Rank Kavas

[Paradise Kava]

"Adil from Paradise is one of the coolest guys ever. "



you're making me blush. Teehee.

 

[Prince Philip]

I'm not familiar with realkava.com. Kava is safe on its own, but don't mix it with alcohol, the combination of which may cause liver damage.

I am familiar with realkava.com.  Allow me to lay out the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The good.  Their Vanuatu and Fijian kava.  They also are my source for kava roots, which I can chew to restore my virginity.  (Only virgins can chew kava, therefore if I can chew kava, I must be a virgin.  Non-virgins all have bad teeth and/or TMJ).

The bad.  Their honey products are all more or less toss-and-wash.  I use them as a novelty, rather than as any sort of daily thing.  They also have a kava and licorice tincture that carries the same risk that any tincture will carry, which is a higher flavokavan-B content than traditional preparation.

The ugly.  They do carry perfectly functional strainers.  They look beautiful on the webite.  However, when I ordered three, they were unadorned, non-decorative brownish nylon bags.  I still use them.  They are every bit as functional as what their competitors sell, but nowhere near as attractive.

 

[Prince Philip]

Best customer service: Paradise Kava, followed by Bula Kava House. Bula is great but Adil from Paradise is one of the coolest guys ever.

More importantly, he's a Model Netizen when it comes to vendors.  His responses are either helpful, chatty, or both.  They also do not include a signature.  While signatures are not bad in-and-of-themselves, they tend to look like spam and detract from otherwise helpful/chatty topics if one is hawking kitchens or whatnot on every post.  Anyone who wishes to represent their company would be wise to take a few pages from his book of best practices.

 

[Paradise Kava]

Jeez, is it my birthday!?



Thanks Philip, we try our best and let the products and service speak for themselves.



Hopefully the trend continues and we get better and better over time.



Adil Ghiasi



PS - a note on Real Kava. Gary's the owner and a good man. I knew this immediately after two mason jars of kava with him.



Met him at out Farmer's Market Booth, few years ago when we used to sell fresh kava beverage for $5 a pint in a nice mason jar. (I think people came for the jars as much as they came for the kava.)



He was vacationing the Big Island with his missus. I offered him a few jars, we drank kava, and I can say the man himself is legit. I remember his missus making the "time to go Gary" eyes, and the two of us instantly bonded over kava and had lots to talk about the business, it's turbulent past and hopful future.



Hope to see him again sometime. And Judd too! He called me up when he was visiting the Big Island, hoping for a shell or two, but we could not meet up because of the 2 hour drive in the middle of Hilo and Kona. Judd, if you're reading this, hope to see you in Portland someday brother.

 

[odys1i]

It's giving Rex's Vanuatu3 a 3 rating and for me, it's the best Vanuatu kava I've ever had, (bula's boroguru is @least as good though). I am getting a fresh pound tomorrow or the day after along with some Waka so I will give a report.
The MOST rank crap kava out there I believe is kona kava farms mahakea. It was so bad it made me avoid the cultivar entirely until Jon Yee from Hawaiian Kava Center sent me a sample of his and it has been one of my favorites ever since. As a matter of fact Jonathan doesn't seem to be charging for mailing within the US so it's just $27 a pound shipped. It is not the strongest but it is among the smoothest gentlest and kindest of hawaiian Awa.
My very very very VERY favorite kava is Jonothan Yee's M'oi. He hasn't offered it in a long time but I hope one day he will again. In fact the finest kavas I have ever had have all been grown in Hawaii and are native Hawaiian cultivars.

 

[The Kap'n]

I still have two bags of rex's vanuatu3 because the first one I tried was as weak as talc. Tasted like talc too. I wish I had gotten in on the first batch which was apparently legendary.

 

[Ed!]

I still have two bags of rex's vanuatu3 because the first one I tried was as weak as talc. Tasted like talc too. I wish I had gotten in on the first batch which was apparently legendary.

This was my experience as well. I was waiting and waiting for it to come back. When it did, I bought a ton because of all the amazing things people were saying about it, but was very disappointed. It was easily among the worst kavas I've had. My wife wouldn't even touch, so I just used it as a mixer until I finished it off. Van3 may have been the gold standard in the past, but the batch that I purchased was sub-par.

 

[kl.jj28west]

Nice work Ed. Thanks for sharing.

 

[odys1i]

on the Waka & Vanuatu3 I just received from Rex, but I must say these kavas are both mild tasting and strong. Lots of euphoriants and very relaxing.

 

[kl.Dubkava]

My two favourite Kava's would have to be PK's Fijian and BKH's Boroguru. Two utterly amazing kava's and when combined it's like nature's own valium. Adil's extract is up there also. Such a great tasting and easy way to get a little kava hit!!

 

[kl.Dubkava]

PS - a note on Real Kava. Gary's the owner and a good man. I knew this immediately after two mason jars of kava with him.



Met him at out Farmer's Market Booth, few years ago when we used to sell fresh kava beverage for $5 a pint in a nice mason jar. (I think people came for the jars as much as they came for the kava.)



He was vacationing the Big Island with his missus. I offered him a few jars, we drank kava, and I can say the man himself is legit. I remember his missus making the "time to go Gary" eyes, and the two of us instantly bonded over kava and had lots to talk about the business, it's turbulent past and hopful future.



Hope to see him again sometime. And Judd too! He called me up when he was visiting the Big Island, hoping for a shell or two, but we could not meet up because of the 2 hour drive in the middle of Hilo and Kona. Judd, if you're reading this, hope to see you in Portland someday brother.

This is pretty cool. I've always wondered whether vendors would interact with each other in any way. Would be great to know what each thought of each others respective kavas!!