No numbing effect

[MaritimeMan]

I've purchased a lot of different kavas from KWK last fall, and pretty much none of them numb my mouth. Mayyyybe the tiniest bit, but certainly not like when I first had experienced kava.

I'm curious if this is a sign of poor quality kava? Or have I simply adjusted to it? Anyone else experience this?
Thanks!

 

[Manga Ono Kava]

It sounds to me like a quality issue. Probably a bad batch.

 

[ThePiper]

I’ve had kava that was pretty good that wasn’t very numbing. More stimulating kavas seem to be less numbing than heavier ones

 

[Russell Caruso]

Over the years Kava's numbing effect has disappeared. Every once in a while I'll get it good, but it has become more and more subtle. Kava's effects have not really changed besides a couple weird spats with it when it would upset my stomach or something like that - but yeah, the numbing effect is really hit or miss. Strange. You're not alone in that!

I do remember Pouni Ono from KWK having some good numbing effects but some of the others did not - Melo Melo was one of the one's that didn't for some reason, but that Kava was amazing.

 

[PapaCthulu]

The more kava I drink, the less numbing it is.

I've purchased a lot of different kavas from KWK last fall, and pretty much none of them numb my mouth. Mayyyybe the tiniest bit, but certainly not like when I first had experienced kava.

I'm curious if this is a sign of poor quality kava? Or
have I simply adjusted to it? Anyone else experience this?
Thanks!

 

[KavaTasteGood]

The numbing effect may come from the blockade of the voltage-gated potassium channels (Kv1.2) in the tongue and mouth. They belong to the trigeminal system, another sense that, with olfaction and gustation, create the integrated experience of eating something. For example, the freshness of menthol or the burn of chili pepper is also created by the activation of the trigeminal system. The decreasing effect after continuous consumption indicates a tolerance formation.

Personally, as a beginner in kava world, I have huge intensity of this numbling effect that remind me of cocaïne or lidocaïne applied locally (they block calcium channels hence their local anesthetic properties), and the intensity of this numbling seems to correlate with the power of the brew. I would be interested to isolate which kavalactone binds to these channels and which doesn't, if you state that some kava are powerfull without this numbling effect.