Kava History Kava Shortage?

[PaulnFortWorth]

I'm seeing several sites including Art Of Kava that are out of Kava or have it on "pre-order". Art of Kava doesn't have a phone number to call. Anybody know what's going on?

 

[kasa_balavu]

AFAIK Art of Kava sources (at least their Fijian) kava in small batches from informal exporters found on Facebook. Perhaps the logistics and timing just haven't been fine-tuned, hence the inconsistency in supply.
But there is most certainly no shortage of kava in the Pacific Islands. There's more supply than there's ever been.

 

[Artofkava]

I'm seeing several sites including Art Of Kava that are out of Kava or have it on "pre-order". Art of Kava doesn't have a phone number to call. Anybody know what's going on?

Hey there! We ran into a larger than normal influx of orders. That combined with lockdowns in Vanuatu, Solomon and Fiji halted shipping. Those lockdowns were all over the islands and went on for awhile.

We do also order not too common single cultivar kava from vendors we spend a lot of time vetting. To be clear we don't just "find vendors on facebook". There's quite a lot of work that goes into finding excellent vendors and farmers. Vetting their kava and processes etc and moving on to the first test purchases for retail etc.

Since we do buy uncommon single cultivars we buy them in smaller quantities, until we find something people really like, then we buy more of it.

This is why we have the retail x preorder model. When you preorder, we add your order to our order. This makes sure we have enough kava for people that want it plus our budgeted amount.

Any time we have preorders, the details of why and the timing are posted directly on the product page.

Anyway there's no shortage of Kava. Any delays are due to lockdowns due to covid which have mostly been lifted. Island to island lockdowns will be lifted in June in vanuatu. Fiji is free to travel. Solomon is as well however there are delays and people are a bit more afraid to travel there. So our orders from there have been a bit slower.

If you'd like to contact us any time, there's a chat feature on the page. If youd ever like to email us, you can send it to [email protected]. We don't normally take calls as we don't have a call center set up to handle much of that. That's the best way to get accurate information. Anything else is generally speculation unless it's from a few specific people.

I hope all that helps, Bula!

- Zac
Aok

 

[kavaaa]

I'm seeing several sites including Art Of Kava that are out of Kava or have it on "pre-order". Art of Kava doesn't have a phone number to call. Anybody know what's going on?

Just wanted to say bula from south Fort Worth!

 

[kasa_balavu]

To be clear we don't just "find vendors on facebook".

Hey Zac, sorry if that came across negatively. I recall you saying that you were buying kava from rugby players you found on Facebook. I'm glad to hear that things have changed since then and that there's much more involved in your procurement process.

 

[Artofkava]

Hey Zac, sorry if that came across negatively. I recall you saying that you were buying kava from rugby players you found on Facebook. I'm glad to hear that things have changed since then and that there's much more involved in your procurement process.

That's ok! We kinda sorta did that when it started. It was more of a partnership and still is. That's where we get the Koro from when its able to be had. It's been next to impossible to get solid kava from that area for a little while now. We're working with the locals there to build better processes etc so the kava that can come from there is consistent, has a solid moisture content and is washed well. Or to pull, bail and ship green to the mainland so it can be processed there. It's a 12 hour ferry ride to get to the island then another 12 back, just to source 1 shipment..or to being farm equipment there etc. We're pretty much the only ones that can even get kava there right now even wirh the struggle of scaling it up from 20kgs at a time to a ton.

All of that was from a relationship that was cultivated from meeting on Facebook. So even when we do meet middle men, farmers etc there, there is and always has been a rigorous process of quality assurance from start to finish. The more we learn the finer that process becomes as well and we pass that along to our partners there.

I just wanted to make sure it's clear that we don't ever get a msg on Facebook from a rando amd say yaaah sure let's get a ton of that I'm sure it's OK lol. U didn't come off negative, but more looked like that. I just wanted to clarify and no offense is taken.

Thanks,

Zac

 

[Elmanaro]

I'm seeing several sites including Art Of Kava that are out of Kava or have it on "pre-order". Art of Kava doesn't have a phone number to call. Anybody know what's going on?

A couple of things have happened (at least in Vanuatu)

-Covid hit for the first time in March 1, we were under curfew for 2 months after that. No shipping and the price went up.

-Vanuatu banned kava export into Fiji because the Fijian vendors were repacking it and claiming it was from Fiji

-I have gotten word that there is a shortage of kava looming

-Australia allowed the import of kava and tonnes have been sent over there

El Manaro always has your back though

 

[Artofkava]

A couple of things have happened (at least in Vanuatu)

-Covid hit for the first time in March 1, we were under curfew for 2 months after that. No shipping and the price went up.

-Vanuatu banned kava export into Fiji because the Fijian vendors were repacking it and claiming it was from Fiji

-I have gotten word that there is a shortage of kava looming

-Australia allowed the import of kava and tonnes have been sent over there

El Manaro always has your back though

Yah and i think even just the singular islnds were locked down for intraisland travel for awhile. I know ambae at least was locked early this month for a couple weeks.