Spotted Hiwa Fresh Frozen Kava

[The Kap'n]

Good stuff. It's sweet. I always laughed when people would say "it has a sweet flavor" when referring to teas and other drinks that obviously had no sugar in them. I never understood this until now. When you make it strong the sweetness just increases. I believe the root actually contains natural sugars. It's actually pretty nice to drink. It's litterally NOTHING like dried powdered kavas. Also another thing to note is the effect. This is markedly NOT a before bed, or "make me pass out" kava. From what I, and my 6 years experience, can tell it has a decidedly low dhk/dhm content. I would say this is the highest kavain content kava I have tried. It's not for all. Especially if you're looking for that "knock you back on your couch" effect you get with isas and N@H's stone. I guess I never understood how some people would drink kava and go about their daily activities. I always choose a strain based on pure punch out power. It seems there may be a different quality to kava that I had missed altogether. There seems to be a clarifying effect to it which almost overpowers any "intoxicating" effect the double bonded lactones can cause. The grind is pretty coarse, which is completely fine when you consider what it is you're working with. I may try blending it down with a food processor tonight to see if I can get it finer, as there are some kava logs floating around in there. Overall a very enjoyable cup of kava, which is something I've never said about kava.

 

[Paradise Kava]

You nailed it Jimmy! It's a daytime kava, and it tastes lovely. Something I can just sip on and make stronger for more sweetness.

The effect is just lovely and the next day grogginess is non-existent for me.

If you blend it, just make sure it's always kept cold. If it heats up, it's going to change in flavor and perhaps sour even.

Cheers!

A.G

 

[kl.CarolinaBC]

I got some fresh frozen from Adil too-not this batch of spotted Hiwa though and loved it.  I just wanted to comment that I made my first batch traditional way and then used a stick blender to make the 2nd batch and ground it up pretty good and it was as good as the first.  Definitely use the food processor/sharp bladed blender for better extraction.  It really does have a totally different flavor and effect than dried root.

 

[The Kap'n]

Just a followup. It really (and I mean drastically) increases the potency if you thaw out the pulp and let your desired amount sit in the strainer bag for about 10 minutes or so before you begin kneading it. I haven't had a reaction like that to kava in quite a long time. I now know EXACTLY what cerebral means when it comes to a quality in kava. I'm quite impressed yet again.

 

[The Kap'n]

Something else I noticed. Last night I was making a strong batch to freeze and at the bottom of the kava there was white paste with yellow little particles in it. I wanted to drink it because I'm pretty sure I know what that was, but I mixed it up into the solution and froze it down in a ziplock. I'm trying different ways of altering my daily routine where I make kava for a few days straight, freeze it, and then thaw when I need it.

 

[krunkedout]

I'm curious about how you make frozen kava, do you just let the block of root sit out at room temp until it softens and you can pull some out or do you stick it in some warm water or what?

 

[The Kap'n]

Fill the sink up with cold water and let it slowly defrost. Ideally it should be transferred from the freezer to the fridge a day or two prior to use. I thaw it, split it up in smaller portions and refreeze it. Or I make up a big batch and freeze the product.

 

[Paradise Kava]

What I did 20 minutes ago. Took a pound out, whacked it on the kitchen counter, picked a few pieces, put in Fijian cloth strainer and let it sit in our wooden tanoa for 10 minutes.
Never let the kava thaw and refreeze is the general idea.
Enjoy~
A.G

 

[krunkedout]

What I did 20 minutes ago. Took a pound out, whacked it on the kitchen counter, picked a few pieces, put in Fijian cloth strainer and let it sit in our wooden tanoa for 10 minutes.
Never let the kava thaw and refreeze is the general idea.
Enjoy~
A.G

so do you have to break pieces off? I would imagine that it is much harder to choose a good dose with frozen than dried

 

[Paradise Kava]

Guess you can say that Krunkedout. Once you try it, it's easy to know what's needed. This is just my method so that the kava does not thaw and refreeze. Kinda like any other food.

