yepimonfire
Kava Enthusiast
Passed it on. Sure this guy is quite tired of the constant barrage of emails lol
KAVA PRODUCT ALERT Wakacon Vanuatu - not what it seems
- Thread starter violet
- Start date
yepimonfire
Kava Enthusiast
HeadHodge
Bula To Eternity
Oh sorry, I must have incorrectly interpreted your post. Now that I look at it again, I think you were quoting something instead of you personally.
infraredz
BULA!
Well, I feel that it's more appropriate for you to converse with them because you have personal experience with the products. At the very least, you have some experience with their products which I don't.
That's because in all honesty, the first time I heard of them, I thought "Hmmm, probably not the best company to get my kava from".
I honestly, didn't want to ever have to say "Told ya so" and really hoped I would be proved wrong.
I don't think we should get all crazy and barrage them. It sounds like everything is very civil and it should stay that way. Shoot me a PM yepimonfire if you want to get the articles from me which you can provide.
HeadHodge
Bula To Eternity
Yes I don't think we should take on the job to be Activists. I can't afford to fly there to picket.
infraredz
BULA!
Well, when there was a lot of negative press around the whole S. Florida couple, the community was very helpful in posting concise and civil posts on their articles. One of the authors I contacted even agreed to revise his article to reflect a much better image of kava.
So there is a time for it, just not now.
So there is a time for it, just not now.
infraredz
BULA!
Also, after a cursory look at the reviews of some of Wakacon's kava, [EDIT] one (reportedly) experienced kava drinker have described the "Fijian Waka" as feeling like a tudei.
I definitely look forward to what we hear back.
This review is from: KAVA WAKA powder -1 LB- Fijian High Quality Kava
"I have been working with Kava for almost 5 years, have tried 3 different tinctures, as well as pastes, pills, and even candies. In addition I've tried virtually every kava companies kavas available(overall probably 15 types of dried kava root). This Kava is by far the strongest, most powerful Kava I have EVER tried. It is diffenetly a tudei kava, meaning you can feel the effects for a day or so after."
I definitely look forward to what we hear back.
This review is from: KAVA WAKA powder -1 LB- Fijian High Quality Kava
"I have been working with Kava for almost 5 years, have tried 3 different tinctures, as well as pastes, pills, and even candies. In addition I've tried virtually every kava companies kavas available(overall probably 15 types of dried kava root). This Kava is by far the strongest, most powerful Kava I have EVER tried. It is diffenetly a tudei kava, meaning you can feel the effects for a day or so after."
violet
Do all things with love
Uh yeah, this stuff is definitely wayyyyyy different.
Steve T
Kava Enthusiast
Great job violet and I also thank members like infraredz and Deleted User01 for suggesting/providing the test.
I was the other person who had a horrible hangover effect with this kava. I was about to perform the test myself until I saw this thread. It is no joke, just 2 spoonfuls would wreck me the next day; it's not nitpicking to test for tudei. It can be concerning because normal consumers don't know anything about this unless they read this message board. Just the fact that they're brewing kava is "new" and unique to them compared to their normal pills or extracts, so after learning all of these methods of brewing kava they also have to watch out for huge differences between kavas.
What is scarier though is that I was taking very low 25mg doses of trazodone to sleep while on this kava, and through diagnosing my constant fatigue I stopped the med and the hangover from the kava lessened. Trazodone is metabolized in the liver. I can only speculate that the hangover is liver-related, as the halflife of traz is 7 hours, so either my liver was too busy dealing with the kava which increased the halflife of the trazodone, or both just rammed my liver and my glycogen levels were bad the next day. It was always of feeling like "I'm going to do something!" you get up, then "… nope, something is holding me back as soon as I move." I'm no doctor but it seems like metabolic energy or glycogen. Maybe "I'm no doctor" should be the only sentence here.
If their Fiji Waka is okay I might consider buying that again, but I'm not too confident.
A) the reason I got Vanuatu in the first place was their mistake, I ordered Fiji but they sent Vanuatu (tudei)
B) who knows where they get it from, one batch of Fiji could be okay but the next is from an unchecked source.
It may be unrelated but this Vanuatu had the worst taste ever. Twice I have gagged while drinking it (rare), and just held the kava in my mouth trying to stop a full vomit in order to not spit out and waste the kava, lol.
I was the other person who had a horrible hangover effect with this kava. I was about to perform the test myself until I saw this thread. It is no joke, just 2 spoonfuls would wreck me the next day; it's not nitpicking to test for tudei. It can be concerning because normal consumers don't know anything about this unless they read this message board. Just the fact that they're brewing kava is "new" and unique to them compared to their normal pills or extracts, so after learning all of these methods of brewing kava they also have to watch out for huge differences between kavas.
What is scarier though is that I was taking very low 25mg doses of trazodone to sleep while on this kava, and through diagnosing my constant fatigue I stopped the med and the hangover from the kava lessened. Trazodone is metabolized in the liver. I can only speculate that the hangover is liver-related, as the halflife of traz is 7 hours, so either my liver was too busy dealing with the kava which increased the halflife of the trazodone, or both just rammed my liver and my glycogen levels were bad the next day. It was always of feeling like "I'm going to do something!" you get up, then "… nope, something is holding me back as soon as I move." I'm no doctor but it seems like metabolic energy or glycogen. Maybe "I'm no doctor" should be the only sentence here.
If their Fiji Waka is okay I might consider buying that again, but I'm not too confident.
A) the reason I got Vanuatu in the first place was their mistake, I ordered Fiji but they sent Vanuatu (tudei)
B) who knows where they get it from, one batch of Fiji could be okay but the next is from an unchecked source.
