind is a lot less fine than Borongoru or Supreme.

It is true that some grinds do better than others but the vast majority do well.

You could put the makas in the freezer after the first wash but I find I get the greatest yield by volume using 2 in the AluBall and 4 in the bag

 

[NileKinnick]

It is true that some grinds do better than others but the vast majority do well.

You could put the mamas in the freezer after the first wash but I find I get the greatest yield by volume using 2 in the AluBall and 4 in the bag

Shaking the bottle with the aluball causes enough agitation with 2 tbsp to mimic the grog you get from kneading 4 tbsp? Or do you mean a second wash with 4 tbsp that have already been used to prepare grog with the aluball?

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

Shaking the bottle with the aluball causes enough agitation with 2 tbsp to mimic the grog you get from kneading 4 tbsp? Or do you mean a second wash with 4 tbsp that have already been used to prepare grog with the aluball?

Sorry, to be specific I get the greatest yield doing 2 washes in the AluBall and then 4 washes trad prepping with a bag, 6 washes in all.

 

[Plantacious]

You can vary the number of balls and amount of water to make the grog as strong as you like. When I want a really strong grog I will put 6 TBS in 3 balls, 2 TBS in each ball because you never want to put in more than 2 TBS per ball and 1.5 TBS is ideal IMO, and shake with about 400ML of water. I assure you, that is strong grog. It is the only way I can entice euphoria out of nambawan, but it is a euphoria on par with any of the more notorious euphoria kavas. I didn't even know namabawan could be euphoric until I triple balled it.

But you need the newer Alubottle, as opposed to the Aluball, to triple ball it, right ?
Because I'm pretty sure the older Aluball model won't fit 3 balls.

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

But you need the newer Alubottle, as opposed to the Aluball, to triple ball it, right ?
Because I'm pretty sure the older Aluball model won't fit 3 balls.

I don’t have the new one, just a couple of the old ones. Yeah, three balls fit in just fine. Done it many many many many times.