What's new

Tanoa coating

ThePiper

Kava Lover
How do you guys make your tanoa foodsafe? I wanted to use mine more often but stopped after discovering it needed to be finished with wax or something to be foodsafe, and couldn't figure out how to make a good wax coating with the stuff I bought. Any easy way to geet gud?
 

ThePiper

Kava Lover
I believe mine (from KWK) has some kind of finish on it that isn't food safe though. I also notice the kava seems to fade the color of that finish, which is concerning because it makes me think it's getting pulled into the grog
 

kastom_lif

Kava Lover
A bowl carved from vesi/fehi/natora should not be toxic. If you're concerned about the finish, maybe just sand it off?

As long as you don't let it get waterlogged the bare wood will do just fine. They're tough. Kaukauwa vaka na vuni vesi.
 
Last edited:

ThePiper

Kava Lover
Yeah it's more the finish and chemicals than the health of the wood that im thinking about. So no one else does a wax coating or anything?
 

PepperyPyrone

I'll have the pyrones with some pepper, please.
This stuff works awesome. I use it on mine. I had some minor seeping and it sealed them right up, never had to reapply. Food safe and creates a great shine. Amazon.
03D2AB10-9791-494F-ACDD-A2665C93C452.jpeg
 

kastom_lif

Kava Lover
Stick your finger in the jar. Rub your finger on the wood. You could probably get fancy with a cloth or something if you wanted to.
 

nabanga

Kava Enthusiast
If your tanoa is finished with varnish or something like that, like many sold in resorts and shops in Fiji/Samoa it is a handicraft souvenir.
But if it's bare wood just use it - no need for any treatment. You can rub coconut oil to feed the wood if you like. Of the few tanoa I use for drinking I only ever oil the outsides, leave the insides untouched. The insides look dry and kava - crusty but that's ok.

Sent from my BLL-L22 using Tapatalk
 

BulaPonoKava

Kava Curious
Is there any value in soaking / saturating the Tanoa in water, or even submersing prior to oiling to prevent cracking and encourage longevity? I think some have said that they used to be submerged in mud for strength / color in the past?
@Gourmet Hawaiian Kava
 

Groggy

Kava aficionado
Admin
Yeah, I've had issues with tanoa coating. I seem to be a bit too dumb to be concerned about such things. Hence my seven bouts with malaria.
A simple salad bowl never gave me any issues, sure it's not traditional but it's definitely practical. Simple rinse afterwards and done. I have a medium size bowl with a grippy bottom, perfect for going in on the knead.
 

BulaPonoKava

Kava Curious
I guess I was thinking of the coating for being food safe as well as preservation of the bowl, Tania or salad :)

This talks of leaving water in to prevent cracking, apologize if a little off topic
 
Top