possible to ship fresh kava root to the mainland?

[jim mcdonald]

For long years, I used to buy a number of fresh root hawaiian 'awas and have them shipped to me in Michigan by John & Rebecca Fowler at Nuka Hiva Trading Company. The quality was alwasy awesome and I loved the opportunity to get specific awa's fresh out of the ground.

I used these to make tinctures and infused oils for my herbal practice.

Alas, Nuka Hiva is long gone, and while I've been using GHK's medium grind kavas which are wonderful, I do miss fresh kava (lateral roots are wonderful to cut tp chewing size - maybe my fave way to use kava). I have purchased fresh kava from another grower, but they also grow Isa and although I've been able to buy noble kavas from them without Isa mixed in I worry that if I bought pounds of kava and Isa ~was~ included it'd be a nightmare for me to deal with, because I only use noble kavas in my tinctures and oils.

So: any way to purchased fresh roots and have them shipped out? Or any leads on other sources that sell by variety?

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

There were a few, but they all dropped off over the last couple years. It's always expensive too. Sometimes you can find it on Craigslist Hawai'i and you can ask if they're willing to ship over here. Pu'u o hoku ranch might still be selling it, there's probably a minimum order size. Sometimes there's a guy from Micronesia that comes on here and he has a company called Jadesa that will ship fresh, but you have to pick it up from your nearest international airport and pay a large shipping cost and hope it arrives without spoilage.

 

[jim mcdonald]

I've been purchasing fresh kava for over 15 years, and 2 day shipping will get it to michigan just fine... the only spoilage I've ever had was when the Department of Ag held the kava for inspection and it ended up taking close to a week. That was a bummer.

The last grower I purchased from was Tane at Adaptations, and his mahakea was great... I'd just prefer to order from someone who doesn't grow Isa at all (i'd gotten that once from Nuka Hiva, long before I knew about tudeis, and it's the only kava I ever tried that I didn't like...).

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

You won't likely get two-day shipping from Micronesia, so Pu'u O Hoku is probably your best bet.
We've never heard of Adaptations, did they stop selling fresh kava too? I don't see it on the site. How much were they charging per pound?
You could also privately contact Pinner Creek Organics or Kanaka Kava...they used to sell fresh kava online, perhaps they'd do a private order.

Were you ordering fresh kava for 15 years up to present day or for a 15 year chunk of time in the past? Fresh root has always been less available than dry unfortunately, even when it was more available than it is now. It's been much harder to find it, readily available for shipping, for the last 2 to 3 years or so.

 

[jim mcdonald]

I looked back in my emails and it looks like Tane was selling it for $12/pound. I think he's been selling fresh kava for probably at least twenty years; I've always known about him as a source, but I've only purchased from him once, a couple years ago. When I initally inquired about what kava they were offering, and at the time he had a mix of isa and mahakea, and was cool enough to only send mahakea. He still sells it.

I'd been getting pounds of fresh kava ever year or two from Nuka Hiva from about 2003 till 2012. I'd purchased quite a bit then, and that held me over till that last order at adaptations.

After a few orders, John would send me an email letting me know what varieties he was harvesting asking if I wanted some. I think when I first started ordering from he had at least 8 or 9 noble kavas... mokihana, mahakea, hiwa, papa ele ele, kumakua, mahakea, purple moi, nene... there were some others (though not as many as Gourmet Hawaiian Kava).

I'm currently pressing out several tinctures made from GHK medium grind, and they're great, though dealing with even the medium grind for tincture is a lot of extra work; way too much fine sediment gets through a fine wire strainer, but it'll completely clog paper. It's even more challenging to strain out of oil infusions... egad!

The dry tincture is still really nice, but there's a certain degree of zing that's less pronounced.

 

[jim mcdonald]

I guess the big thing is that when you've had a supplier you've known for years (I talked to both john and rebecca whenever I ordered to catch up and connect) and then need to find someone new it's hard. I like to know and have a sense of the people who grow or collect the herbs I can't grow or collect myself.

