Holy Crap.From the second i cut open the bag I knew I was in for an epic experience. As i peeled open the bag to take my first whiff the most pleasant fresh earth smell with hints of pine hit me, the earthy smell was undeniable, I wanted to dive in. The grind is a combo of smooth medium grind with large wood chip size pieces floating in it. But I had to wait 30 min to experience it. (I just drank Koniak for the second day in a row and it is starting to kick in as I am typing this, so we will see how long I can stay coherent.) To give you a hint of how strong this stuff is, The day before I received this sample from Judd and while I had guests coming over I couldn't mix up a batch so i dipped my finger into the powder on the bag. Within 15 min believe it or not I actually was feeling an effect just from licking a tiny bit of powder. So yesterday I had the ultimate test for Koniak, I was out all day and my back was killing me, I needed a strong muscle relaxer and pain reliever, enter: Koniak from Bula Kava House.
Judd request that I follow his prep technique exactly so he can compare it to what they are doing at the bar. I am a decent candidate as I drink a lot of PNG kavas to compare it to, and have a back injury that requires me to take a muscle relaxer and pain reliever daily. (oh crap its starting to hit me...) One of the stipulations in Judds request was to drink (2) 6-8 oz shells space 20 min apart. While I think this was a warning to not drink too much since it is so strong, for the sake of science I took it literally and had two shells even though I should have stopped after the first shell.
As I mixed up the batch (a 1 cup root to 3 cup water ratio) I blended and kneaded for 10 minutes and a strong piney fragrance began to emerge. The color was lovely, sort of a cafe au lait hue that just begged to be consumed. I have to say even with the incredible strength of this kava It is actually one of the easiest kavas to drink. I might be alone in saying this but I actually enjoy the taste of piney kava, and while this does have overtones of pine it isnt as overwhelming as chiefs jungle for example.
So here it goes, I drank 6 oz of the first batch and wait.... It definitely numbs the crap out of your mouth. As I sit and wait I go through my normal thoughts, hmmm, maybe this isnt going to kick in? maybe I need to drink more? but then as it approached the 15 min mark I was having a normal conversation with my wife and as I stared at her I broke out in uncontrollable laughter, like really uncontrollable, the kind of laughter that is funny at first, but then it got so bad that my wife walked away. I cant really think straight right now to remember but I think this hits you differently than chiefs jungle or boroguru (which acts like a png) in that the first effects I felt were in my head. SOrt of a floaty feeling creeps in, it makes my head feel funny and then there comes the laughter. The body effects are slightly more delayed, but once they kick in it hits you as strong as any kava I've ever had. And lasts, and lasts....
I should have stopped there, but for the sake of science and Judds experiment (and curiosity on my part) I decided to have a second 6 oz shell 20 min later. ok...this is when you begin to realize how strong this kava is. As my speech begins to slur as I attempt to talk to my wife, my vision begins to travel. Like I am trying to focus on something and my eyes literally drift apart. It is that strong. As I sat in my chair my muscle pain started to melt away and I became more and more relaxed the longer I waited. I do have to say I agree with Judds warning on this, be careful how much you drink, it could easliy approach nausea if you drink too much, it is VERY high dhm and dhk. Personally I would usually only drink the first shell, the second shell while it didnt make me nauseous did start to approach that direction. But let me tell you, I just woke up from 9 hours of the most peaceful sleep I have had in a long time. And for me it did have a slight second day effect, but there was nothing negative about it, it just felt like i took a high strength muscle relaxer and it hadnt worn off yet. My knees were still wobbly as I got out of bed. That didnt stop me though from taking another shell mid afternoon
This kava isnt for beginners, but for anyone looking for some of the most potent kava I have ever had you are going to flip when you try this out. If Nambawan is the strongest kavain based kava, this easily will grab the crown as the strongest dhm/dhk based kava. Just be careful and watch how much you drink, I imagine it would be really easy to go overboard really fast. Thanks for the experience Judd, I cant wait until this is available for sale.
Judd request that I follow his prep technique exactly so he can compare it to what they are doing at the bar. I am a decent candidate as I drink a lot of PNG kavas to compare it to, and have a back injury that requires me to take a muscle relaxer and pain reliever daily. (oh crap its starting to hit me...) One of the stipulations in Judds request was to drink (2) 6-8 oz shells space 20 min apart. While I think this was a warning to not drink too much since it is so strong, for the sake of science I took it literally and had two shells even though I should have stopped after the first shell.
As I mixed up the batch (a 1 cup root to 3 cup water ratio) I blended and kneaded for 10 minutes and a strong piney fragrance began to emerge. The color was lovely, sort of a cafe au lait hue that just begged to be consumed. I have to say even with the incredible strength of this kava It is actually one of the easiest kavas to drink. I might be alone in saying this but I actually enjoy the taste of piney kava, and while this does have overtones of pine it isnt as overwhelming as chiefs jungle for example.
So here it goes, I drank 6 oz of the first batch and wait.... It definitely numbs the crap out of your mouth. As I sit and wait I go through my normal thoughts, hmmm, maybe this isnt going to kick in? maybe I need to drink more? but then as it approached the 15 min mark I was having a normal conversation with my wife and as I stared at her I broke out in uncontrollable laughter, like really uncontrollable, the kind of laughter that is funny at first, but then it got so bad that my wife walked away. I cant really think straight right now to remember but I think this hits you differently than chiefs jungle or boroguru (which acts like a png) in that the first effects I felt were in my head. SOrt of a floaty feeling creeps in, it makes my head feel funny and then there comes the laughter. The body effects are slightly more delayed, but once they kick in it hits you as strong as any kava I've ever had. And lasts, and lasts....
I should have stopped there, but for the sake of science and Judds experiment (and curiosity on my part) I decided to have a second 6 oz shell 20 min later. ok...this is when you begin to realize how strong this kava is. As my speech begins to slur as I attempt to talk to my wife, my vision begins to travel. Like I am trying to focus on something and my eyes literally drift apart. It is that strong. As I sat in my chair my muscle pain started to melt away and I became more and more relaxed the longer I waited. I do have to say I agree with Judds warning on this, be careful how much you drink, it could easliy approach nausea if you drink too much, it is VERY high dhm and dhk. Personally I would usually only drink the first shell, the second shell while it didnt make me nauseous did start to approach that direction. But let me tell you, I just woke up from 9 hours of the most peaceful sleep I have had in a long time. And for me it did have a slight second day effect, but there was nothing negative about it, it just felt like i took a high strength muscle relaxer and it hadnt worn off yet. My knees were still wobbly as I got out of bed. That didnt stop me though from taking another shell mid afternoon
This kava isnt for beginners, but for anyone looking for some of the most potent kava I have ever had you are going to flip when you try this out. If Nambawan is the strongest kavain based kava, this easily will grab the crown as the strongest dhm/dhk based kava. Just be careful and watch how much you drink, I imagine it would be really easy to go overboard really fast. Thanks for the experience Judd, I cant wait until this is available for sale.
