Hey, thanks for gettin’ back! Just dropping a nugget of something. Mainly curious if Kona Kava products, especially their extracts, have made anyone sick via contamination i.e. heavy metals, etc? Because I’m such a newb to the kava world I took the info posted on KavaDotCom @ face value, thinking “well, it can’t be that bad”, but it turns out their just another marketplace selling inferior products whose bottom line is driven solely by profit…big surprise there lol! Anyway, I’m kicking myself a bit for having continued to use it (have stopped now) after the first dose did absolutely nothing. Right now, I just wanna know what good kava is supposed to feel like because I wanna be less reliant on benzos for anxiety. Anyway, I’ll check out the vendors posted here. Sorry no one’s tried to update that price sheet. Thanks!
I had the same experience with the 70% extract from Kona Kava. I have been using the 30% extract from Kava Depot and it is quite strong and very effective. If I wait 3-4 hours from my last meal, take 2 teaspoons, then wait one hour before eating again, it sometimes ends up being too much, but it is certainly always effective. They also have a pre made option sold in a jug called Bula King but I haven’t tried that because it has natural flavorings and I don’t want those toxins in my system if I can help it, but it would be a convenient easy option if that is not a problem for you, although I would imagine it has a relatively short shelf life.
Their customer service and transparency are unparalleled. Many of their offerings are organic and they will provide a certificate of analysis (COA) upon request which they will actually send to you as a print out on paper through postal mail.
The downside is that this extract is only available in bulk so it is a hefty initial investment but if used strictly with proper timing between meals, you can get good mileage out of it. Their sales manager is named Tony Sabeh. He is very available and responsive. The 30% has been on sale recently but I haven’t checked that lately. If you contact him via email or phone and explain your situation, he may be able to work something out for you like a payment plan. He has really gone out of his way for me, even answering emails after hours.
I did not ever personally get sick from anything I got from Kona Kava and their medium grind Mahakea and powder root plus are decent. Their best offering is the Easy Strain Instant which I may still get at some point.
The consensus here is that traditionally prepared medium grind kava is the best way to go as far as price and safety are concerned, but it is messy and labor intensive even if using a blender. Groggy found that a small portable clothes washing machine can reduce some of the labor involved. Just weigh the kava or spoon it out, toss it in the machine, add whatever amount of water works for you, then run a cycle and voila. The alluball can be a good workout by shaking the bottle vigorously for five minutes per wash if you are up to that.
If you choose to use the traditional method kneading the bag in a bowl and you do this often, Groggy says the Kap’m suggested that he use nitrile gloves to reduce the risk of dermopathy on the hands. Some say the kneading itself is like a stress ball and contributes to the anxiety relief. I would imagine shaking the alluball in a bottle may also help work out some stress.
If money is not a problem for you, any offering of fresh frozen medium grind from the Pu’uohoku Ranch is tha absolute best overall. Second to that, in my opinion, would be Squanch Waka, which I highly recommend. As a close third would be Root of Happiness (ROH), especially their 11 year waka. Following closely behind that would be Kalm With Kava (KWK) and Bula Kava House (BKH).
BKH has the highest quality and most affordable micronized, but micro tends to have the most side effects and most here believe it is not worth the convenience.
ROH has a line of extracts available in smaller amounts but at a higher unit price as well as kava shots but I have yet to try either one.
