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Share how you like to flavor your kava

Plantacious

Kava Enthusiast
I know the subject has been discussed before, but I thought it would be good to have a centralized thread, exclusively for people to share what they do, if anything, to flavor their kava enough, so the taste is more tolerable.

Here are a few of my own.
Also keep in mind, depending on personal taste and preference, is that 2 or more of these can be combined for a complementary flavor effect.
All of these, I have tried myself, and liked them. How about you all ?
(If this is too similar to an existing thread, I apologize)

Orange Juice (actually doubles as both a flavor and sweetener, so that's convenient)
Cocoa powder
Decaf coffee (coffee flavor without the conflicting caffeine)
Coconut Water
Sea Salt
Cinnamon
Ginger
Pumpkin Pie Spices (like Clove, Nutmeg, etc)
 
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Aceofwands9

Kava Enthusiast
Yeah, so far I like cinnamon and almond milk.

If you're using cinnamon regularly, I highly reccomend looking into Ceylon cinnamon as it does not harm the liver unlike other, cheaper cinnamons.
 

Aloha Kava

Aloha Kava Guy
Kava Vendor
Carbonated ;)

Otherwise, decaf coffee works for me. My issue with combining flavors and why I eventually did carbonation is I never found anything that actually blends. Would anyone else agree? It always tastes like two separate flavors at once, instead of a synthesis. Coffee is the closest it comes for my tastebuds.
 

kastom_lif

Kava Lover
I drink kava neat 99% of the time.

Sometimes I'll try unsweetened cocoa, and the bitterness of the cocoa masks the kava really well, without adding extra bulk to the grog.

Supposedly, anise / licorice could also be a good unsweet way to mask kava's bitterness, though I haven't tried it. Alas, the only anise I grow locally is a toxic shikimi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illicium_anisatum)

For general kava drinking, simply having a bite of fruit or a salty/savory snack. followed by a gulp of fresh water is enough to wash 'em out.
 

Plantacious

Kava Enthusiast
Oh Thanks - the Anise or Licorice reminded me of something else I've done, that works well...
Brew another herbal tea, such as Peppermint Tea, and add that to the kava. It's quite complementary.
But remember, whenever you add flavors to kava - volume is the key.
Too much or too little can make a huge difference between a very bad taste, and a nice one...
That's common knowledge, but easy to forget, and if you do forget, you may write off a flavor that has potential at the right amount
 
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Jacob Bula

Nobody
I like mixing just a splash of juice with my grog that tastes especially bad. It makes it easier to chug. Hawaiian punch isn't that bad either. I also mix weaker grog with ginger ale BOLD.
 

KavaKween

Kava Curious
I've started mostly drinking it straight with just the milk used in prep. Before I usually added milk and dark chocolate which masks the taste very well without being too sweet. Mixing it with pina colada (virgin, of course) is also good, but overall I've been trying avoid to avoid the extra sugar.
 

Fushi88

Kava Enthusiast
Sometimes, if I'm done doing two traditional washes, ill throw the makas in the blender with some spearmint leaves.
 

TrevC

Kava Enthusiast
I quickly learned I only like to add a little ice to better enjoy it. (I only add milk as an emulsifier.)
Once I tried these smoothie mixes, and that's how I introduced a friend of mine to Kava.
This is something I did once before and it was OKAY, but there's something about taking something like Kava and trying to mask the taste, that for some people makes it taste WORSE. My friend will likely never try Kava again, because he said it reminded him of a time someone gave him a White Russian and made him sick. It triggered that taste, I guess.

One thing I do have on-hand with each session is a ginger drink and these ginger candies. I look at it as "get it all down, THEN enjoy something that tastes nice". :)
 

Plantacious

Kava Enthusiast
Another thing, is any of the syrups that people use to flavor coffee, work great with kava too, like Amaretto, Irish Cream, etc
 

Plantacious

Kava Enthusiast
I have gotten used to other herbs, that people consider a nasty taste.
But I have never, ever, ever gotten used to the taste of kava. Ever.
I always have to do something to it.
I agree that a lot of "added flavors" will ruin it.
However, the trick is to find one of the few things that actually complement it
 

Nirad

Kava Curious
In the beginning I'd make some with water, strain, and then put it and banana in the blender and make a smoothie. Then after a while I switched to adding water, kava, and ginger slices to a blender, blend, then strain. I did the same but with coconut milk instead of water for introducing new people. But now days its just made with warm water then cooled with ice.
 
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