Question about Delayed Reverse Tolerance & Kava Preparation

[Auburn7]

I am pretty new to Kava and the boards and if this belongs in the "New members forum," or another forum, please move it there.

I recently stumbled across kava and purchased a small order from KwK (2oz micronized of Borongoru & Pouni Ono). The first day it arrived I used the Pouni Ono during the afternoon, and then the Borongoru about 6 that night. I certainly did not suffer from reverse tolerance. All I can say is WOW!. My first time drinking it I first felt the muscle relaxation and then the euphoria. I felt better than I had in weeks. I quickly made $300 in orders from 3 different vendors (KwK - Pouni Ono, Borongoru, Borogu & Vula Waka; GHK - Mo'i & Ikaika 'Awa; Bula - Kula, Taveuni Waka, Nangol Noble & Nambawan). When my orders arrived I took the same as I did the first time (about 4 tsp of Pouni Ono the first drink, 2 tsp the second about half an hour later and then another 2 tsp an hour or so later - of micronized from KwK). Unfortunately, I didn't get the same results. I definitely felt it, just not the same euphoria-type kava feeling. I kind of got the light headed feeling. It wasn't at all unpleasant. I just didn't want to get up off the couch. My question is why? I've done my research on this board and have read that some people get different results from the same strain. Is it that simple? Should I take less? I prefer the euphoric feeling to the light-headed feeling.
Also, heady does mean the euphoric feeling, correct? Heavy the muscle relaxing? I seem to remember getting a pretty good, if not better, feeling from the Borongoru (which is supposed to be more heavy from the descriptions and reviews).
Is it possible that I got reverse tolerance after the first time I used it and now have a low tolerance and need to use less than the first time I drank kava?

If I want to go for the more euphoric feeling with a little heavy muscle relaxing feeling, should I try for the "heady" kavas instead of the "heavy" ones? If so, which are the best ones? The Mo'i, according to my research, is supposed to be one of the best heady kavas. I wanted to get the Loa Waka from KwK, but they were sold out.


Also, I have micronized and medium grind. The micronized is easy, but a lot more expensive. So I bought a couple pounds of the medium grind in different strains to try out. So far I have been using a muslin bag and kneading. This isn't hard but it is a little time consuming, especially if you want to put it in the fridge for a while to cool down. On one of the bags I bought it shows that you can use a blender and strain it after. Is this better than doing it the "traditional" way by kneading it in a muslin bag? Which produces the stronger kava?

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

>Also, heady does mean the euphoric feeling, correct?

No, they are not synonomous, although euphoria is often a phenomenon of a heady kava, but not always by any means. Also, some of the most euphoric experiences can be felt from kavas which are very balanced and not thought of as heady.

>If I want to go for the more euphoric feeling with a little heavy muscle relaxing feeling, should I try for the "heady" kavas instead of the "heavy" ones?

Sounds like you want a kava which is strong and very balanced.

Try different ways of prepping by all means and go with whatever you prefer, we all do, ultimately. But what you say makes you a prime candidate for wanting to buy an AluBall and get at least one extra ball and if you really want strong euphoric grog, you'll need a third. They sell for $20 for the bottle plus ball and each extra ball is $15, so be sure this is what you really want before you lay out $50 for a few pieces of plastic. But if you are into this kind of thing that is really actually an incredible bargain for what it can do for you. fwiw, my best system is to use the AluBalls for the first two washes and then a strainer bag to make four more washes.

 

[Auburn7]

>Also, heady does mean the euphoric feeling, correct?

No, they are not synonomous, although euphoria is often a phenomenon of a heady kava, but not always by any means. Also, some of the most euphoric experiences can be felt from kavas which are very balanced and not thought of as heady.

>If I want to go for the more euphoric feeling with a little heavy muscle relaxing feeling, should I try for the "heady" kavas instead of the "heavy" ones?

Sounds like you want a kava which is strong and very balanced.

Try different ways of prepping by all means and go with whatever you prefer, we all do, ultimately. But what you say makes you a prime candidate for wanting to buy an AluBall and get at least one extra ball and if you really want strong euphoric grog, you'll need a third. They sell for $20 for the bottle plus ball and each extra ball is $15, so be sure this is what you really want before you lay out $50 for a few pieces of plastic. But if you are into this kind of thing that is really actually an incredible bargain for what it can do for you. fwiw, my best system is to use the AluBalls for the first two washes and then a strainer bag to make four more washes.

Thanks so much for the response and suggestions. I just purchased the AluBall along with the extra balls. This seems like a great way to quickly make some kava.

And I will be trying the more balanced kavas I have. Supposedly Borogu & Nangol Noble are the most balanced of the ones I currently have.

Appreciate the help!

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

Thanks so much for the response and suggestions. I just purchased the AluBall along with the extra balls. This seems like a great way to quickly make some kava.

And I will be trying the more balanced kavas I have. Supposedly Borogu & Nangol Noble are the most balanced of the ones I currently have.

Appreciate the help!

every one of those kavas you bought is excellent and should be able to give you what you're after. I would call all of those balanced, but for tha euphoria followed by relaxation, you want to make strong preps of the Moi, the Nambawan and the Pouni Ono, all of which will give a euphoria if the dose is strong enough, followed by full, well-rounded relaxation. The Moi and Nambawan might verge on the "too intense" though so ratchet up slowly rather than go directly from a small or medium size prep to a stronger prep. You're aiming for a "sweet spot" so you want to get there in a gentle unfrantic way. That's the kava way.

 

[Auburn7]

Yeah I'm trying to find that sweet spot. I hit the sweet spot the first two times, but then I ran out and when my new order arrived a couple days later I went hardcore and definitely overshot the sweet spot.

