New to forum and kava, would appreciate some advice.

[Edward]

Hello all, I am new to kava and would appreciate some advice. I have done a lot of reading recently including reviews, etc but I can't find specific advice about my question so here goes...

So far I all I have tried is one of the yogi teabags, didn't get loads from it but I didn't expect to, just wanted to dip my toe so to speak. I did get a very slight numbing of the mouth and maybe extremely vague body/mind relaxation but overall not a strong result and that's how I wanted it. I will try another later tonight an hour or so before bed and if I get on ok with them I will use two or maybe more bags.

My main question is about nausea. I have some Kava Kauai/real kava waka grade root powder which has good reviews on this site and others but I have been a bit nervous to use it hence why using the tea first. My question is will the brand/type of powder I have cause nausea? What steps do I need to take to minimise nausea? From what I can tell most vomiting is caused by drinking too quickly, drinking too much and possibly not straining fully.

Believe it or not as a borderline alcoholic of many years I actually have a bit of a phobia of vomiting, haven't thrown up anything for over 20 years and don't want to start now. Avoidance of any nausea would be good. Yes, hangover days for me are not good!

Can anyone recommend any strains/brands that are good noble kava and that cause minimal nausea if handled right?

Great forum, looking forward to partaking.

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

Honestly you'll be okay as long as you take it slow. You have to go pretty fast to get neaseus... here's a good tip for it... if you have some kava and you drink it, and the thought of drinking more or the smell of the bag makes you neasuas DON'T Drink more! Haha . Just start slow. All kavas are pretty good about the neasua . I haven't found any that are less likely or more likely just amounts

 

[Edward]

Ok, thanks, so basically steer clear of tudei kavas and brands with bad reviews and take it slow? Like I say I can gather from my reading that most problems are caused by too much and/or too quick. I'm still a bit nervous so may mix up a relatively small and weak batch and just have a go.

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

Yeah. Don't drink anything that's not noble... you can always add more later but you can't take away.

 

[Edward]

It's hard to tell what's noble and what's not with some of these suppliers though, I'm guessing in the end it comes down to reputation.

 

[The Kap'n]

It's hard to tell what's noble and what's not with some of these suppliers though, I'm guessing in the end it comes down to reputation.

If the vendors website has the "True Kava" logo, the kava they carry has been tested and is guaranteed to be noble. Check out www.truekava.com

 

[Edward]

Excellent, thanks!

One more question if I can... what about straining? Do I need to be fussy and get rid of all of the silty material or just the larger particles?
I'm thinking of using a blender with fresh ginger for my first mix and then straining the whole lot but not sure of how just yet.

 

[The Kap'n]

@Edward There will always be a little sediment on the bottom after you've completed the kneading process. This is totally normal and in fact where most of the kavalactones are located. As long as you get the large particles out you're golden

 

[Edward]

Ok, great. Thanks for your help, I will have a try maybe today.

 

[Deleted User01]

@Edward, welcome to the forum! Borderline alcoholic was a pretty good description of me until I switched to kava. I still hoist a few about 2-3 times a week but it is easier to be happy with "a few". The kava seems to linger in your system and you just don't feel the need to get snockered everytime you have a cold beer or glass of wine. On the nausea thing, it boils down to this, how sensitive is your stomach? I have never had nausea. Sometimes the feel in your mouth will do it it and sometimes the taste will do it. So try to clear your mind of any preconceived ideas. If you are sensitive to kava particulate, then try instant or the Kalm drink. As far as taste goes, I don't taste much when I do Micronized or Instant Hawaiian kava. I taste way more when I strain kava powder. So experiment and keep us posted.

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

Deleted User01 ! To the rescue!

 

[Edward]

@Edward, welcome to the forum! Borderline alcoholic was a pretty good description of me until I switched to kava. I still hoist a few about 2-3 times a week but it is easier to be happy with "a few". The kava seems to linger in your system and you just don't feel the need to get snockered everytime you have a cold beer or glass of wine. On the nausea thing, it boils down to this, how sensitive is your stomach? I have never had nausea. Sometimes the feel in your mouth will do it it and sometimes the taste will do it. So try to clear your mind of any preconceived ideas. If you are sensitive to kava particulate, then try instant or the Kalm drink. As far as taste goes, I don't taste much when I do Micronized or Instant Hawaiian kava. I taste way more when I strain kava powder. So experiment and keep us posted.

Thanks for the tips. It would be nice to be able to go out on a Friday night and not wake up on Saturday morning with a raging hangover and memory lapses of the previous evening!

I think my stomach is pretty good in general, like I said I haven't thrown up for over 20 years and have had some serious sessions in that time. When you say instant are you referring to kava root powder? That's what I have at the moment, haven't used it yet, but will do soon. There is nothing else to be done but get on with it and see what happens. I will take it slowly and just try one shell at a time with plenty of time in between until I get a feel for roughly how it's going to affect me. (I know it can vary from time to time).

Thanks again to everyone for the help. I will update with experiences as I go.

By the way, I have a brand new and shiny clean cafetiere in the cupboard. I was thinking of using the blender for the mix, popping it all into the cafetiere, pushing the plunger and draining off. It wouldn't get the fine particles out but would definitely do a good job on the bigger bits. Anyone got any thoughts on this?

