Sipping vs Chugging

[kl.jjs6067]

So normally when I drink kava, I sip on it since the taste is definitely not one I find to be enjoyable enough to be able to down it all in one gulp. However, after watching several documentaries on kava, it seems that chugging is the norm for drinking kava. What do you guys do? Sip or chug? Which method, if any, produces a more noticeable effect?

 

[Dan]

Chug, definitely.



Sadly I have never been able to get into the taste of kava on any level - even with the lightest, mildest-tasting varieties it's always been a game of getting it down, and quickly.



(I also don't add anything to make it taste better or sweeter or whatever, though.)

 

[kavalover]

Yeah, I chug it, definitely. As we discussed in previous threads, sublingual administration is very much effective, so sipping may, I don't know, but may offer more noticeable immediate effects if you keep the kava in your mouth. The way I do it is just CHUG! 2 - 4 gulps quickly down the hatch... the effects don't quite kick in until my second shell, but they kick in well alright. Helps to have some fresh fruit or a light (very light) snack around, because typically when you chug a few shells back to back, you're sitting there with a belly full of kava waiting to be absorbed.. Mangoes are my favorite to have around. Sometimes the effects come on too quickly though... heh..



I've actually never sipped kava, lol, that sounds awful... the only way I've ever known to do it is by chugging the shells.

 

[Vekta]

I do both.



If I'm just kicking back at home and relaxing with some kava I'll sip it like it's a refreshing glass of ice tea.



If I'm giving someone new a sample bowl I'll pour them a shell and pour me a shell and chug mine after I watch them drink there shell.

 

[kl.KarmaG]

I tend to sip more than gulp myself, although I know that's contrary to tradition. I personally love the taste and the numbing effects, though, so I like to take a mouthful and swish it around a bit before it goes down the hatch. Just my personal preference.

 

[kl.homobonobo]

Chug chug chug! If it's cold I can get a shell down in one chug, but if it's fresh/hasn't chilled yet, I have to take a little more time with it, smaller gulps spread out a little.

 

[Ed!]

I tend to sip more than gulp myself, although I know that's contrary to tradition. I personally love the taste and the numbing effects, though, so I like to take a mouthful and swish it around a bit before it goes down the hatch. Just my personal preference.

So far I do exactly this, but I'm still experimenting with what I like.

 

[kl..]

I sip it.  I think I'll give chugging it a try, since as you pointed out that's more traditional.  Couldn't hurt to try something new.

 

[kavalover]

Dang! A lot of you guys sip your kava, that surprises me! The closest I ever come to sipping is taking little mouthfuls of a kava I've never had before at a time, to absorb and get to know the taste, but chugging is the way to go!

 

[Bula Kava House]

Traditionally kava is chugged. As far as I know, no kava drinking culture sips. When people come into Bula Kava House we always recommend chugging and often have to explain that the main reason to do this is because the taste isn't extremely pleasant. First timers always think this is some rookie thing to do for white people who can't handle exotic tastes. I then have to explain that even in cultures where they've been drinking kava for 3,000 years they still haven't developed a taste for it. Kava is drank for effect, for most people the taste is something they simply have to deal with to enjoy the effect. Of course I also say to them, and to anyone on this forum that if you like the taste that's a bonus. Feel free to sip away.

 

[kl.jjs6067]

Yeah I just tried chugging it a couple nights ago. I think it works a lot better than sipping. The taste is MUCH less noticeable since it's going down your throat so fast. Plus, the effects come on faster and stronger which is a bonus. 2 shells of stone and I was good to go!

 

[Ed!]

...Plus, the effects come on faster and stronger which is a bonus. 2 shells of stone and I was good to go!

Really? That's interesting.... seems a bit counter-intuitive after all of what was said in the thread about sublingual use. I'm going to have to try straight chugging and see if I can notice a difference. Sipping seems to come more natural to me so I'm not sure if I ever really did chug.

 

[kavalover]

...Plus, the effects come on faster and stronger which is a bonus. 2 shells of stone and I was good to go!

Really? That's interesting.... seems a bit counter-intuitive after all of what was said in the thread about sublingual use. I'm going to have to try straight chugging and see if I can notice a difference. Sipping seems to come more natural to me so I'm not sure if I ever really did chug.

I think it has to do with sublingual administration offering more immediate arrival of effects to get familiar with, where chugging I find (while still a slower onset absorbing through the stomach) will hit you all at once. It can feel 'stronger' when really, it's just smacking you in the face. Especially if you eat a light snack after you chug a shell or two...

 

[kl.Sauroth]

Sipping it definitely has immediate effects, I always sip it because for some reason I actually enjoy the flavor. Chugging it is like chugging a beer: kind of gross. I don't know if it has stronger effects if you chug it, I will try doing so when my next shipment of kava arrives.

I usually sip around 400mls down in about half an hour to 45 minutes. I tried it once before, I don't remember any extreme effects however.

 

[kl.new2kava]

I'd say I'm basically in the middle of the road. I basically drink very briskly in a series of large gulps and sips. I basically deaded my tastebuds in college when I had an espresso machine and would drink full cups of straight espresso several times a day and then even more when I drank hard liquer usually straight and the ghetto stuff at that. As far herbal teas go, kava is pretty benign. The single most horrid I've ever encountered was intoxicating mint and that would be followed by strong K@ tea, the most pleasant was mulungu which is a sweet cinnamony taste. My first shell usually goes down in a few sold chugs and the pace sort of dwindles as the session goes, by the end I'm nursing it like a coed with a smirnoff ice.

 

[Kojo Douglas]

What is "the ghetto stuff?" Just curious. lol

 

[kl.new2kava]

Like 15$ a half gallon scotch that comes in green plastic bottle; "Scottish Passport", that stuff is freakin brutal like one step above rubbing alcohol. Or Mr. Boston rum which is just as cheap and pretty rugged. Not even to mention Zhenza 100 vodka which you pretty much have to be a manimal to drink straight. I think the "High Gravity" beers like 211 are also about ghetto as beer can get, as if Bull Ice wasn't brutal enough.

EDIT: I forgot the heavyweight world champion of ghettofied liquer. It took me years of of being a cheap drunk to come across this stuff called; "Barkeeper's Call Long Island Ice Tea Mix". It's just a straight up mixture of; vodka, rum, tequila, gin and triplesec; all lower bottom shelf and it's like 6.29$ for a litre. It was kinda ellusive as they hid it with the drink mixes which I always thought were for wimps as there areound 20% but this stuff was like 37% and the best bargain. It gave a hangover that left bumwines like MD 20/20 in the dust.

 

[kl.Letharia]

I've never even thought about it... haha I guess I drink it like I'd drink anything else, though maybe a little more quickly. I'm with new2kava though.... After you've drank cheap liquor for a while not much can turn you off. I actually find Kava refreshingly earthy and natural.

 

[kl.icky]

.... After you've drank cheap liquor for a while not much can turn you off...

Or, after you've drank massive amounts of poppy tea. Or K@.. Or...(smiley: embarassed) 

 

[Ed!]

I started with sipping and I mostly chug now. Really, the only reason I changed is that I tend to get solid bits in my kava, and that makes me want to gack. If I chug then it's less of an issue... goes down the pipes before I feel it.