What's new

what are some of the more common tudei varieties

Dan

Kava Enthusiast
Given the recent findings, I would love to know which of the commerically-available varieties in the U.S. (especially from Bula Kava House, Nakamal at Home and Paradise Kava) are actually a "tudei" variety. Aside from Koniak, which everyone seems to agree on.

Or if there are any other basic indicators (island of origin, chemotype) that I should be watching out for.
 

infraredz

BULA!
From what I've read, sounds like Chief's Jungle by N@H is a tudei. I'm also pretty sure that it would be safe to assume PNG kavas will be more akin to a tudei than a noble.

That, and KBR ISA are the other two that jump to mind.
 

The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
Isa from Paradise Kava....although he would be glad to finally have a good enough reason to be rid of that option
 

kavadude

❦ॐ tanuki tamer
Well I guess it's not a tudei as that is purely a Vanuatu term, but as Andrew said Papua New Guinea doesn't have a long history of kava consumption or cultivation and their kavas seem to be a little more "dirty" if that makes sense.
 

Bula Kava House

Portland, OR
Kava Vendor
Kava Bar Owner
Hello all. To clear things up a bit, Koniak is just the pidgin word used for kava in PNG. Waeld Koniak may be what everyone is thinking of when they think of PNG tudei kava, which is actually wild growing Piper wichmanii. All this confusion makes me wonder if we should change the name.

Since everyone has been questioning tudeis and PNG kava I've been in close contact with my supplier to get as much info as possible. I've seen the test results and the PNG kava we sell is high in DHM, DHK, and kavain, but it is NOT considered a tudei kava by those that grow and drink it locally in PNG.

I was also specifically told that flavokavains are ABSENT in what we sell. This is not true for other PNG strains but ours is a cultivar that was brought from Fiji in the early 90s to establish a pharmaceutical market. Point being, whether or not our Koniak has effects that last into the next day doesn't really matter, as our kava is safe.
 

infraredz

BULA!
Thank you very much for that information.

I can definitely address your comment about the confusion regarding the name. I know that I always assumed that your Koniak was the same as the Waeld Koniak, and that's why I stayed away from it. I think that if the information about a Fijian cultivar that is simply grown in PNG, that would clear up a lot of buzz. I think that (rightly so) a lot of us associate PNG with having tudei/ISA/wichmanii/whatever you want to call it.

To have a "noble" Fijian kava being grown in PNG is a whole different matter. However, I do wonder why it has such high amounts of DHM and DHK (like ISA and tudei) if it is simply a Fijian. I've always thought that Fijian kava (that was not imported from Vanuatu) was pretty high in Kavain and more of an uplifting variety.

Anyways, the test regarding flavokavains is great to hear. How is that information gathered? I think that other than the standard USDA or FDA screen, kava should also be tested for these flavokavins (as even FK-A
induces apoptosis in bladder cancer cells).
 
Top