 

[Edward]

A little update here... I have worked out what instant is and ordered some. Looking forward to trying that. In the meantime I have just tried my first batch of the realkava Vanuatu waka powder. I put 1/2 a cup of powder in a blender with 4 cups of water (I wanted a relatively weak mix to start with) and a thumb sized piece of ginger. After blending for a minute or two I put it in the cafetiere in batches and it took a good few passes to get even the large particles out. The problem with this is that every time you pass it through you lose a little of the liquid so this probably isn't the best way to go. I will definitely look into better straining methods.

As for the experience itself I am feeling ok. I just had half a cup of the liquid, by the way my cup is probably approx. 300 ml. I sipped the liquid fairly slowly as I didn't want to gulp it and then find it disagreed with me. As soon as it touched my lips/tongue, etc I felt the tingling effect. I almost spat it out but just relaxed into it and over the period of about 10 mins I finished the half cup. This might sound weird to some but I actually like the taste! Maybe the ginger made a difference but the actual taste of the kava is not unpleasant to me. So now I am about 20 mins after my first half cup and I have light tingling in my mouth and in my head and I definitely feel less anxious (not that I was that stressed to start with). I can feel a slight feeling in the rest of my body but mostly just my head. I don't feel any nausea at all and my stomach does feel slightly numb from the liquid so I'm pleased so far. I can tell from this first experience what a more intense experience would be like so now I have done the weak blend I do feel more confident that I could go a little stronger.

For tonight now I think I will have another half cup in a little while as that will be half hour after I finished my first. Then I think I will wait for half an hour after finishing that and have something to eat.

Thanks to all those who gave advice and I hope the above will help any other newbies considering trying kava but are a bit nervous about what to expect or the possibility for nausea.

 

[Makaveli]

Please keep us updated - I am especially interested in optimal straining methods!

Thanks

 

[Edward]

Well the cafetiere worked well in the end but you have to pass it slowly then pour some off and keep doing that until you have removed most of the powder losing some of the liquid in the process.

Just finished my second half cup of the liquid and starting to get a real buzz building. My mouth and head is pretty numb and tingling and starting to get similar in the rest of my body. I'm feeling nice and calm in general but my stomach isn't feeling quite as happy as it was. Nothing that I would describe as nausea though, just a little uncomfortable from the numbing effect of the liquid. Going to eat in 30 mins or so and hopefully that will calm things down.

 

[Edward]

So I waited the half hour and was feeling ok. I found the food a little difficult to get down, maybe my stomach a bit numb? I hadn't eaten for a good few hours before I started so was on an empty stomach. I think I will finish the last of tonight's batch in an hour or so before I go to bed. In future I would be tempted to have my first dose, wait a while and then eat something small before having my second cup, then eating something larger after that. I wouldn't say that the kava upset my stomach as such but I do think eating something small between doses may have made it more comfortable when I did eat.

I think for my next batch I will mix half a cup of powder with only 3 cups of water for a slightly stronger brew. Not sure about the straining yet, may stick with the cafetiere for now.

I have a question about the instant if anyone is reading? Is it actually that much more expensive than normal powder? I believe you use less of it, is that right? So a smaller amount that appears to cost quite a lot is actually cheaper than it looks? Which is most cost effective from a purely monetary point of view?

 

[Edward]

Ok so mixed up one cup of root powder with 3 cups of water and some ginger again. I blended the lot and then passed it one time through a tea strainer. It took quite a while to separate the liquid from the fibre but I managed to get a good 2 or so cups of usable liquid. I had half starting at about 9 my time (half an hour ago) and I am feeling just fine. Going to wait 15 mins or so then having something small to eat and have another half a cup at about 10. After that I will wait another 30 to 45 mins or so and have my last food for the night. The mix is pretty strong now but I'm wondering if half a cup at a time is enough for a really good effect? I will keep trying.

Anyone got an answer to my question at the bottom of my previous post? Thanks.

 

[Edward]

Tried it with warm water tonight and immediately noticed a difference. Much more numbing of the mouth and throat and noticeably more head and slightly more body effects. I didn't even finish half a cup as it was hitting me harder than I am used to. I thought my stomach might have been upset by it but I think it is holding up ok.

So today I had the remains of last nights mix at about 16.30 then my next dose at about 18.00 as I was straining it. I think as I get used to the effects I will try and increase the amount I am having in one go or not space the doses out quite as much. To be honest I would have got up and mixed todays batch sooner but I was happy sitting where I was for a bit, probably a side effect of the first dose.

A bit more info on the straining with the tea strainer. The root powder clogs up the strainer pretty quickly so what I do is to fill the strainer with mixture and tap it until all of the liquid has gone through. If there is any liquid sitting on top that won't pass I pour it back into the blender for the next strain. After that I have a strainer full of the fibrous root matter which I just throw away and rinse the strainer. It takes quite a while to strain the whole lot but I find I get not far off 3 cups of liquid and half a cup gives a reasonable effect.

 

[Edward]

I find the root powder that I am using at the moment to keep me awake more than send me to sleep. As I am learning about the different types I will sort this out soon. I like the powder I have but as time goes on I will be able to get me some different types to try and see which is best. Bearing this in mind the plan for tonight is to stop now, have some dinner at about 19.30, almost an hour and a half after my last dose, and go to bed at about 22.00 as I am up at 05.00. In future I think I would be tempted to have this kava when I get home from work and a more sedating kava just before bed. So one dose when I get home, eat food, wait a few hours, then go to bed on a nice dose of the other.