It may be unrelated but this Vanuatu had the worst taste ever. Twice I have gagged while drinking it (rare), and just held the kava in my mouth trying to stop a full vomit in order to not spit out and waste the kava, lol.
Global Kava Exports
Kava Vendor
It's refreshing to see that people here aren't jumping on this and going to town on the vendor. It's being dealt with in a calm and collected manner. I feel that this is fair to the Vendor and also a great effort to stop other people receiving this type of Kava. Everyone makes mistakes now and again and it's good to see they aren't being persecuted for it.
violet
Do all things with love
@Steve T Trazodone is metabolized by the liver enzyme CYP3A4, which kava greatly inhibits. I wasn't real sure what to think about your results, because it sounded like you were consuming basically un-strained root (which we refer to as "toss-and-wash") and stated you are also taking a med which is greatly potentiated with concomitant kava usage, either of which on its own could cause negative effects that would seem attributable to the kava. But it did make me realize that I didn't want to experience the second day effects effects of drinking this kava again, if the kava was the culprit.
I can also tell you that the Vanuatu that I got before (that was of a noble type) tasted far, far worse than this batch of tudei I received LOL.
I would still recommend testing the batch of kava that you have with acetone, you can get it very cheap usually labeled as 99 or 100% pure where you find the nail polish remover. Two level teaspoons of kava (10 mL) and a tablespoon + a teaspoon of acetone (50 mL) in a clear colorless glass jar, shaken and left to sit for a day will give you a good idea of what you have. It is also helpful if you have another known kava to test alongside it as a control.
I can also tell you that the Vanuatu that I got before (that was of a noble type) tasted far, far worse than this batch of tudei I received LOL.
I would still recommend testing the batch of kava that you have with acetone, you can get it very cheap usually labeled as 99 or 100% pure where you find the nail polish remover. Two level teaspoons of kava (10 mL) and a tablespoon + a teaspoon of acetone (50 mL) in a clear colorless glass jar, shaken and left to sit for a day will give you a good idea of what you have. It is also helpful if you have another known kava to test alongside it as a control.
yepimonfire
Kava Enthusiast
Fwiw I have taken tons of meds that are metabolized by the liver enzymes kava strongly inhibit with no real problems, even benzodiazepines.
Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk HD
Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk HD
Steve T
Kava Enthusiast
I noticed that they stopped selling this kava on Amazon.
It has me worried because I drank like 1.75 lbs of it using a wire strainer, and from violet's picture it is 100% tudei, not a mix. And all those liver damage reports were from alcoholics drinking tudei kava extracts, and even though I've been sober for 2 years I can't help but get paranoid.
Even drinking noble kavas now I feel a similar fatigue, which has me worried that the tudei kava somehow gave me a fatty liver which lags when processing good kava. Or maybe it's just a quality of sleep situation, unknowingly (or knowingly) waking up in the middle of the night since I have insomnia.
Does anyone notice similar effects after drinking koniak, ISA, or tudei kavas for a while? Maybe a detox is in order of no kava at all.
It has me worried because I drank like 1.75 lbs of it using a wire strainer, and from violet's picture it is 100% tudei, not a mix. And all those liver damage reports were from alcoholics drinking tudei kava extracts, and even though I've been sober for 2 years I can't help but get paranoid.
Even drinking noble kavas now I feel a similar fatigue, which has me worried that the tudei kava somehow gave me a fatty liver which lags when processing good kava. Or maybe it's just a quality of sleep situation, unknowingly (or knowingly) waking up in the middle of the night since I have insomnia.
Does anyone notice similar effects after drinking koniak, ISA, or tudei kavas for a while? Maybe a detox is in order of no kava at all.
infraredz
BULA!
Yes, this is what I experienced after drinking Koniak, PK's ISA and KBR's ISA before I knew any better or before this information was more available.
If you are worried about your liver, get an LFT done. They are cheap and all you have to mention is the word "alcohol" and "liver" in the same sentence to your doctor and they will get one done without a second thought. I'd advise against disclosing you've been drinking kava as the last thing we need is a case report of liver damage from someone self-reporting kava usage.
I have feeling your liver will have taken much more abuse from 2 yrs of EtOH abuse than tudei, but then again, we don't know the comparative toxicity and may never know.
Just go see a doctor if you're worried. Those detoxes are mostly a bunch of pseudoscience and your money is much better spent with a qualified medical professional analyzing the specific issue.
If you are worried about your liver, get an LFT done. They are cheap and all you have to mention is the word "alcohol" and "liver" in the same sentence to your doctor and they will get one done without a second thought. I'd advise against disclosing you've been drinking kava as the last thing we need is a case report of liver damage from someone self-reporting kava usage.
I have feeling your liver will have taken much more abuse from 2 yrs of EtOH abuse than tudei, but then again, we don't know the comparative toxicity and may never know.
Just go see a doctor if you're worried. Those detoxes are mostly a bunch of pseudoscience and your money is much better spent with a qualified medical professional analyzing the specific issue.
TidyMinion
Kava Padawan
Somehow missed this thread until now. Interesting though I was just wondering if someone had done/could do the test on Wakacon since a few of us have tried it and reported it to be really hard hitting. That totally explains the experience I had then, I wasn't able to really describe it as it wasn't like other Vanuatu kavas I had tried. It didn't have that same "clean" and focused feeling of a noble kava but I wasn't really experienced with any tudei kava at all to know the difference. Only in retrospect now thinking about it.
I'm thinking about setting up an efficient way for me to test the kava I receive, just as a way for me to feel better about what I'm ingesting. It doesn't look too complicated and i'm sure the Kava Scientists could suggest an affordable and standard type of test equipment. With this forum available, we also have a way to share information to others so even if there isn't a kava "law" about testing in the future we at least have something to fall back on. Great find and thanks for sharing @violet !