Cool pics, were they drinking it fresh out there or pounding dry stuff ?
I like this creeper in the background, peepin' on Judd the Stud:
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Kava Exploration Tour Update
- Thread starter Bula Kava House
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I like this creeper in the background, peepin' on Judd the Stud:
Haha. Dude that's hilarious. I didn't even notice.Cool pics, were they drinking it fresh out there or pounding dry stuff ?
I like this creeper in the background, peepin' on Judd the Stud:
View attachment 7149
They're pounding dry root. At first I thought it was fresh because the only place I've seen this technique before was in Vanuatu.
Update: Made it to Tonga. Spent two days in Nuku'alofa. Not the most picturesque town. Arriving on a Saturday was a bad idea. Tonga shuts down on Sundays- like, literally everything is closed. Luckily there's this little offshore island that has a small resort and bar who saw the potential to capitalize on us traveling atheists by offering a transfer to the island, complete with lunch and beer. *Business trip game strong! Then Monday was a public holiday so the ferries weren't operating. I was hoping to get to 'Eua, a prime kava growing island but that would have to wait until Tuesday. Luckily I had a contact in Nuku, a former kava grower and current kava exporter, who showed me around and talked kava with me.
Finally on Tuesday I was able to get to the very quiet, rural, and undeveloped island of 'Eua. It's beautiful here, but there are no resorts taking advantage. Accommodation is simple but comfortable in the two or three options here. The people are extremely friendly, and white faces are pretty uncommon, so the kids get a kick out of saying "bye" when I walk by. Pretty sure they haven't figured out "hi" yet. Or they just want me to leave, haha. On my first day I was walking to check out the other guest house to see about food later (no restaurants on 'Eua) when a red truck stopped and a local woman with a peace corp volunteer asked if I wanted a ride. I jumped in and the conversation quickly move to kava when they asked what I was doing here. The woman said she had a plantation in "the bush", so after a quick stop by her home, where she had two decorative kava plants out front, and kava drying in an out building, we headed to her kava plantation where she also had papaya, taro, yams, and sugar cane growing. It was cool to see her small local plantation and she cut up some fresh papaya right off the tree and cut up some sugar cane to suck on.
Today I hit the mother load and it was glorious. I had come across a local contact here who I was told had a sizable plantation, and boy was it ever. After a rough ride to the bush we stopped to see the largest kava field I've ever seen. Some 50,000 noble kava plants as far as the eye could see. It was absolutely fantastic. Apparently nowadays there are seven cultivars growing in Tonga and this guy has all of them going. He's one of the few that doesn't just plant any kava. He knows the cultivars and plants with intent. We talked about increased interest in kava worldwide, environmental factors in growing kava, tudei, sustainable cultivation, and much more. This grower is the real deal.
Something of note: Using peeled stems for kava in Fiji, and especially in Tonga is becoming increasingly popular. In fact, pretty much all locally drank kava includes stems. The growers seem willing to separate them out for international sale, but only upon request, and if they get a higher price. I suggest any concerned customers ask their favorite kava vendors if their kavas specifically exclude stems. For the record, no kava we import now or will import in the future will contain stems.
Finally on Tuesday I was able to get to the very quiet, rural, and undeveloped island of 'Eua. It's beautiful here, but there are no resorts taking advantage. Accommodation is simple but comfortable in the two or three options here. The people are extremely friendly, and white faces are pretty uncommon, so the kids get a kick out of saying "bye" when I walk by. Pretty sure they haven't figured out "hi" yet. Or they just want me to leave, haha. On my first day I was walking to check out the other guest house to see about food later (no restaurants on 'Eua) when a red truck stopped and a local woman with a peace corp volunteer asked if I wanted a ride. I jumped in and the conversation quickly move to kava when they asked what I was doing here. The woman said she had a plantation in "the bush", so after a quick stop by her home, where she had two decorative kava plants out front, and kava drying in an out building, we headed to her kava plantation where she also had papaya, taro, yams, and sugar cane growing. It was cool to see her small local plantation and she cut up some fresh papaya right off the tree and cut up some sugar cane to suck on.
Today I hit the mother load and it was glorious. I had come across a local contact here who I was told had a sizable plantation, and boy was it ever. After a rough ride to the bush we stopped to see the largest kava field I've ever seen. Some 50,000 noble kava plants as far as the eye could see. It was absolutely fantastic. Apparently nowadays there are seven cultivars growing in Tonga and this guy has all of them going. He's one of the few that doesn't just plant any kava. He knows the cultivars and plants with intent. We talked about increased interest in kava worldwide, environmental factors in growing kava, tudei, sustainable cultivation, and much more. This grower is the real deal.