 

[The Kap'n]

I know. I'm a rule breaker. I *personally* (and by personally, I mean my kava taste buds are not as refined) don't see or taste a difference between kava that's been thawed, then re-frozen, and kava that's used for the first time. Again, that's probably because I drink kava that's more akin to fine Mississippi mud than the nice, fresh kava that I make once a week or so. I've gone as far as to freeze the actual kava beverage for later. What I think can damage the kava root are large ice crystals which happen after re-exposure to freezing temps and air. I work in the ice/ice cream/ refrigeration field, and for ice cream machines you never want ice crystals forming, which is why they use stabilizers such as dextrose. Which brings me to my other question. I've tried to vacuum seal a bag of water before, and....well...that just doesn't work. Have you tried vacuum sealing the fresh kava?

 

[Paradise Kava]

That's an idea Jimmy~ Makes sense. I notice it in the freezer as well.

I guess the blocks need to be put into another ziplock once broken into pieces.

 

[krunkedout]

Something else I noticed. Last night I was making a strong batch to freeze and at the bottom of the kava there was white paste with yellow little particles in it. I wanted to drink it because I'm pretty sure I know what that was, but I mixed it up into the solution and froze it down in a ziplock. I'm trying different ways of altering my daily routine where I make kava for a few days straight, freeze it, and then thaw when I need it.

so you squeeze the kava and the. Pour it in a bag and freeze it? So you just thaw out a nice bowl when u need it? Sounds like an awesome idea! How does it taste after being in the freezer?

 

[The Kap'n]

To me, literally no difference. To someone who drinks fresh kava as a mainstay I'd say they'd probably notice. I break it into chunks and if I make a batch that isn't up to my usual I throw in a piece and kick it up a notch. Works great!

 

[The Kap'n]

Treated myself to some frozen Hiwa last night. Again, the most awesome kava you can purchase. Totally different from dry. The clarity of this kava is astounding. I've noticed something. Fresh kava makes music have 3 or 4 more spacial dimensions to it. Maybe it's the kavain content, or maybe because it's fresh. Love it.

 

[krunkedout]

Just the thought of fresh kava makes my mouth water.

 

[kl.el187joker]

mmmmmm... me too

 

[KavaKrunked]

So I won a pound of this from Judd in the raffle he was running at the end of March. Thanks Judd!!!! I finally got around to thawing it out and making a bowl last night.


I agree 100% with Kapm's comments above. I put a little more than 1/4 cup thawed fresh-frozen root in a Fijan strainer and proceeded to knead and squeeze in 2 cups of warm water for about 20 minutes. This was somewhat difficult as there were some fairly large twig-sized pieces of root material. I am planning on blending my next batch to alleviate this.


The resulting kava beverage was a very light, almost translucent liquid. The taste was extremely mild and somewhat sweet - very pleasant. I've been on a BKH Boroguru bender for the last 2 months, and I can say that the Spotted Hiwa fresh-frozen was so different that I didn't even think I was drinking kava at all.


Now, I have experienced the extremely kavain-laden BKH Nambawan and for me the fresh-frozen Hiwa didn't even compare strength-wise. After the first bowl I didn't feel any effects so I decided to make another, recycling the first batch of root and adding another 1/4 cup of fresh-frozen. I was sure to wait about 4.5 hours after eating, and even ate a cheeseburger 30 minutes after the second bowl but I ended up with very low-level results. Probably comparable to one shell of of my usual Boroguru.


Prior to this, I hadn't had any kava for about 5 days. I know, I know - blasphemy! But I've been battling some pretty intense dermopathy lately and decided to take a break. This could have contributed, but that is unlikely as I have taken short breaks before and always had a great result upon resuming kava consumption.


To conclude, I enjoyed the taste of this kava like no other but was generally disappointed in the effects. After I make and drink a couple of blended batches I will report back with the results. I commend Adil for making fresh root available in the U.S. market - it really is a totally different beverage than one made from dried root. As I drank this, I kept wondering how it was produced. Visions of children chewing and spitting out the root I was drinking kept crossing my mind, although I know this isn't the case!

 

[mos3z]

i'm thinking reverse tolerance for individual kavalactones.

i had the same issue when i first tried pk hawaiian dried root, but after finishing a bag i started feeling it.

just try drinking more of it

 

[The Kap'n]

I recommend one half of one "brick". I'll pull out the serrated knife and turn on the hot water to keep the blade warm and saw 1 bag in half. That's usually my sweet spot with about 2 cups of water.