new to kava - a few question....

[kl.lithium2020]

hi, I'm new to kava and have a few question for the experts....



what does isa and awa stand for? i see this being mentioned everywhere.  I've bought some isa (without knowing what the hell it means lol) from kava by rex (is this stuff any good for those new to kava?) but in the mean time i got a hold of some on ebay which was pretty expensive since im in the UK.   I've only got 70grams of what is described as "pure lateral root" and apparently has a kavalactone profile of "426" (what does this mean?) so anyway.....do you think 70g is enough to get any effect? if so, what would be your recommendations for preparation be?  cheers.



p.s. out of interest....any kava drinkers from Scotland on the board?

 

[Vekta]

I couldn't tell you exactly what it stands for.



But I can tell you Isa is notorious for being a little heavy handed. It can stick with you for a couple days.



Awa, Ava, yaqona... same plant different name from a different island.



70 grams is a decent sample size. It'd probably be good for maybe 1 or 2 bowls.



426? That wouldn't happen to be from Kona Kava would it?

 

[The Kap'n]

426 is the chemotype profile.



1 = demethoxy-yangonin



2 = dihydrokavain



3 = yangonin



4 = kavain



5 = dihydromethysticin



6 = methysticin



It lists the kavalactones in order of quantity. 426 is a very sought after combination. As kavain is the most popular of kavalactones but of course it's based on your personal preference. Isa will be like 5,4,6.



70 grams should make you one knock out batch or two more manageable batches.

 

[Paradise Kava]

Welcome brother!

'awa is the Hawaiian work for kava kava (literally translates as ' bitter')



Yangona, Yakona are other words for our beloved brew in Fiji and neighboring islands. It's pronounced 'nigonda' as well in Fiji.

Isa is a specific variety, or cultivar of kava found in Papua New Guinea and later imported to Hawaii about 15 years ago.



In Micronesia, the people call kava 'Sakau' becuase this slimy beverage is a mixture of hibiscus bark and kava ( similar to the Ni Vanuatu chewing kava before making a beverage, and still similar to some of our members here who prefer to use lecithin while extracting their kava beverage. All of the above is for one reason alone; the pursuit of efficient extraction of lipophilic kavalactones into some sort of liquid so we can ingest it. )



Great book on chemotypes of Hawaiian cultivars found free online, google 'awa book', the link is from adc, the 'awa development council.



As a vendor, I can tell you that lateral roots cost almost double in some cases compared to the corm, and chips of the plant. This is because they are higher in kavalactones than any other part of the plant.



Corm is the central starchy part, which sometimes lends a creamy flavor to the beverage, in the case of fresh kava specially.



Chips is technically a mix of corm and lower stem part of the plant. A notorious addition to bulk up on weight.



Hope that helps.



All the best to you in your kava journey!



Adil Ghiasi

 

[kl.Redfox]

Hi Adil,

Great book on chemotypes of Hawaiian cultivars found free online, google
'awa book', the link is from adc, the 'awa development council.

many thanks for that advice ... seems to be a very interesting reading about kava in all its aspects (smiley: smile)

 

[Paradise Kava]

Aloha Reffox! Anytime, you're welcome. Cheers!

 

[kl.lithium2020]

thanks for the thorough replies everyone! so i have 70g...should i spit this into 2 batches or go for one? and how much water do you recommend?  Could be a stupid question but Kava isn't a hallucinogen is it?

 

[kl.4goertlers]

I just joined this forum today because I tried kava kava for the 1st time last night. I guess I must be an anomaly because 70 grams seems like a LOT to me. I ordered 1/4 oz powder extract (70% kavalectones) from ebay so I could give it a try. After reading recipes & opinions on how much to mix for one person I thought I hadn't ordered enough. The 1/4 oz equaled about a little over 3 tablespoons. I put the entire pack into the blender along with 8 oz of vanilla soy milk. I was expecting it to be a single serving drink. The amount actually filled 2 regular sized coffee mugs a little over half full. I blended it for 10 minutes, with a break after 6 minutes. I'm STILL feeling it today! (BTW, I did not strain)

I love the feeling it gave me last night. I got right to sleep with no sleep interruptions, straight through the night. I can't imagine taking the entire thing myself! I think I'd still be asleep this afternoon. Just some insight into what happened to me after an ebay purchase of kava kava.

Good luck!

 

[Ed!]

I just joined this forum today because I tried kava kava for the 1st time last night. I guess I must be an anomaly because 70 grams seems like a LOT to me. I ordered 1/4 oz powder extract (70% kavalectones) from ebay so I could give it a try. After reading recipes & opinions on how much to mix for one person I thought I hadn't ordered enough. The 1/4 oz equaled about a little over 3 tablespoons. I put the entire pack into the blender along with 8 oz of vanilla soy milk. I was expecting it to be a single serving drink. The amount actually filled 2 regular sized coffee mugs a little over half full. I blended it for 10 minutes, with a break after 6 minutes. I'm STILL feeling it today! (BTW, I did not strain)

I love the feeling it gave me last night. I got right to sleep with no sleep interruptions, straight through the night. I can't imagine taking the entire thing myself! I think I'd still be asleep this afternoon. Just some insight into what happened to me after an ebay purchase of kava kava.

Good luck!

Was this kava root powder or instant kava powder?... big difference in the quantity you need.