Something of note: Using peeled stems for kava in Fiji, and especially in Tonga is becoming increasingly popular. In fact, pretty much all locally drank kava includes stems. The growers seem willing to separate them out for international sale, but only upon request, and if they get a higher price. I suggest any concerned customers ask their favorite kava vendors if their kavas specifically exclude stems. For the record, no kava we import now or will import in the future will contain stems.
Now that's how it should be done! There's no reason to have kava shortages if everyone plants kava gardens like that one all over the place.
Can you ask any of these guys if they ever drink fresh kava still and also why they seem to prefer dry powder these days ?
In Tonga they still drink it green for special occasions, but mostly powdered. Probably due to shelf stability over time more than anything.
nabanga
Kava Enthusiast
Did you pass by the market in Nukualofa on the Saturday you were there, and if so did you see any stalls selling kilo bags round the back outside the main building? Three families from Vava'u are normally selling there. Its where I buy (personal stash) on my annual trips but have heard it has all dried up this year. I'd be interested to hear if you saw them selling there..
Great photos again! Pangiomotu island is my regular sunday spot (or did you head to Fafa Is?)
Great photos again! Pangiomotu island is my regular sunday spot (or did you head to Fafa Is?)
kastom_lif
Kava Lover
Apparently Tofua has giant gardens that people from Ha'apai tend once in a while. It's a big old volcano with no local population. I wonder if it's local use only or do they sell it in Nuku'alofa?
I'm told it's great kava, and I could maybe get my hands on some. It's reputation may be more due to the difficulty of acquiring it than anything though. There's no place to dock a boat so after the plant is uprooted it is thrown into the ocean, which cleans it and allows pickup by boats at sea.
Went by the market but didn't go in. Not sure if there's Vava'u kava there, but it's not hard to find in town.
Pangiomotu is where I went Sunday. Nice spot. My perfect version of a funky beach bar and restaurant.
nabanga
Kava Enthusiast
A friend in Nukualofa was fisheries officer in Ha'apai for 15 years, and had a boat to travel round the group. He told me the Tofua volcano has the best reefs, fishing and (mostly untended) gardens if you can get there. He said these days only the occasional fishing boat and charters go there (a bunch of Peace Corps went camping there when I last visited) . Here's a pic (40x zoom) I took of it from Foa a couple of years ago.
kasa_balavu
Yaqona Dina
Thank you for sharing these awesome pics, Judd.
@Bula Kava House Will you be selling a 100% Samoan kava in the near future?
Kavafied
Kava Vendor
Awesome....'Eua Kava is the best!!! That's where my family immigrated from and where all the land is that we own on the south side. Hope you got to get some dives in while there. They got some of the craziest underwater caves off the shelf on 'Eua.
@KrunkyMonkey Yes! Just secured it today! They start processing 100% Fagaloa kava tomorrow. Allowing for a little "island time" in there, I hope to have it shipped in two weeks. Maybe ready to sell in three. It won't be cheap, there's just so little coming out of Samoa right now, but it will be some of the best kava you've ever tried.
Back in the good ol' U S of A after six weeks of kava drinking and general tomfoolery in paradise. I wasn't very active here or anywhere on the interwebs over the last ten days or so due to slow internet connection in Vanuatu. So here's a little update:
I pretty much went straight to Tanna after my time in Tonga. I was hoping to talk to people there about the kava export industry and possibly find an exporter for the famed Tanna kava. Tanna kava is well known throughout Vanuatu for its potency and quite a few kava origination stories say that kava actually comes from Tanna originally. I went to kava bars and talked to kava farmers, but I'm sad to say I had my first strikeout of the trip. Unfortunately, Cyclone Pam destroyed most of the Tanna kava while it basically sat on top of those poor islanders for about three days. They're still growing kava for local use, and it's damn strong, but nobody is exporting Tanna kava at the moment. I did my best to get the word out, telling growers and locals how much people are paying for good kava (per kg., kava farmers do pretty well, compared to other crops, even when exporting or selling to an exporter at wholesale prices), and encouraging more growth. We'll see if that means anything to them in the next few years. I did have one "first" in Tanna. I saw my first Piper Wichmanii plants. They look just like kava, but a little "off". They were flowering like crazy with long red flowers all over them.
I also got to check out the very active Mt. Yasur volcano which explodes and rumbles and shoots lava high into the air. Really amazing and definitely the "tourist" highlight of the trip.
After Tanna, I spent some time in Port Vila with one of my exporters. He's a Ni Van guy and has some great insight into the industry from a ground level perspective. I saw his facility where he re-cleans and re-dries the kava he gets from the farmers, and I was happy to see it is looking quite advanced compared to most kava processing in the pacific. I also spent some time with another couple guys I know in the kava industry that work out of Vila. They showed me their facility where they process a kava "resin" from green kava. It's about 35% kl and is meant to be used in other products like chocolates, juices, etc. They gave me a couple kgs. to play with after enjoying the Vila nakamal scene.
