Kava Recommendations for Newcomer

[Juju]

Howdy folks and jokes, here are my answers

• Which vendor did you purchase your kava from.

• Kona Kava from Kava.com

• What type of kava are you drinking. (Instant, micronized, or traditional (medium-coarse) consistency)

• Instant

• If provided, which strain of kava you have purchased.

• Don't know

• How often are you drinking kava, and how long have you been drinking kava overall.

• Last Tuesday and today (Thursday)

• How much kava are you consuming per session (grams/ounces tablespoons/teaspoons).

• 10-15 g

• What method are you using to prepare your kava? (Toss & Wash or Traditional (knead & squeeze))

• Blending it up and drinking it

I just learned about kava last week and have been trying out my first ever batch of Kona Kava Instant. I've only now been reading reviews about this brand online and the consensus seems to be it's terrible I did end up with some lip tingling and mild, mild feelings of sedation, and even though I may well have bought an inferior product, I do foresee making kava a nice part of my relax-by-the-sunset routine. My questions are, what products would you recommend and how much is a good amount to take? Is the whole straining thing necessary to make a more potent batch (and bang for your buck) or are the instant versions just as good?
Also, do you mix anything in that's good at blunting the bitter aftertaste?

Thanks so much for your advice!!

 

[kavadude]

I recommend a sample pack from any of the vendors with sample pack. Gourmet Hawaiian Kava or Kalm With Kava, I think.

I believe traditional preparation is better in terms of effect and cost efficiency, but some instants are good.

Good amount: depends entirely on you, I would start with 4 tbsp of medium grind traditionally prepared or 1 tbsp of instant and just increase as necessary.

 

[Sam Handwich]

The sampler from GHK is awesome for newbies because it comes with Medium grind, micronized and instant in three different high quality kavas.

 

[theGrogfather]

Welcome @Juju
I agree with Sam hamich, might as well experiment with all three to decide on your own which you'd prefer. It's been a general consensus around here that medium gives more bang for your buck, however I've never actually had micro or instant so can't personally say. I'm a bit of a hard head and it takes me 7-8 tbsp to get desired effects, everyone is different.
There are lots and lots of great threads to look through for more info. Most recent one on masking kava flavour and acquiring a taste is here
http://kavaforums.com/forum/threads/acquiring-the-taste.8086/#post-96421
There are plenty more!

 

[ThePiper]

Go with GHK

 

[Deleted User01]

@Juju, welcome to the forum. I gotta admit that I favor GHK too. @Gourmet Hawaiian Kava is the only guy I know that grows, harvests, and processes his own kava. I just feel a little safer with him but there are quite a few decent vendors in this forum that try hard to bring a safe quality product to the table as well. I guess I'm also enamoured with Chris's goal which is to grow the 13 Kavas of Hawaii and make them available to the public as they come to fruition. Cool concept.