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Supply shortage soon?

Pauli

Kava Curious
What if the demand for kava gets close to those of coffee?
Coffee can be cultivated in many countries, unlike Kava.

Let's say, maybe it is a good thing that James Bond won't drink Fiji Waka
and Coldplay does not sing about Borongoru, Squidgames has no Mahakea game and in Ozark no IkaIka bar is found, because the number of kava bars would be more than the supply can offer.
 
I doubt the demand for kava will ever get anywhere near the demand for coffee. But if suddenly 1 billion people wanted to drink it, you would see the prices go sky high.. for a bit. The phenomenal profits would soon attract big investors willing to do pretty much anything to get into the game :)
 

Szafirek

Kava Curious
What if the demand for kava gets close to those of coffee?
Coffee can be cultivated in many countries, unlike Kava.

Let's say, maybe it is a good thing that James Bond won't drink Fiji Waka
and Coldplay does not sing about Borongoru, Squidgames has no Mahakea game and in Ozark no IkaIka bar is found, because the number of kava bars would be more than the supply can offer.
I think the supply may be far much larger than it is now. I know kava grows in Papua and it's quite a large island. Australia wants to grow kava. I am also considering other locations - especially Indonesia and the Philippines?

Kava in movies and songs - I think it's only a matter of time :)
 

Zaphod

Kava Lover
What if the demand for kava gets close to those of coffee?
Coffee can be cultivated in many countries, unlike Kava.

Let's say, maybe it is a good thing that James Bond won't drink Fiji Waka
and Coldplay does not sing about Borongoru, Squidgames has no Mahakea game and in Ozark no IkaIka bar is found, because the number of kava bars would be more than the supply can offer.
In my opinion, kava will not "take off" or ever be as popular as coffee, booze, or now in most states weed. The taste, prep, unfamiliarity, lingering health concerns, and cost will I think always keep it near a niche level. Maybe it peaks up a bit above that but probably not by much. More likely to impact cost is supply. With limited growing areas that are susceptible to hurricanes and apparently volcanos/tsunamis we are more likely to see prices rise due to lack of supply.
 

Blergs

Kava Curious
Even if demand shot up, there are lots of places to grow it. Plus I wonder if greenhouses would be viable, though maybe not due to needing 3-5yrs for harvest.
 

Zaphod

Kava Lover
Even if demand shot up, there are lots of places to grow it. Plus I wonder if greenhouses would be viable, though maybe not due to needing 3-5yrs for harvest.
Maybe but the cost would have to be through the roof to make greenhouse growing a financial reality. There are just so many plants that you could grow that would provide more $ in the same space and be ready in less than 6 months (and then of course replant and keep going) instead of waiting 3-5 years. Right now you would make a ton more money growing vegetables in greenhouse then kava.
 

Blergs

Kava Curious
I wonder if it is time to think about a kavaforums "buying collective". Not that I want to try and cut out the good vendors who are helping us keep our kava flowing but I bet we could get enough people to do some bulk buys.....
I'd be interested
 
I wonder if it is time to think about a kavaforums "buying collective". Not that I want to try and cut out the good vendors who are helping us keep our kava flowing but I bet we could get enough people to do some bulk buys.....
What would be a good to store kava long term? Would vacuuming and freezing affect it at all?
 

yiki

Kava Enthusiast
What would be a good to store kava long term? Would vacuuming and freezing affect it at all?
You can just store it as is, in a dry and cool place, in a bag.

Doubt that kava will ever become a major drink since it tastes nasty to most people.
 
since it tastes nasty to most people. [/QUOTE said:
Its crazy but I actually enjoy the taste of most kava, except for some vanuatu varieties. I guess that's what throwing back shells is for. It amazes me how many flavor profiles there are though.
 

avahZ

YAHWEH Shalom
I agree with @Kojo Douglas; however, there has been a few in the past couple years. It goes in cycles… Kava gets popular (well for mud water anyway :) ), supplies get tight, prices shoot up, more is farmed/harvested (kava in ground 5yrs before harvest then the magic number is 3yrs), some liver scare et,al, too much kava, prices drop, wash, rinse and repeat lol

And let’s not even talk about the fact that kava tends to the most geologically active regions of the world.
 

fueledbykava

Kava enthusiast
I'd be interested in what the kava growers have seen in recent years. Has demand steadily increased? Sharply increased?
 

Shaman-warrior

Kava Curious
Anytime big investors get involved, quality goes down, especially for something like kava, which has a large variation of compounds. I've seen quality go down with other plants, like cannabis or K@ because of the demand and/or large investors. Profits become the motive, not quality, because they know the most people will buy it anyways.
 
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