Mo'i with Aluball?

[MikeB]

Hi everyone - time for me to stock up on some Mo'i.

I usually buy instant, but I just came across the Aluball and was very intrigued. Now I'm considering buying that instead.

What I don't understand is, what kind of Kava are you supposed to use with the Aluball? Med grind? Micro?

Has anyone used it with Mo'i and gotten good results?

Thank you!

 

[TheKavaSociety]

I've used medium grind mo'i with Aluball and I was very happy with the results. I've tried using one and two balls. Two balls made it almost too strong!

 

[MikeB]

OK, thank you!

How does it compare to Mo'i instant or micro? Are the effects pretty much the same?

Also, does 1 Tbsp med grind inside the Aluball equate to 1 Tbsp instant in water?

 

[TheKavaSociety]

Similar effects, but a different taste. Way smoother than micro, but also a bit more bitter if that makes any sense. I suppose the more pronounced bitterness results from me using warm water to prepare medium grind..
These days I use apx 50g of medium grind per session or 20g of instant.

 

[I don't know]

I have found that Moi works very well in the Aluball as well. I only use about a teaspoon of Moi, but I have been also mixing in some borogoru. I mix it with almond milk and it gets pretty strong at small amounts if I let it sit for 30 min before drinking.

 

[MikeB]

OK so wait, the general consensus is that med grind is *weaker* by volume than micro and instant?

 

[The Kap'n]

OK so wait, the general consensus is that med grind is *weaker* by volume than micro and instant?

Yep, that's right. Medium grind is, of the three, the weakest per volume, however it's the cheapest per volume, and you tend to get more out of it.

 

[MikeB]

@Kapmcrunk - what's the strongest by volume? Instant?

Is there a dosing guide or anything like that? 1 Tbsp of instant is like my standard, go-to dose. What would be equivalent to that for the other ones?

 

[The Kap'n]

@Kapmcrunk - what's the strongest by volume? Instant?

Is there a dosing guide or anything like that? 1 Tbsp of instant is like my standard, go-to dose. What would be equivalent to that for the other ones?

This is where it gets complicated. There really isn't any conversion chart, or dosing guide for kavas. One tbsp of one instant kava compared to another type may be comparing apples to oranges. What I can tell you is that I've, over the years, found that 30-40 grams of medium grind feels somewhat the same as 3 teaspoons micronized kava. 1:1 conversions are just about impossible due mainly to the fickle nature of all kavas.

Edit: Instants are generally the strongest by volume.

 

[MikeB]

OK yes, understand 1:1 conversions are impossible. FWIW, I've noticed that 1 Tbsp of micro and 1 Tbsp of Mo'i have about the same effects for me. 1 Tbsp is like my standard dose.

Regarding this:

> What I can tell you is that I've, over the years, found that 30-40 grams of medium grind feels somewhat the same as 3 teaspoons micronized kava.
​

In rough terms, what's that in terms of the same units? How many tsp is 30-40g med grind, how many grams is 3 tsp micronized?

 

[The Kap'n]

30-40 grams is about 5-6 tablespoons medium grind. In all honesty I never weighed micronized when I had it, so I don't quite know what a tablespoon of micro weighs. It should be around 6-7 grams, but I really don't want to say because I don't have the hard facts on that one.

 

[MikeB]

Oh wow. 5-6 Tbsp med grind feels somewhat the same as only 1 Tbsp micro? So it's about 1/5 to 1/6 the potency by weight?

 

[The Kap'n]

To clarify, it feels that way to me. It may feel completely different to you. That sounds about right though. I guess the best way to get the closest number is to completely dry out a batch of traditionally made medium grind and compare that to an equal amount of instant or micronized.

 

[Edward]

I still won't be convinced that instant is that much more expensive than any other form in the long run.

 

[MikeB]

@Kapmcrunk - OK, that's really great info. How do you rate instant vs micro? Understand it'll just be a rough ballpark estimate. Is 1 Tbsp instant = 1 Tbsp micro or something else?

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

Well instant in general is dehydrated fresh kava which throws in a different effect in general I think but maybe not..
I personally found instant to not hit the same as micro or medium... but hey idk. I never delved in enough... medium grind had a special place in my heart... I don't like adding plants to other stuff such as juice ect. I think it lacks the water to process the substance ... ya know? Like your body's too worried about the sugar ect. To handle all of it... so I end up tossing micro into water anyway and for some reason it's just grosser to drink for me... lol
I recommend you just get an aluball and medium grind and save the money... keep some instant or micro depending how more expertise members vote.. around just incase

 

[TheKavaSociety]

Proper micronised (i.e. free of coarse, kavalactone-poor fibres) is stronger per gram than medium grind, not only because you consume the whole thing (whereas you are never able to strain all lactones out of medium grind), but also because it only contains the richest parts of the roots. But micronised kava with makas/fibres is technically as strong as normal medium grind per gram. The only difference is that the tiny size of micronised particles makes it possible to consume it without any straining which mean you are able to access way more lactones than when you try to get them out of your medium grind with the traditional method.

Instant is stronger per gram as it's obtained by dehydrating the ready, potent drink.

 

[MikeB]

So let's say I *want* to just put the micro powder in the Aluball, for the purposes of straining it. Does that work? Am I even making sense?

 

[TheKavaSociety]

It would be absolutely pointless. The whole purpose of micronising kava is to make it so fine that it's not much of a problem for the stomach. Especially if all the hard fibres are removed. Some people say it means you get more stuff than with traditional extraction, but it's hard to tell whether that's necessarily bad. Either way, straining micronised is just a waste of time and money. If you do not like the grittiness of micronised kava, just buy traditional grind and strain it properly.

 

[Edward]

I've never used micronized so I can't say but I know when I am out and about working I use instant for convenience and when I am at home I like to use med grind usually these days with an aluball. I find instants to be just as good as any other kava if not sometimes better because the prep is less hit and miss but you can't get the same variety as you can with med grind so that's my rationale. If I could buy GHK products (instants) in the UK then I could foresee the time when I only ever use instant because I would have enough variety among moi, nene, mahakea, COV, QKP, BKH Instant Green, etc to get the variety I want and the effectiveness of instant.