D
Deleted User01
Introduction.
You have the 13 original colonies and you have the 13 Kavas of Hawaii . I have to admit that the concept of 13 kavas is very appealing to me because it is part of the culture and history of Hawaii. My goal is to sample each one as they become available and "study them" so to speak. Kumakua doesn’t come along that often and I wanted to do something more than a review. So I explained to Chris what I wanted to do and begged him to sell me whatever quantity of micronized Kumakua that he had in his personal stash. Well, that cost me an extra week on the delivery time of my normal order but it was worth the delay. Many thanks to Chris.
Color and Taste
Very light color like Nene with almost no discernible taste like Nene. I really like the taste of this kava because there is barely any taste. Also I wanted to mention that I gave anxiety 3 stars only because I don't do Heady Kavas for anxiety. I use heady kavas to erase the afternoon doldrums and this allows me to continue to be productive till the end of the work day.
Comparison to Mo’i
So Mo’i is my goto daytime Kava. Heady kavas are not for everyone and make some members "edgy". With Mo’i, I typically get immediate effects. This could be a Pavlovian effect but that’s what happens. With Kumakua, it creeps up on me and it took maybe 5 minutes to become fully entrenched in my system. I felt like both gave me the same effects. So I give the edge to Kumakua because of the taste factor and color. Mo’i is darker and has more taste. I’m not the kind of guy that tastes baked bread, cinnamon with vanilla overtones, and scent of banana in my kava. It either tastes bad or it has no taste. So Kumakua wins based on "no taste".
Chemotypes:
We haven’t talked about chemotypes in a while and so I researched the chemotypes to compare KumaKua against Mo’i and a heavy one, Hanapaki ‘Ai.
Kumakua is 462351. 12 percent Kavalactones
Moi. 463251 14 percent Kavalactones
Hanakapi Ai. 423651. 15 percent Kavalactones
So both Moi and Kumakua exchange numbers in postions 3-4 with 23 for Kumakua and 32 for Moi. The 2 is the DHK kavalactone which is a double bonded kavalactone known to be sedating so perhaps Kumakua is more sedating/heavy than Mo’i and may explain the numbing of my throat. Mo’i has a higher percent of Kavalactones and yet I didn’t feel any discernable difference in potency between the two though Mo’i does come on faster. When you look at Hanakapi Ai, the DHK Kavalactone (#2) is in the second position and thus promises to be more sedating and it most certainly is sedating yet not as heavy as some Kavas whose chemotype begins with 2. You can read more about chemotypes by using the KavaPedia at the forums. You can also check out this link http://www.kavalibrary.com/Chemotypes.html. I will also remind everyone that we have talked endlessly about doing kava by the numbers (chemotype) but it never perfectly works out. It makes me think that there is a host of other botanical chemicals and minor Kavalactones in kava which work together to create a specific effect.
Kumakua - Some Facts
I googled Kumakua and found little. I had to resort to our esteemed member and Hawaiian ‘Awa historian, @Alia, for information about Kumakua. He reminded me about a book about Hawaiian Kava co-written by Ed Johnston and Helen Rogers entitled Views of an Ethnobotanical Treasure.
I wanted to upload a picture but the upload button wasn't cooperating for me this morning. Here is one on The Kava Library.
Here are some facts gleaned from @Alia:
The Hawaiian Dictionary describes K makua as "a variety of ‘awa with green internodes of medium length" (Pukui and Elbert 1986, 34). Recently, this cultivar has been called "Puna green."
Kumakua is a dull green with few lenticels. Young shoots show striation and mottling, but, as they mature, the stalks lose these markings. The plant's growth habit is normal. See picture below.
A reference to this cultivar is found in the writings of the Reverend Stephen L. Desha, which were translated from the Hawaiian for the book Kamehameha and His Warrior Kek haupi‘o (2000, 145). Desha says that "ka ‘awak makua" was among the offerings Kamehameha set before his god, K k ‘ilimoku, with the body of K wala‘ after the battle of Moku‘ hai.
Kawika Winter's master's thesis comments that: "Although no records are known to exist about the meaning of this name, it could possibly be a shortened version of the word "k -ma-kuahiwi," or "stands in the mountains." If this is true, then its name could possibly be an indication of its ecological habitat. It might suggest that this is a variety that is suited for mountainous areas." (2004, 86).
Cuttings of this cultivar, Kumakua, were collected in 1996 in an abandoned ‘awa field on the slopes of Mauna Loa in upper Kalapana, Puna. It was part of an old planting that extended through several acres of ‘ hi‘a and h pu‘u forest on state-owned land. The site had other features related to Hawaiian gardens, such as rock walls, and could have been considered a historic site. Around that time, the high prices being paid for ‘awa on the U.S. mainland and in Europe put historic forest plantings at risk from pillagers, who were shipping out large quantities of ‘awa. Their method was to rip out the ‘awa completely without replanting. That is what ultimately happened to this huge patch, which consisted of K makua and Mahakea varieties that may have been there for hundreds of years. Because access required an hour of forest hiking, the thieves constructed a roadway to the ‘awa with a bulldozer. They completely eliminated the planting and destroyed the historic site. (Dang, more Kava Rustling during the Kava Craze in 1990s. Jman)
Conclusion:
When you research the 13 kavas of Hawaii, you will learn about Hawaiian Geography, the Dieties of Hawaii (11 main ones and total of 400), the migration of the Polynesians, and of course the importance of kava to the Ancient Hawaiians. I encourage everyone to delve into Hawaiian culture and history and perhaps gulp a shell of Hawaiian Kava to help guide you through your journey.
P.S.
