The usual prep for me: 3 heaping tbsp (about 6 level) in 2-3 cups of water. Soaked for 5 minutes, then kneaded and wrung for 10. Haven't done a second wash yet, but I probably will.
The smell is one I associate with Hawaiian kava. It lacks the Vanuatu murky-soil flavor that I've grown to associate with Vanuatu kava. The color is a slightly reddish tan. Redder than all of GHK's varieties I've tried, and more akin to a Tongan I've had.
The flavor was mild for Vanuatu to be sure. Again similar to Hawaiian kava. Though I know GHK's stuff is super fresh and @CactusKava claims this was recently harvested so it makes sense. It's not as waxy at Chris' stuff when fresh and on the lower waxiness end of the scale among dried root I've prepped.
The grind was coarser than most, excepting Kalm's Borongoru which is one of the coarser medium grinds I've had. Particle size seems to have no bearing on strength or ability to successfully extract kavalactones. It's true with Borongoru, and it's true with this Ono. I found less kava in my bag after I was done with the first wash than I'm used to, so the large particle size compressed better than the smaller particle grinds. Coming through the bag, though was plenty of oil.
Onset and Effects
Onset was at about 20 minutes. I was drinking it faster than I normally do, as I saw the KL% posted on the Cactus Kava website is on the lower end of the scale of grinds I've made. I was able to handle drinking shells at 10 minute intervals, and that was nice as it accelerated the onset of effects for me.
First effect was soft focus vision, followed by a little ringing in the ears. Then I felt a lift! The chemotype on this one is 423156, and I'm a HUGE fan of 423___ kava. This one did not disappoint. I could feel the "soaring" feeling in my heart/chest like I do with heady kava when it kicks in. Definitely got the grin muscles engaged at about an hour. I continued drinking to 20oz of kava (which is all that was left from my prep.) I got a little bit of "eye lag" but not intensely.
Mood wise, I'm definitely elevated, more engaged and more interested. I don't have many body effects, though am generally feeling pretty "centered". Reading through @sɥɐʞɐs Vanuatu trip report and looking at his pictures I was rapt, awestruck, and felt a great surge of appreciation and love for sɥɐʞɐs, knowing full well that I wouldn't be able to adequately express it in his thread.
This is a heady kava, and it's not a bulldozer like M'oi, Nambawan and Stone. It's a slow build that gets up just as high as others, but takes a little bit longer. I don't mind.
Final Thoughts and Conclusions
This is good kava.
It didn't give me the tingly scalp like many of the heady ones. Pouni Ono always makes my scalp tingle pleasantly. But it gave me a definite lift and has eased me into a lovely session. There's I have a great plateau going now, at two hours and counting.
It's not the strongest, but you can chug it and it does get you there. I got there without any nausea at all. It's a great 423___ kava. At $28/half-pound, it's on the pricier end of the scale as you can get stronger stuff cheaper, but strength isn't the only metric of a good noble kava. This would have garnered 3.5 stars overall rather than 3 if I had the option to enter it. It's above a 3-shell kava, and would solidly be a 4-shell kava if it were $5/half-pound cheaper.
It's a perfect weekday night wind-down kava, and it's got me excited to read and post more on Kava Forums, so that's not pretty good too.
My first Cactus Kava kava, and I'm impressed!
As this is my first Cactus Kava review, I'll say that the inclusion of a strainer bag with every new order of medium grind is a really nice touch. It's a good bag, and being able to dive right into medium grind without having to order something separately definitely removes friction points from getting into traditional prep. Great idea! Hats off!
Next Day Effects
The next day effects were minimal. I had a decent lift in mood in the morning. Found it easy to snooze my alarm and stay in bed longer than I probably should have, but most kava does this to me now. Didn't spring out of bed, but didn't call in sick either.
All day I had a nice outlook, which is good considering the previous couple days my outlook was pretty dire.
The smell is one I associate with Hawaiian kava. It lacks the Vanuatu murky-soil flavor that I've grown to associate with Vanuatu kava. The color is a slightly reddish tan. Redder than all of GHK's varieties I've tried, and more akin to a Tongan I've had.
The flavor was mild for Vanuatu to be sure. Again similar to Hawaiian kava. Though I know GHK's stuff is super fresh and @CactusKava claims this was recently harvested so it makes sense. It's not as waxy at Chris' stuff when fresh and on the lower waxiness end of the scale among dried root I've prepped.
The grind was coarser than most, excepting Kalm's Borongoru which is one of the coarser medium grinds I've had. Particle size seems to have no bearing on strength or ability to successfully extract kavalactones. It's true with Borongoru, and it's true with this Ono. I found less kava in my bag after I was done with the first wash than I'm used to, so the large particle size compressed better than the smaller particle grinds. Coming through the bag, though was plenty of oil.
Onset and Effects
Onset was at about 20 minutes. I was drinking it faster than I normally do, as I saw the KL% posted on the Cactus Kava website is on the lower end of the scale of grinds I've made. I was able to handle drinking shells at 10 minute intervals, and that was nice as it accelerated the onset of effects for me.
First effect was soft focus vision, followed by a little ringing in the ears. Then I felt a lift! The chemotype on this one is 423156, and I'm a HUGE fan of 423___ kava. This one did not disappoint. I could feel the "soaring" feeling in my heart/chest like I do with heady kava when it kicks in. Definitely got the grin muscles engaged at about an hour. I continued drinking to 20oz of kava (which is all that was left from my prep.) I got a little bit of "eye lag" but not intensely.
Mood wise, I'm definitely elevated, more engaged and more interested. I don't have many body effects, though am generally feeling pretty "centered". Reading through @sɥɐʞɐs Vanuatu trip report and looking at his pictures I was rapt, awestruck, and felt a great surge of appreciation and love for sɥɐʞɐs, knowing full well that I wouldn't be able to adequately express it in his thread.
This is a heady kava, and it's not a bulldozer like M'oi, Nambawan and Stone. It's a slow build that gets up just as high as others, but takes a little bit longer. I don't mind.
Final Thoughts and Conclusions
This is good kava.
It didn't give me the tingly scalp like many of the heady ones. Pouni Ono always makes my scalp tingle pleasantly. But it gave me a definite lift and has eased me into a lovely session. There's I have a great plateau going now, at two hours and counting.
It's not the strongest, but you can chug it and it does get you there. I got there without any nausea at all. It's a great 423___ kava. At $28/half-pound, it's on the pricier end of the scale as you can get stronger stuff cheaper, but strength isn't the only metric of a good noble kava. This would have garnered 3.5 stars overall rather than 3 if I had the option to enter it. It's above a 3-shell kava, and would solidly be a 4-shell kava if it were $5/half-pound cheaper.
It's a perfect weekday night wind-down kava, and it's got me excited to read and post more on Kava Forums, so that's not pretty good too.
My first Cactus Kava kava, and I'm impressed!
As this is my first Cactus Kava review, I'll say that the inclusion of a strainer bag with every new order of medium grind is a really nice touch. It's a good bag, and being able to dive right into medium grind without having to order something separately definitely removes friction points from getting into traditional prep. Great idea! Hats off!
Next Day Effects
The next day effects were minimal. I had a decent lift in mood in the morning. Found it easy to snooze my alarm and stay in bed longer than I probably should have, but most kava does this to me now. Didn't spring out of bed, but didn't call in sick either.
All day I had a nice outlook, which is good considering the previous couple days my outlook was pretty dire.
