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Powdered Kava Mighty Tongan

TheKavaSociety

New Zealand
Kava Vendor
We've always loved Tongan kavas for their mild, almost milky flavour, uplifting and heady effects with a pleasant and longer lasting heavy finish. A few months ago we decided to try to find the best example of a great Tongan kava... and to make it even better. A friend of ours was travelling around Tonga so we asked him to collect samples from different villages and farms in some of the regions known for good kava. After a few weeks I picked up a box full of samples and we spent the next couple of weeks running some serious organoleptic tests ;).

I was amazed to see that in many cases the same cultivar grown in the same region could look, smell, taste and feel so different, depending on who grew, harvested and processed it. It appears that farming skills are as important as environmental and biological factors when it comes to kava quality. Out of all the samples we eventually selected one that appeared extraordinarily clean, smooth and yet very effective. We then got in touch with the grower and asked him if he could perhaps consider making a stronger version of his already excellent kava. As some of you might know, unlike in Fiji, in Tonga nobody separates kava into waka and lawena. Instead, all powders contain a similar proportion of the lateral roots and stump. We asked the farmer if he could make a "waka" version of his kava, or at least increase the ratio of lateral roots. His initial reaction was "what? why? no, it would be too strong". To which I replied "nah, I am sure it will be great". The farmer just kept saying "why would you want it stronger" but eventually agreed to make some for us. He sent it to us via plane as soon as it was ready. We vacuum sealed it just a 24 hours after he finished processing and pounding to prevent any loss of freshness or potency.

We then organised a big session to test it again. It was love at first sight, or at first shell: strong, but easy to drink; mentally uplifting, but also deeply relaxing. Simply perfect. Just to be 100% sure I sent a sample to True Kava and it was unsurprisingly confirmed to be noble and pure (i.e. no aerial parts).

It's a very smooth kava that offers the uniquely Tongan hit of blissful joy, otherwise known as "Tong" ;). But due to its higher content of lateral roots, it is not only stronger, but also has a more balanced, deeper character than most Tongan kava. A perfect combination of an unusually mild flavour with beautiful and strong effects.

Very limited availability. The farmer processes all his kava by himself or with the help of his son, he doesn't trust anyone else to work on his kava. He has a few regular customers in Tonga and doesn't want to disappoint them, so it's hard to secure a regular supply. However, we will try to keep a few kgs for anyone from the kava forums who might be keen to try it.
 
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