Kava keg... If only?

[krunkedout]

So whilst walking through the super mart today, I saw a whole bunch of those counter top water jugs. The kind that has the pull out spout and holds around 2 and a half gallons. I thought to myself, boy that sure would be nice to have one of those sitting around filled with easy-access kava. So thus brings me to a couple questions. How long would kava last if I made it and put it in this and placed that in the fridge? Is there some way to make it last longer? And what if you were able to pressurize kava into an actually keg? Would it stay good because it's stable and pressurized? It would be a neat idea for a nakamal to have certain kavas "on tap". Perhaps someday I will put this into my own nakamal... Assuming the economy grants me to open one.

 

[The Kap'n]

Unfortunately with kava you're dealing with a suspended solid in a liquid matrix. You would have to have a circulating pump or a stirrer inside to keep everything evenly mixed up. Think one of those lemonade drink machines you see at gas stations that look like they shoot the lemonade to the top of the drink machine. You would need something of the sort. Or if you didn't mind shaking your container every time you draw some off. I've seen reports that you don't want to keep kava over 3-4 days. I'm sure someone will chime in on that.

 

[kl.new2kava]

Yeah it would get tiresome as you would need to shake it eveytime you poured. The only way it would work without the shaking or mixing is to make your kava with some non-alcohol liquid that kavalactones are truly soluble in. Seeing how they are usually lipid soluble and drinking a glass of lipids would be fairly disgusting and likely cause serious nausea. Possibly some sort of colorless and hygroscopic liquid like Propylene glycol which is used by pharmaceutical companies to disolve medications that are insoluble in water for liquid preparations. Though the toxicity level is pretty high you would have guzzle cups of it and gallons within a month it may have some nasty side effects in additon to tasting like ass.



Kapmcrunk is totally right that you don't want kava sitting in the fridge longer than a few days. The best method I've seen for making and storing fresh made kava is to freeze bags of it, there is a member here who does that and that is friggin brilliant. You could extrapolate that concept to kapm's idea about the gas station lemonade machine and instead use a slush puppy machine that keeps the kava still frozen but enough of a liquid to be pliable and drinkable as well as constantly stirring. That would allow you an on demand system that would keep a large quantity of kava readily available indefinately, but the logistics as well cost and effort would really make tough.

 

[The Kap'n]

Slush puppy machine would probably leave you in the same situation. Frozen drink machines generally need about 3 gallons of mix to keep the mix low sensors satisfied. If they detect low mix levels they still refrigerate but they will no longer freeze in order to prevent a freeze up which I've seen totally destroy a $7,000 machine. They also store most of the product in the hopper in the top which doesn't get stirred. We've frozen country time lemonade in a spare slush machine and even that mix separates. I bet the best option would be batch freezing. They use a special machine to make gelato and sorbet. That one may be a better option but with very low to no sugar level that may freeze up too. I'll keep thinking of ways to do this. I wanted to try freeze drying but holy crap I don't have a spare $9,000 laying around.

 

[krunkedout]

Hmm sounds like this is a bit more complicated than I thought.. A simple pump system would be able to keep it mixed I'm sure, it's just the freezing that gets me. And since it won't keep very long unless it's frozen.. Heres an idea, an ice machine. Just have it dispense kava ice cubes into your shell. Or you could just fill up your bowl with the ice and just leave it for a bit. It's definitely less convenient than a slush machine or keg because you have to have to let it melt.. If only there was a way to make just liquid kava last longer than 3 or 4 days.

 

[The Kap'n]

You could always freeze it into the ice cube trays and then keep them in a ziplock. Believe me the ice machine idea would leave you mad. Ice is gradually frozen to the evaporator while water flows over which removes impurities. You'd be left with a kava paste and a bunch of calcium. Family business. Ice machines. I wake up thinking about them. Not proud about it.

 

[kavalover]

I want a drinking fountain in my home that dispenses kava instead of water.



Yes.



Yes yes.