 

[Alia]

For long years, I used to buy a number of fresh root hawaiian 'awas and have them shipped to me in Michigan by John & Rebecca Fowler at Nuka Hiva Trading Company. The quality was alwasy awesome and I loved the opportunity to get specific awa's fresh out of the ground.

I used these to make tinctures and infused oils for my herbal practice.

Alas, Nuka Hiva is long gone, and while I've been using GHK's medium grind kavas which are wonderful, I do miss fresh kava (lateral roots are wonderful to cut tp chewing size - maybe my fave way to use kava). I have purchased fresh kava from another grower, but they also grow Isa and although I've been able to buy noble kavas from them without Isa mixed in I worry that if I bought pounds of kava and Isa ~was~ included it'd be a nightmare for me to deal with, because I only use noble kavas in my tinctures and oils.

So: any way to purchased fresh roots and have them shipped out? Or any leads on other sources that sell by variety?

For an interesting historical perspective on those "salad years" of fresh 'awa root shipped from Hawai'i Island see pages 38 and 48 of Hawaiian 'Awa, Views of an Ethnobotanical Treasure . The Moloka'i, Puu O Hoku is actually grown at the farm on the east end.

 

[jim mcdonald]

For an interesting historical perspective on those "salad years" of fresh 'awa root shipped from Hawai'i Island see pages 38 and 48 of Hawaiian 'Awa, Views of an Ethnobotanical Treasure . The Moloka'i, Puu O Hoku is actually grown at the farm on the east end.

yikes! So distressing always to see people recklessly pillaging from the wild without due respect to the plants and the ecosystems they're a part of.

When I initially contacted Nuka Hiva, ethics in harvest and growing was a top priority for me, and though I no longer have that email account to look back at and see his reponse, this was addressed.

This is also why I'm asking around for growers and not just finding any old person on the internet...

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

I know John and Rebecca, I was sorry to hear when they stopped selling kava due to health reasons. Like Alia said Puu O Hoku Ranch does sell fresh kava root. That is about the only place to get fresh Hawaiian 'Awa root. Sometimes Dave at the Hilo Kava Bar will send fresh kava to the mainland. Aloha.

Chris

 

[Zaphod]

I know John and Rebecca, I was sorry to hear when they stopped selling kava due to health reasons. Like Alia said Puu O Hoku Ranch does sell fresh kava root. That is about the only place to get fresh Hawaiian 'Awa root. Sometimes Dave at the Hilo Kava Bar will send fresh kava to the mainland. Aloha.

Chris

You don't have any interest in selling it? I would think that if priced correctly it would save you a ton of time and effort and be a pretty niche product that not many could full fill.

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

You don't have any interest in selling it? I would think that if priced correctly it would save you a ton of time and effort and be a pretty niche product that not many could full fill.

or just tell me where it is and I could go and dig it up myself. Kava U-Pick, sounds great. Make it an afternoon outing for the whole family.

jk

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

You don't have any interest in selling it? I would think that if priced correctly it would save you a ton of time and effort and be a pretty niche product that not many could full fill.

I still have to harvest the kava, wash it and cut it up. Then I have to freeze it, then go and get it inspected at the USDA and then I have to go and ship it via UPS or FedEx and that is way out of my way, so it does take me more time to do that. It is not the only reason that I do not sell fresh root but it is the main reason. Aloha.

Chris

 

[kasa_balavu]

I'd imagine the higher risk of dealing with a perishable product is also a significant factor.

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

I'd imagine the higher risk of dealing with a perishable product is also a significant factor.

That is true also, when I used to sell fresh root to East Earth Herbs in the 1990's I would freeze the kava and then pack it with dry ice. Now thanks to the terrorists, it is almost impossible for me to ship dry ice via Air service.
Aloha.

Chris