Here is a kava forums link to a recent thread where @Alia explains the names of the Hawaiian Kavas. http://kavaforums.com/forum/threads/meaning-behind-the-names.10971/
You have the 13 original colonies and you have the 13 Kavas of Hawaii . I have to admit that the concept of 13 kavas is very appealing to me because it is part of the culture and history of Hawaii. My goal is to sample each one as they become available and "study them" so to speak. Kumakua doesn’t come along that often and I wanted to do something more than a review. So I explained to Chris what I wanted to do and begged him to sell me whatever quantity of micronized Kumakua that he had in his personal stash. Well, that cost me an extra week on the delivery time of my normal order but it was worth the delay. Many thanks to Chris.
Color and Taste
Very light color like Nene with almost no discernible taste like Nene. I really like the taste of this kava because there is barely any taste. Also I wanted to mention that I gave anxiety 3 stars only because I don't do Heady Kavas for anxiety. I use heady kavas to erase the afternoon doldrums and this allows me to continue to be productive till the end of the work day.
Comparison to Mo’i
So Mo’i is my goto daytime Kava. Heady kavas are not for everyone and make some members "edgy". With Mo’i, I typically get immediate effects. This could be a Pavlovian effect but that’s what happens. With Kumakua, it creeps up on me and it took maybe 5 minutes to become fully entrenched in my system. I felt like both gave me the same effects. So I give the edge to Kumakua because of the taste factor and color. Mo’i is darker and has more taste. I’m not the kind of guy that tastes baked bread, cinnamon with vanilla overtones, and scent of banana in my kava. It either tastes bad or it has no taste. So Kumakua wins based on "no taste".
Chemotypes:
We haven’t talked about chemotypes in a while and so I researched the chemotypes to compare KumaKua against Mo’i and a heavy one, Hanapaki ‘Ai.
Kumakua is 462351. 12 percent Kavalactones
Moi. 463251 14 percent Kavalactones
Hanakapi Ai. 423651. 15 percent Kavalactones
So both Moi and Kumakua exchange numbers in postions 3-4 with 23 for Kumakua and 32 for Moi. The 2 is the DHK kavalactone which is a double bonded kavalactone known to be sedating so perhaps Kumakua is more sedating/heavy than Mo’i and may explain the numbing of my throat. Mo’i has a higher percent of Kavalactones and yet I didn’t feel any discernable difference in potency between the two though Mo’i does come on faster. When you look at Hanakapi Ai, the DHK Kavalactone (#2) is in the second position and thus promises to be more sedating and it most certainly is sedating yet not as heavy as some Kavas whose chemotype begins with 2. You can read more about chemotypes by using the KavaPedia at the forums. You can also check out this link http://www.kavalibrary.com/Chemotypes.html. I will also remind everyone that we have talked endlessly about doing kava by the numbers (chemotype) but it never perfectly works out. It makes me think that there is a host of other botanical chemicals and minor Kavalactones in kava which work together to create a specific effect.
Kumakua - Some Facts
I googled Kumakua and found little. I had to resort to our esteemed member and Hawaiian ‘Awa historian, @Alia, for information about Kumakua. He reminded me about a book about Hawaiian Kava co-written by Ed Johnston and Helen Rogers entitled Views of an Ethnobotanical Treasure.
I wanted to upload a picture but the upload button wasn't cooperating for me this morning. Here is one on The Kava Library.
Here are some facts gleaned from @Alia:
The Hawaiian Dictionary describes K makua as "a variety of ‘awa with green internodes of medium length" (Pukui and Elbert 1986, 34). Recently, this cultivar has been called "Puna green."
Kumakua is a dull green with few lenticels. Young shoots show striation and mottling, but, as they mature, the stalks lose these markings. The plant's growth habit is normal. See picture below.
A reference to this cultivar is found in the writings of the Reverend Stephen L. Desha, which were translated from the Hawaiian for the book Kamehameha and His Warrior Kek haupi‘o (2000, 145). Desha says that "ka ‘awak makua" was among the offerings Kamehameha set before his god, K k ‘ilimoku, with the body of K wala‘ after the battle of Moku‘ hai.
Kawika Winter's master's thesis comments that: "Although no records are known to exist about the meaning of this name, it could possibly be a shortened version of the word "k -ma-kuahiwi," or "stands in the mountains." If this is true, then its name could possibly be an indication of its ecological habitat. It might suggest that this is a variety that is suited for mountainous areas." (2004, 86).
Cuttings of this cultivar, Kumakua, were collected in 1996 in an abandoned ‘awa field on the slopes of Mauna Loa in upper Kalapana, Puna. It was part of an old planting that extended through several acres of ‘ hi‘a and h pu‘u forest on state-owned land. The site had other features related to Hawaiian gardens, such as rock walls, and could have been considered a historic site. Around that time, the high prices being paid for ‘awa on the U.S. mainland and in Europe put historic forest plantings at risk from pillagers, who were shipping out large quantities of ‘awa. Their method was to rip out the ‘awa completely without replanting. That is what ultimately happened to this huge patch, which consisted of K makua and Mahakea varieties that may have been there for hundreds of years. Because access required an hour of forest hiking, the thieves constructed a roadway to the ‘awa with a bulldozer. They completely eliminated the planting and destroyed the historic site. (Dang, more Kava Rustling during the Kava Craze in 1990s. Jman)
Conclusion:
When you research the 13 kavas of Hawaii, you will learn about Hawaiian Geography, the Dieties of Hawaii (11 main ones and total of 400), the migration of the Polynesians, and of course the importance of kava to the Ancient Hawaiians. I encourage everyone to delve into Hawaiian culture and history and perhaps gulp a shell of Hawaiian Kava to help guide you through your journey.
P.S.
Here is a kava forums link to a recent thread where @Alia explains the names of the Hawaiian Kavas. http://kavaforums.com/forum/threads/meaning-behind-the-names.10971/
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