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No kneading at the Nak

onakavajourney

Kava Curious
There is a video of the Kavasseur visiting the Nak, Part 1 on youtube from 2017. At the 4:45 min. mark they show their method of prep for large batches of kava. Their method is using 6 quart pails in which he carefully measures roughly 200g of kava into and adds one gallon of water (not sure what temp.). Then he stirs it and pours it into another pail with an extra large flat cut nylon sheet strainer (I’m guessing the material) which is placed inside the pail and he twists to hold it shut and lifts it up using a rocking motion to strain the water out and sets the pail of kava aside.
Then he goes back to another pail with the makas in the strainer and adds 2 quarts of water to it and finishes the straining by more rocking it back and forth through the large mesh strainer (I’d like to know the microns) and runs the water out then wraps the strainer tightly around the kava and flat squeezes the makas with his palm and then will tightly twist the last drops out until it’s dry and adds it to the other pail. No long kneading session.

I didn’t see any mention of this rocking prep method on the forum so I’m curious to know if it extracts kavalactones just as well as it seems to work for them and it doesn’t take to long.
 

Groggy

Kava aficionado
Admin
I was there earlier this month, it was the closest kava bar to Miami, bought a pound of White Sand, they gave me a couple shells on the house, which was nice of them, I was prepared to pay for it.

Hit the spot too..
 

onakavajourney

Kava Curious
From personal experience I'd say it's not as efficient as squeezing. But kava bars go through loads of kava and probably the labour needed to extract every last drop is more expensive than the value of wasted kava
It was interesting to watch, I wondered if all that left over makas would make a good fertilizer!
 

onakavajourney

Kava Curious
Yeah, there was no kneading. The Kava was very strong, though I think many of us would want an extra squeeze on the makas.
I miss your videos! I’d love to see you host a show on the Vice Channel about kava.

Yes! The kava at the Nak did seem strong enough to satisfy everyone there.

I hope to get there next year!
 

TrevC

Kava Enthusiast
I enjoyed seeing their process, as it's different than any I've seen before. It's interesting how things are handled in a high-volume situation.
Thank you, Kavasseur, for capturing it! And thanks for ALL of your videos. I have made purchases based on your reviews. :)
 

Palmetto

Thank God!
Foolishness. Using a blender would extract far more kavalactones than rocking it back and forth. Then pour through a strainer. I have a rally good no kneading method that I'll film sometime soon. I call it the Palmetto Plunge. Especially good for second and third washes.
 
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