Ok...so what is this in my Kava?

[Sunset_squash67]

I'm totally new to kava, and am currently on my first ever bag purchased from BiloVinaka. They were the first and only kava shipped from an Aus warehouse at the moment.

After filtering through a nut milk bag, it's left with all these little "sticks" stuck in the filter. Even after drying they are a pain to get out...

Is this supposed to be in kava powder? Or is it a form of contamination? See attached pics

 

[Edward]

Looks like root to me. What you've bought is ground dried root. The grind will vary from vendor to vendor and quite often Fijian kavas tend to be ground a bit finer than others. Despite the fine grind you will still get small pieces of root like that. It's not contamination, just the nature of the product and certainly nothing to worry about.

 

[jewalker7842]

Like Edward said it is just the root. That will be left over after you squeeze all the good stuff out .

 

[The Kap'n]

Just root particles. You're good

 

[Plantacious]

Like Edward said it is just the root. That will be left over after you squeeze all the good stuff out .

Or...in my opinion, he could just toss it all in a coffee grinder.
That may make it easier to both prep and digest.

 

[Sunset_squash67]

Thanks for the response everyone! Glad to know it's normal.

Any tips for how to get them out of the filter? It's so time consuming to pick them out with tweezers.

In the meantime, I might try blending my Kava tonight. I have been using kneading prep so far...although once I did 1 tbsp blended after my usual 4tbsp kneading prep.

The blended shell definitely felt stronger, but affected my stomach a bit more...

 

[Edward]

Thanks for the response everyone! Glad to know it's normal.

Any tips for how to get them out of the filter? It's so time consuming to pick them out with tweezers.

In the meantime, I might try blending my Kava tonight. I have been using kneading prep so far...although once I did 1 tbsp blended after my usual 4tbsp kneading prep.

The blended shell definitely felt stronger, but affected my stomach a bit more...

They should wash out fairly easily. I suppose it depends what type of strainer you have. Leaving them in there is a fair option, they won't hurt you.

I nearly always blend, works well. I'm not sure why it would affect your stomach more, maybe because it was stronger? Also if you had it after you'd already had some other kava then it could have just tipped you a bit far over the edge.

 

[Sunset_squash67]

They should wash out fairly easily. I suppose it depends what type of strainer you have. Leaving them in there is a fair option, they won't hurt you.

I nearly always blend, works well. I'm not sure why it would affect your stomach more, maybe because it was stronger? Also if you had it after you'd already had some other kava then it could have just tipped you a bit far over the edge.

Yeah possibly just too much kava. One thing to note is that my blender is ninja/nutri bullet style. I.e. it's loud and very powerful, with no settings to change speed.

Do you think 1min of this blending + 5 minutes of kneading should make a good brew?

Also, I ordered another strainer bag off Amazon to compare. It's from kavafied...I also picked up the aluball becusse why the hell not!

 

[Edward]

Yeah possibly just too much kava. One thing to note is that my blender is ninja/nutri bullet style. I.e. it's loud and very powerful, with no settings to change speed.

Do you think 1min of this blending + 5 minutes of kneading should make a good brew?

Also, I ordered another strainer bag off Amazon to compare. It's from kavafied...I also picked up the aluball becusse why the hell not!

A minute blending is fine then just straight through the strainer, no kneading required really. Some people like to wash the kava again to get a bit more out but I prefer fresh kava. Anything from Kavafied will be good.

 

[Agador]

Hello Edward. All good mate, just chug it down. Just missed the fine grinder, that's all.

 

[Sunset_squash67]

A minute blending is fine then just straight through the strainer, no kneading required really. Some people like to wash the kava again to get a bit more out but I prefer fresh kava. Anything from Kavafied will be good.

I tried blending yesteday and today. I think I much prefer it over kneading. It's much quicker, and if anything it felt stronger. Didn't have any negative effects this time either.

I think a 1min30 blend and a strain is the way to go for me.

 

[Blergs]

Thanks for the response everyone! Glad to know it's normal.

Any tips for how to get them out of the filter? It's so time consuming to pick them out with tweezers.

In the meantime, I might try blending my Kava tonight. I have been using kneading prep so far...although once I did 1 tbsp blended after my usual 4tbsp kneading prep.

The blended shell definitely felt stronger, but affected my stomach a bit more...

Use a cloth bag. Search nut milk bags. And traditional prep. I just wash under warm water. No issues