*As an aside- Jesus. I thought we made kava strong at Bula Kava House in Portland. I've drank kava in Vanuatu before but I forgot about how ridiculously potent it is there. Nothing compares to green root kava at a kava bar in Vanuatu. I went cross eyed on more than one occasion.
At the end of my trip I went to another island to visit my other Vanuatu exporter. This guy's processing is the only western standards kava processing plant in the world that I've seen. It's a sight to see. Unfortunately, he only allows people to access very limited areas because his drying and pounding techniques are "top secret". This is the one exporter I know of that buys green kava from the farmers and processes and exports himself. He does this to ensure quality and because once kava is dried, it's nearly impossible to ensure it's noble. He says even green, every once in a while a grower will try to sneak in some tudei but you can tell when you hack into the stump. He said that tudei is hard and is like chopping into a hardwood table, and that noble is much softer. He explained that tudei will also ooze yellow from the "ring" inside the stump, whereas a nice noble is white. The ground level, intimate kava knowledge this guy has blows my mind. When you've been working with as much kava as he has for as long as he has, from planting to powder, the knowledge level is hard to match.
After six weeks in Kava Land, I was ready to go home, and just arrived yesterday evening. It was a very successful trip. I learned a lot, talked to some true experts, and found some amazing kava to share with the world. Our Taveuni kava is already in transit, 'Ava Fagaloa is in process and should be available before Christmas, and I'm just working out the details for the amazing Tongan kava I found. You all will have some awesome kava to try and review very shortly.
I would like to say that I was both encouraged and discouraged by the state of kava in the pacific on multiple levels. Firstly, it's disheartening to hear the stories of storms and drought that have affected these farmers so heavily. Most have moved on to grow crops that mature and produce more quickly so they'll be okay, but kava pays better than most of those crops, and when the kava is planted among taro, yams, paw paw, etc. it can help them diversify and still make good money. Unfortunately though, the vast kava fields and relatively high kava yields from the south pacific will take some time to return, if they ever do. The good thing is that they're planting better kava now, and less tudei in Vanuatu, so if and when stocks go back up, we'll have a higher percentage of really good quality kava hitting the market.
I also want to take this opportunity to encourage kava customers to demand that the people they buy from test their kavas for chemotype/nobility, but also for microbiological contaminants. At Bula Kava House we've been very selective about the growers and processors we choose to do business with, but often, kava is processed in manners that would get them shut down in North America or Europe. Cleaned in bad water, kava being chopped up on dirty floors with insects and pets freely walking around, etc. Yes, kava does have some antibacterial properties, but they're limited and since the testing is a legal requirement by the FDA anyway, better safe than sorry.
Okay, that's all. Now pictures.
Some local Ni-Van kids in Tanna with Mt. Yasur crater in the background. They love having their picture taken.
Me at a Tanna Nakamal with Jack.
Drinking kava in the traditional way at the nakamal in Tanna. You get your shell, head off to the side and drink it facing out. No clapping or cheers. Just chug, spit a bunch, go sit down under the tree, talk a little bit, and spit a lot more. Probably the strongest shell I've ever had.
Kava processing in Vanuatu. This is the first quality check of the green kava. Check out those HUGE stumps. They're from six and seven year old Borogu plants. The employees chop into the stump with a machete. If it sinks in easily and is white inside with a ring that looks a certain way they knows it's Borogu. Borogoru and Melo Melo also look a certain way inside, and any tudei has a certain feel when you chop into it and look at the flesh inside. If a quality checker finds something they think is tudei, they show it to the boss to confirm, then it is tossed and the grower that brought it isn't paid.
I pretty much went straight to Tanna after my time in Tonga. I was hoping to talk to people there about the kava export industry and possibly find an exporter for the famed Tanna kava. Tanna kava is well known throughout Vanuatu for its potency and quite a few kava origination stories say that kava actually comes from Tanna originally. I went to kava bars and talked to kava farmers, but I'm sad to say I had my first strikeout of the trip. Unfortunately, Cyclone Pam destroyed most of the Tanna kava while it basically sat on top of those poor islanders for about three days. They're still growing kava for local use, and it's damn strong, but nobody is exporting Tanna kava at the moment. I did my best to get the word out, telling growers and locals how much people are paying for good kava (per kg., kava farmers do pretty well, compared to other crops, even when exporting or selling to an exporter at wholesale prices), and encouraging more growth. We'll see if that means anything to them in the next few years. I did have one "first" in Tanna. I saw my first Piper Wichmanii plants. They look just like kava, but a little "off". They were flowering like crazy with long red flowers all over them.