Today I used Nangol Noble early afternoon and then Borogu late afternoon until about 8. I think I got pretty close to the sweet spot, but not perfect. I'm waiting on the Mo'i to arrive from GHK. Hopefully it'll be here tomorrow. I'm pretty excited to try it.

How long do you usually go between cups? Does it just depend on how strong the last one was and how you're feeling?

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

Yeah I'm trying to find that sweet spot. I hit the sweet spot the first two times, but then I ran out and when my new order arrived a couple days later I went hardcore and definitely overshot the sweet spot.

Today I used Nangol Noble early afternoon and then Borogu late afternoon until about 8. I think I got pretty close to the sweet spot, but not perfect. I'm waiting on the Mo'i to arrive from GHK. Hopefully it'll be here tomorrow. I'm pretty excited to try it.

How long do you usually go between cups? Does it just depend on how strong the last one was and how you're feeling?

Most people drink kava discretely, in units of shells. Typically I drink continuously. I pour a big tumbler or pint glass full of ice and grog and sip or chug as the mood strikes, could be quick or slow, and when it is empty I fill it up again, until I figure oh well that’s enough.

But when drinking discreet units I go 20 to 30 minutes between shells but usually kick off the sesh with a double shell, then have singles for maintenance.

Btw, I don’t usually recommend this to people but you might be into trying the roh Polynesian gold CO2 extract. Start your sesh with one or two shells of grog and then after 20 minutes when you reshell have some extract under the tongue. That can often, usually provoke a euphoria even when the grog you are shelling isn’t particularly euphoric. Of course, if the grog is very heady or euphoric, it can make it more intensely so. Go easy at first, of course, till you got your sea legs, but you know that already. Once one gets good at drinking kava, scaling up or down on the fly, dynamically, you can really push that sweet spot thing quite handily. I write this while triple balling 6 tbs of nambawan. Hm, might have some extract or at least some home made kava flakes. You’re probably going to want to make those some day soon. Not for everyone, but probably for you.

Oh and yes, you got that in one - timing of next shell always depends on how strong the last one was and how you feel. Trust what the kava tells you, not your ego or your will. If kava says don’t drink me, then trust the kava.

 

[Auburn7]

Most people drink kava discretely, in units of shells. Typically I drink continuously. I pour a big tumbler or pint glass full of ice and grog and sip or chug as the mood strikes, could be quick or slow, and when it is empty I fill it up again, until I figure oh well that’s enough.

But when drinking discreet units I go 20 to 30 minutes between shells but usually kick off the sesh with a double shell, then have singles for maintenance.

Btw, I don’t usually recommend this to people but you might be into trying the roh Polynesian gold CO2 extract. Start your sesh with one or two shells of grog and then after 20 minutes when you reshell have some extract under the tongue. That can often, usually provoke a euphoria even when the grog you are shelling isn’t particularly euphoric. Of course, if the grog is very heady or euphoric, it can make it more intensely so. Go easy at first, of course, till you got your sea legs, but you know that already. Once one gets good at drinking kava, scaling up or down on the fly, dynamically, you can really push that sweet spot thing quite handily. I write this while triple balling 6 tbs of nambawan. Hm, might have some extract or at least some home made kava flakes. You’re probably going to want to make those some day soon. Not for everyone, but probably for you.

Oh and yes, you got that in one - timing of next shell always depends on how strong the last one was and how you feel. Trust what the kava tells you, not your ego or your will. If kava says don’t drink me, then trust the kava.

I just looked and the roh Polynesian gold CO2 extract is currently sold out on Amazon and their website. I'll keep checking back to see if it restocks. I definitely want to try it. Thanks for the suggestion. Is this the correct product, Polynesian Gold™ 70% CO2 Extract - 10g Jar from RootofHappinessKava?

And you said to put it under you tongue, correct? Like a sublingual.

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

I just looked and the roh Polynesian gold CO2 extract is currently sold out on Amazon and their website. I'll keep checking back to see if it restocks. I definitely want to try it. Thanks for the suggestion. Is this the correct product, Polynesian Gold™ 70% CO2 Extract - 10g Jar from RootofHappinessKava?

And you said to put it under you tongue, correct? Like a sublingual.

yup, that's the stuff. They say use about the size of a matchhead, and that's what you want to try at first for sure, but I usually go for something about three times that size. You don't want too much,though. Nothing bad happens, it's just no point in going beyond your sweet spot with it. I only recommend this to you based on what you have said in the thread so far.

 

[recentreturn]

yup, that's the stuff. They say use about the size of a matchhead, and that's what you want to try at first for sure, but I usually go for something about three times that size. You don't want too much,though. Nothing bad happens, it's just no point in going beyond your sweet spot with it. I only recommend this to you based on what you have said in the thread so far.

I don't know about ROH's... But I had much too much of one (noble) extract once upon a time and ended up with 4 day effects; strong 4 day effects.
But, in fact, I suppose that simply proves your point. After a certain point, consuming a little more no longer intensified the current effects of the kava very much, which then led to the mistake of thinking that I should just take a little more than a little more... ...and after this process repeating a few times, it turned out that I had consumed quite a lot.

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

the mistake of thinking that I should just take a little more than a little more...

Oh yeah. Kava only works like that up to a certain point and then it doesn't work like that at all. It's the kava way. There is unlimited fun to be had with kava, but not in the conventional or intuitive ways we would expect, and certainly not in the classic, capitalist, type A, western society more is better bigger is better you can do anything with money sort of gestalt. Nope, kava is kava. We play kava by kava rules. That's not a bug, that's a feature!

Also, my understanding is that all extracts are suspect until proven otherwise, but I can vouch for the RoH Polynesian Gold.