Substack Link: https://kavafacts.substack.com/p/single-cultivar-kavas
This article will address a term that is becoming more and more common to see throughout the kava industry. This phrase is “Single Strain/Cultivar”.
The word “cultivar” comes to us from an amalgamation of the words “cultivated” and “variety”. A cultivar is known as a plant or group of plants that is selected for its desirable characteristics that can be maintained by propagation [1]. Kava cannot be propagated generatively, aka kava cannot reproduce sexually, and must be consciously planted by hand. This means that every kava plant is a clone of the original. How we arrive at different cultivars is through somatic (non-sexual cells) mutations. These mutations present themselves as differing morphotypes (visual appearance) and differing chemotypes (kavalactone composition). Mutations include differences in height, length and color of the internodes, the size of the leaf, and chemical composition [2]. These mutations have been consciously selected for their superior or inferior psychological effects, and taste. Mutations which gave a plant with inferior effects were buried where mutations which proved superior were saved and propagated from the cuttings [3]. These saved cuttings from superior mutations, which have been propagated for generations are what we now know as cultivars. This process continues even today, as we occasionally see farmers discover mutations among their own crops [4].
Generally, in the past, kava vendors would mix a variety of kava cultivars together when blending a product. This was due to the fact that multiple farms would sell their kava to one processing facility [5]. This facility would then take the kava, place it all together and process it. During this, cultivar identification is lost. This isn’t a bad thing, as some of our favorite kavas on the market currently are blends. Although blends are popular, today we’re beginning to see more instances of exporters and vendors targeting single cultivar kavas for sale.
This is overall a positive direction for the industry however some issues do remain.
With the push for single cultivar kavas ramping up, the industry is poised to see new, more discriminating kava drinkers emerge. It’s important that the exporters, middlemen and processing facilities take great care in the clean handling and identification of these cultivars to ensure this budding spot in the industry doesn’t fall flat before it gets going.
[1] Cultivar. Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/113677.
[2] Lebot, V., and J. Lèvesque. 1989. “THE ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION OF KAVA (PIPER METHYSTICUM FORST. F., PIPERACEAE): A PHYTOCHEMICAL APPROACH.” Allertonia 5 (2): 223–81. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23187398.
[3] Lebot Vincent, Cabalion Pierre. 1988. KAVAS OF VANUATU Cultivars of Piper Methysticum Forst. South Pacific Commission Technical Paper.
[4] I found a kava mutation. Kava Forums. (n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2021, from https://kavaforums.com/forum/threads/i-found-a-kava-mutation.18741/.
[5] PHAMA. 2018. FIJI KAVA VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS. Australian Government and New Zealand Government.
[6] Singh, Yadhu N. 2004. Kava: From Ethnology to Pharmacology (Medicinal and Aromatic Plants - Industrial Profiles). CRC Press.
This article will address a term that is becoming more and more common to see throughout the kava industry. This phrase is “Single Strain/Cultivar”.
The word “cultivar” comes to us from an amalgamation of the words “cultivated” and “variety”. A cultivar is known as a plant or group of plants that is selected for its desirable characteristics that can be maintained by propagation [1]. Kava cannot be propagated generatively, aka kava cannot reproduce sexually, and must be consciously planted by hand. This means that every kava plant is a clone of the original. How we arrive at different cultivars is through somatic (non-sexual cells) mutations. These mutations present themselves as differing morphotypes (visual appearance) and differing chemotypes (kavalactone composition). Mutations include differences in height, length and color of the internodes, the size of the leaf, and chemical composition [2]. These mutations have been consciously selected for their superior or inferior psychological effects, and taste. Mutations which gave a plant with inferior effects were buried where mutations which proved superior were saved and propagated from the cuttings [3]. These saved cuttings from superior mutations, which have been propagated for generations are what we now know as cultivars. This process continues even today, as we occasionally see farmers discover mutations among their own crops [4].
Generally, in the past, kava vendors would mix a variety of kava cultivars together when blending a product. This was due to the fact that multiple farms would sell their kava to one processing facility [5]. This facility would then take the kava, place it all together and process it. During this, cultivar identification is lost. This isn’t a bad thing, as some of our favorite kavas on the market currently are blends. Although blends are popular, today we’re beginning to see more instances of exporters and vendors targeting single cultivar kavas for sale.
This is overall a positive direction for the industry however some issues do remain.
- Cleanliness - this is an issue facing the entirety of the industry. Kava was shown to have a high load of bacteria and fungi naturally [6]. It’s imperative that proper clean handling is achieved to provide a product of superior quality with low bacterial and fungal counts.
- Proper Identification - Currently cultivar identification solely rests on the trust of farmer, middleman, or processing facility’s ability to identify specific cultivars. In order to make a correct identification the plants must be seen in their complete form or arrive with at least one full stem with leaves attached. Larger processing facilities are working on implementing DNA marking for identification of cultivars, however most, if not all currently rely on the understanding of individuals to distinguish cultivar variety. This can be problematic as many cultivars present themselves similarly, and without the proper education incorrectly named cultivars may be sold. Once the kava is powdered and bagged the only way for a consumer or importing vendor to check the accuracy is by ascertaining average chemotypes. Single cultivar kavas shouldn’t vary in their chemotypes wildly. For example if the accepted chemotype is 421365 for a specific kava, the chemotype should stay around this with the last, or middle few digits maybe swapping around a bit such as 421356 or 423156, however when we begin seeing the first 3 digits changing we can start questioning whether that kava is indeed what it claims to be. If a kava historically has been seen as a 421 or 423, but is tested at 245, there is a high likelihood that this is not the correct selection to match the named cultivar. One kavalactone to keep an eye on in this scenario is DHM, or the number 5. If the accepted chemotype has the #5 far to the right, but the tested chemotype has 5 towards the left, that’s likely a different kava.
With the push for single cultivar kavas ramping up, the industry is poised to see new, more discriminating kava drinkers emerge. It’s important that the exporters, middlemen and processing facilities take great care in the clean handling and identification of these cultivars to ensure this budding spot in the industry doesn’t fall flat before it gets going.
[1] Cultivar. Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/113677.
[2] Lebot, V., and J. Lèvesque. 1989. “THE ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION OF KAVA (PIPER METHYSTICUM FORST. F., PIPERACEAE): A PHYTOCHEMICAL APPROACH.” Allertonia 5 (2): 223–81. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23187398.
[3] Lebot Vincent, Cabalion Pierre. 1988. KAVAS OF VANUATU Cultivars of Piper Methysticum Forst. South Pacific Commission Technical Paper.
[4] I found a kava mutation. Kava Forums. (n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2021, from https://kavaforums.com/forum/threads/i-found-a-kava-mutation.18741/.
[5] PHAMA. 2018. FIJI KAVA VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS. Australian Government and New Zealand Government.
[6] Singh, Yadhu N. 2004. Kava: From Ethnology to Pharmacology (Medicinal and Aromatic Plants - Industrial Profiles). CRC Press.
