Milk or water?

[kl.Elizabeth]

I just received my order of Vanuatu3 from Kava by Rex.  I've never made kave before, I've only had capsules.  I'm wondering if it is better to use milk, since Kava isn't water soluble.  Also, if I have a friend who will try it, but won't drink a lot of it how strong should I make it?  Would 1 Tbls. of kava to 1 cup be enough to feel an effect for a first time user?

 

[kl.Sub.chemtrails]

Don't use milk. Your logic is correct but the experience is horrible. Rather, add some soy lecithin or a bit of heavy cream to the water solution and blend. Kava is stange in that when you are adapted to it, you will need less and less for the same effect. There is no idea in starting out slowly. Make a potent brew, have a few shells. If nothing happens. Leave it alone for a day or two. Repeat.

Also because the taste does not actually get better if it is a thin brew IMO. On the contrary. Not enough kavain to cause mouth  numbness and a slight loss of taste so you get the whole taste experience from a weak brew. Its not much of an experience really.

 

[kl.Elizabeth]

Oh, no.  I just put it in milk right before reading this.  I was going to wait until later to makes it, but, well,... Why is the experience horrible?  Is it just the taste?

 

[Kojo Douglas]

I've never tried it. But yeah, milk and Kava doesn't sound good.

 

[kl.Elizabeth]

I did it in milk, because herbs that aren't water soluble can be extracted in milk with better results.  
I just had my first cup.  My mouth is slightly numb, but not too bad.  Hopefully I made it right.  I went ahead with the 1 Tbsp. to 1 cup ratio.  Is this strong enough for Vanuatu3, or should I have put more kava?

 

[kl.Project460]

Whats better than pure milk is a 1:1 ratio of milk and water. Or just make it with water and add some milk afterwards. Ive never tried pure milk before.

1 tbsp to 1 cup is pretty weak. I actually just made some van3 with half a cup of root to 5 cups of water. especially since your a first time user, you probably wont really feel effects yet. But you will soon enough
(as you probably know you must pay your dues to the kava gods before they give you the ability to get krunk)

 

[kl.Elizabeth]

Yeah, it's too weak.  I will have to make it stronger.  My friend is coming over tomorrow and she's never tried it.  I feel the effects some, but I've been taking quite a bit of kava capsules for the last couple of weeks.

 

[kl.rcoz]

van3 is my favorite. I like 1c root to 6-7c water, others here will say that's too much and they're probably right. I add 1tbs of veg oil, I'm still on the fence if adding oil makes it more potent.

 

[Vekta]

You only need 1/4 of a cup of milk if you're going to use milk at all. The rest should be water. Coconut juice is easier and it has fat content so you get two things from one, sweeter taste and added fat.



For a smooth kava drink, get some of those knee high nylons from the drugs store for a $1.00. Put 2-3 tablespoons of root in the knee high and tie a knot so it keeps the kava in a ball. Then knead and squeeze the kava for 10 minutes. Don't be afraid to really put some finger muscle into it. There are other ways to do it but this has worked great for me. Good luck.

 

[kl.Elizabeth]

So, now I've experimented a little.  I don't notice any difference with milk vs. water in effect.  I've tried ratios of milk, too and no difference.  The one thing I haven't tried is coconut milk.

 

[kl.r3mote]

vanuatu3 tastes AMAZING! no need to cover it up!

i made a post in the fiji emporium thread detailing the squeeze method -  i hope it helps some of you! : http://kavalounge.yuku.co.../Waka-from-Fiji-Emporium

 

[Kojo Douglas]

tried making some kava tonight with milk (added to water, of course) and it tasted really good, but didn't seem to bond as well with milk as soy lecithin...