Pictures of Kava

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

Hi everyone, as most of you know I have all known Hawaiian varieties of 'Awa and I also have others from else where in the South Pacific. Well today I got a few good baby kava plants from a good friend of mine, Ed Johnston. Thanks Ed. I got 2 Tongan varieties, one is Hina and the other is Akau Huli, the Hina is a green kava with spots all over, kind of looks like Hawaiian Nene but there are clear differences in the looks of the spots. The Akau Huli is a dark variety, it also has spots, the reddish color is going to be nice looking. I also got a kava from Pohnpei called Rahmedel, I have this one already but they are hard to get so I never turn down a rare kava. The Rahmedel is a special kava in Pohnpei and holds power, you can practically get out of jail if you give the parties involved a Rahmedel plant. I have some pictures showing the kava. I also added some pictures of the ever beautiful Hawaiian Hanakapi Ai, I just love the color and the spots.
I hope you all enjoy the pictures. Aloha.

Chris
This is the Hina

This is the Akau Huli
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This is the Rahmedel.
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The next 2 are the Hanakapi Ai.
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[kasa_balavu]

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

 

[kavamehameha]

Thanks for the stunning photos. The reddish color of Akau Huli is very beautiful! Did you have these Tongan varieties before or are they new to you?

I never heard of kava varieties from Pohnpei, can you tell us something about Rahmedel? Is it noble?

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

Thanks for the stunning photos. The reddish color of Akau Huli is very beautiful! Did you have these Tongan varieties before or are they new to you?

I never heard of kava varieties from Pohnpei, can you tell us something about Rahmedel? Is it noble?

I have the Hina but not very many of them and this is the first time I have the Akau Huli. Pohnpei has only 2 varieties of kava and they are both noble or every day drinking kava. The second kava they have besides the Rahmedal is the Rahmwanger. I have both of them and I have tried both of them and I can say without a doubt that the Rahmedel is the best, it is really good stuff. In Pohnpei, if you want to talk to the chief and he is just too busy or does not want to, if you throw down a Rahmedel at his feet, he is obligated to listen to you. Some friends of mine from Pohnpei that live here in Hawaii tell me things like I mentioned above about if someone steals something and is in trouble then he can get out of trouble if he has a Rahmedel. Amazing what kava can do, and you only thought it helped with sleep, stress and sore muscles.
Aloha.

Chris

 

[kavamehameha]

Ha, very intersting, thanks! I love learning about these cultural aspects. So Rahmedel is more important or more common than Rahmwanger? And do you know where the names come from? "Rahmedel" and "Rahmwanger" sound like German words (actually, "Rahmedel" could be rewritten as "edler Rahm", which would mean something like "noble cream").

 

[kastom_lif]

According to this English-Pohnpeian dictionary, "rahn-medendel" means "smooth day." Bit of a stretch, admittedly.

http://talkingdictionary.swarthmore.edu/pohnpeian/

I like smooth days.

 

[Alia]

Ha, very intersting, thanks! I love learning about these cultural aspects. So Rahmedel is more important or more common than Rahmwanger? And do you know where the names come from? "Rahmedel" and "Rahmwanger" sound like German words (actually, "Rahmedel" could be rewritten as "edler Rahm", which would mean something like "noble cream").

Not totally sure but thought Rahmedel was named after that mythical/but factual! ancient City in the sea that is at or near Micronesia. The Hawaiian 'awa book has a few paragraphs about these 2 cultivars guest written by the late, great Bill Raynor who used to head the Nature Conservancy down there. His wife had a sakau bar.

 

[Alia]

Not totally sure but thought Rahmedel was named after that mythical/but factual! ancient City in the sea that is at or near Micronesia. The Hawaiian 'awa book has a few paragraphs about these 2 cultivars guest written by the late, great Bill Raynor who used to head the Nature Conservancy down there. His wife had a sakau bar.

I am wrong about the mythical city link, that is Nan Madol... So I do not know what the names mean.

 

[kavamehameha]

Thanks @Alia. According to the Hawai'ian 'awa book, the most widely grown cultivar in Pohnpei is Rahmwanger, making up 97% of kava plants in 1987. Rahmedel is much less common and seems to be slower growing than Rahmwanger. Traditionally Rahmedel was reserved to high chiefs, the so-called "Nahnmwahrkis", which explains its cultural use @Gourmet Hawaiian Kava mentioned. See http://www.kavalibrary.com/awabook.pdf , Chapter 6.

 

[kasa_balavu]

Rahmedel. Rahmwanger. They just sound so damned cool! Definitely the best named kava cultivars.

I hope I get to try them some day.

 

[kastom_lif]

Legend says Pohnpei kava originally came from Kosrae. They don't drink kava on Kosrae any more. I wonder if there are still kava plants growing on the hills of the sleeping lady.

In the Disney movie Moana, when Te Fiti turns green and lays down to sleep on her side... that is a reference to Kosrae. The hills really do resemble a giant reclining maiden. Maybe Te Fiti got really krunked on the good stuff, fell asleep, and that was when her sister smuggled the kava to Pohnpei.

 

[avahZ]

LOL I was expecting a small cutting and it took me a second to adjust my view and noticed a truck!
Still a bit cross eyed trying to get the scale right... Was thinking to myself that's a Big leaf before I figured it out... I think lol!