I also got to check out the very active Mt. Yasur volcano which explodes and rumbles and shoots lava high into the air. Really amazing and definitely the "tourist" highlight of the trip.
After Tanna, I spent some time in Port Vila with one of my exporters. He's a Ni Van guy and has some great insight into the industry from a ground level perspective. I saw his facility where he re-cleans and re-dries the kava he gets from the farmers, and I was happy to see it is looking quite advanced compared to most kava processing in the pacific. I also spent some time with another couple guys I know in the kava industry that work out of Vila. They showed me their facility where they process a kava "resin" from green kava. It's about 35% kl and is meant to be used in other products like chocolates, juices, etc. They gave me a couple kgs. to play with after enjoying the Vila nakamal scene.
*As an aside- Jesus. I thought we made kava strong at Bula Kava House in Portland. I've drank kava in Vanuatu before but I forgot about how ridiculously potent it is there. Nothing compares to green root kava at a kava bar in Vanuatu. I went cross eyed on more than one occasion.
At the end of my trip I went to another island to visit my other Vanuatu exporter. This guy's processing is the only western standards kava processing plant in the world that I've seen. It's a sight to see. Unfortunately, he only allows people to access very limited areas because his drying and pounding techniques are "top secret". This is the one exporter I know of that buys green kava from the farmers and processes and exports himself. He does this to ensure quality and because once kava is dried, it's nearly impossible to ensure it's noble. He says even green, every once in a while a grower will try to sneak in some tudei but you can tell when you hack into the stump. He said that tudei is hard and is like chopping into a hardwood table, and that noble is much softer. He explained that tudei will also ooze yellow from the "ring" inside the stump, whereas a nice noble is white. The ground level, intimate kava knowledge this guy has blows my mind. When you've been working with as much kava as he has for as long as he has, from planting to powder, the knowledge level is hard to match.
After six weeks in Kava Land, I was ready to go home, and just arrived yesterday evening. It was a very successful trip. I learned a lot, talked to some true experts, and found some amazing kava to share with the world. Our Taveuni kava is already in transit, 'Ava Fagaloa is in process and should be available before Christmas, and I'm just working out the details for the amazing Tongan kava I found. You all will have some awesome kava to try and review very shortly.
I would like to say that I was both encouraged and discouraged by the state of kava in the pacific on multiple levels. Firstly, it's disheartening to hear the stories of storms and drought that have affected these farmers so heavily. Most have moved on to grow crops that mature and produce more quickly so they'll be okay, but kava pays better than most of those crops, and when the kava is planted among taro, yams, paw paw, etc. it can help them diversify and still make good money. Unfortunately though, the vast kava fields and relatively high kava yields from the south pacific will take some time to return, if they ever do. The good thing is that they're planting better kava now, and less tudei in Vanuatu, so if and when stocks go back up, we'll have a higher percentage of really good quality kava hitting the market.
I also want to take this opportunity to encourage kava customers to demand that the people they buy from test their kavas for chemotype/nobility, but also for microbiological contaminants. At Bula Kava House we've been very selective about the growers and processors we choose to do business with, but often, kava is processed in manners that would get them shut down in North America or Europe. Cleaned in bad water, kava being chopped up on dirty floors with insects and pets freely walking around, etc. Yes, kava does have some antibacterial properties, but they're limited and since the testing is a legal requirement by the FDA anyway, better safe than sorry.
Okay, that's all. Now pictures.
Kava processing in Vanuatu. This is the first quality check of the green kava. Check out those HUGE stumps. They're from six and seven year old Borogu plants. The employees chop into the stump with a machete. If it sinks in easily and is white inside with a ring that looks a certain way they knows it's Borogu. Borogoru and Melo Melo also look a certain way inside, and any tudei has a certain feel when you chop into it and look at the flesh inside. If a quality checker finds something they think is tudei, they show it to the boss to confirm, then it is tossed and the grower that brought it isn't paid.
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Señor Chuggs
Friend of Kava
@Bula Kava House your trip sounds awesome. Very excited to see some new varieties.
It was great! I actually just got the shipping documents for the Taveuni Waka not 10 minutes ago. You won't have to wait long. Please let us know what you think when you try one of our new products.
A few more.
Mount Yasur after sunset. Crazy how close you can get.
Tanna kava bar.
The original Bislama term for helicopter. Epic.
The original Bislama term for helicopter. Epic.
Honestly, six weeks wasn't near enough time to see all the places I did. Felt like I was always on the move. If you've only got a week or two, sticking to one, maybe two countries is the way to go. Fiji is definitely the most traveler friendly with regards to flights, accommodation, and infrastructure. They're all beautiful and vastly different from each other though and have their own individual charms, of course.I can't wait for that Samoan kava
Awesome pics! I'd like to do that one of these days. Although I'd probably go to Fiji and just chill there.
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