Kava Preparation Mr. Kava Machine?

[HeadHodge]

I'm not sure I agree with that, I've never personally gotten satisfactory results from my blender. That said, I have a shitty blender, and most people who do that seem to have some kickass TV blender for ninjas, so maybe it's just me.

You have a shitty blender, because you spend all your money on teapots.

 

[HeadHodge]

I'm not convinced that agitation is enough. I've tried various blender speeds and times, and they don't really work at all for me. There needs to be actual pressure applied to the wet root, forcing the lipids out.

Doesn't centrifugal force create pressure?

 

[HeadHodge]

I like where your going with this, I think a washing machine most closely matches what we need our kava machine to do. Agitation in warm water followed by filtration. In our miniature washing machine, the basket could be some fine stainless mesh. The filtrate could even be pumped back into the basket after a spin cycle, followed by agitation and filtration again. The whole process of agitating and filtering could be repeated multiple times to enhance extraction.

You get it!!!

 

[HeadHodge]

Just spinning around in water wouldn't do it. The only real pressure is when the blades contact the ground root, and that's more of a slicing action, really.

I was more referring to my spin dry method, not a blender.

 

[HeadHodge]

BTW, ultrasonic does work, it's one way to disrupt the cells without direct pressure. Here's my thread on the old forums: http://kavalounge.yuku.com/topic/995#.VNOyu_54oXF

Copied to new thread.

 

[punatic]

Well if ultrasonic works well maybe that's the answer. Using the washing machine idea, instead of agitating, the kava slurry can be sonicated for a set amount of time and then strained by spinning. Seems like it would be a good all in one solution.

 

[HeadHodge]

Well if ultrasonic works well maybe that's the answer. Using the washing machine idea, instead of agitating, the kava slurry can be sonicated for a set amount of time and then strained by spinning. Seems like it would be a good all in one solution.

That could explain why my grog comes out so good, because I'm always yelling at my mutt. By doing so, my kava must be getting sonified.

 

[BULABUCK]

Love u guys this thread is outrageous....

 

[BULABUCK]

What a fantastic idea! I do not like the kneading process and have never gotten good results (I'm a newbie and may have also bought some inferior product). And I love the idea of extraction from actual plant material vs via solvents.
I"m also a bit of a maker and hang out at a maker space from time to time...and know a maker expert. I can ask and ponder some of the questions about this topic.
It would be fantastic if a bread maker could be adapted to work with a bag of the powdered root.

@BULABUCK - every time I see your profile picture I am soo glad that it exists. I love it.

Thank u I love it too.

 

[Jake o Links]

you guys is crazy!!!... but I like it

 

[HeadHodge]

Here's another possibility:

Vacuum press:

The sliding piston assembly is then installed. The vacuum pump evacuates the carboy (or other vacuum capable vessel) and applies a vacuum under the false bottom of the WineEasy™ fermentor. This causes atmospheric pressure to push down on the sliding piston, pressing the pomace to the ideal maximum pressure of 14 PSI to avoid hard-press conditions.

Because all of this is done without transferring the pomace to a press — and in a completely closed, air-tight system — oxidation, contamination, and mess are virtually eliminated.

Cleanup is as easy as scooping out the dry pomace into a container and washing out the high-polish stainless steel fermentor.​

Or how about:

Electric Hydralic Press

Constructed completely in steel. Equiped by an electric control board with the pressure gauge at microcontacts, can be adjusted from 0-350 atm for an automatical crushing. Facility of loading and unloading by one or more trolleys extractable, complete by cages. Piston: rectified, chromium-plated, autolubrificated. Engine single-phase or three-phase.​

The way I would use this one is to place hot water in bucket, place the kava in a strainer bag, then put that in bucket with water. Then program the press to continuously cycle up and down for the desired time. Then drain or pump the grog out the bottom of the bucket. That way you get agitation, heat, and straining with multiple washes.

 

[HeadHodge]

Here's what the filter would like (round to match the diameter of the bucket).

 

[kavadude]

Juice press would definitely work, just expensive as all hell.

 

[HeadHodge]

Juice press would definitely work, just expensive as all hell.

Money is no object, because @Roaddog is fronting it.

 

[Steve Mariotti]

I"m also a bit of a maker and hang out at a maker space from time to time...and know a maker expert. I can ask and ponder some of the questions about this topic.

That's awesome!

I'm trying to learn some CAD program so that I can come up with 3d-printable parts for a prototype. I haven't given up the worm-gear idea just yet, and I think I could build a hand-cranked one with just a few parts.

I agree with others in that repeated compression of the material is going to be key to getting good extraction. Ultrasound isn't something I'd considered, but bears some looking into. It'd be easily contained in a machine and not too hard to control electronically. I wonder if a repurposed sonicare toothbrush could be modified to apply intense sound pressure to a small space as part of the kava root processing.