kavakarma
Kava Enthusiast
Bula! I am glad I ordered the whole sun dried Fiji'an waka roots. During the day I showed my workmates a few roots, and the true joy was my hands on experience of grinding my own kava root. This is my first time ordering from Fiji Fresh, and they shipped right away. It is also my initial encounter with whole roots. I've had the pleasure of frozen-fresh before, however that was milled up for me already. I'll jump right to the photos!
Preparation!
Here is a few photos of the roots beginning to be processed. I chose to use a machine grinder with sharp spinning blades attached to a motor, because I had the tool available, and was anticipating a post-work shell and dinner. I realize traditionally this tool is unavailable and other methods such as pounding, chewing, and crank-grinding are suitable where a mortar and pestle or zester / grater are not available.
This image shows a few of the larger roots, as well as the Piper Methysticum leaves on the packaging. In this photo is a quarter pound of root.
Some roots were string-thin. I learned the fibers loosen more readily if you twist the roots instead of snap them or bend them.
The larger chunks, I used a knife to chop them - note that I CHOPped, not cutting back and forth like a saw. Using knives, you must be careful. I was trained to use kitchen knives by a chef who knows the skill from college education and experience working in the field. I find that cutting at a biased angle between the "root nodes" gives a clean cut. Here's something fascinating I found, it looks like a root within a root.
I believe the peelings or root bark were left on these Noble lateral roots. I am not certain if the larger chunks are part lawena or not. Certainly good quality, and takes up the bulk of the weight. The roots went through my machine grinder. Each time it jammed, or I wanted to empty it, I unplugged it before opening the top. This minimizes the risk of having my fingerpads chopped off. I'd use a large root to clear the jam and stir the dry roots around and pulse them to let the larger chunks settle. This did not take long, and I was able to process a few tablespoons at a time with this method, here's a photo of my home-milled kava powder!
Each time I made fresh kava root powder, to retain the freshness, I was placing it in warm water right away. When I had finished milling, I whisked the warm water and roots and poured it into my strainer in the mixing pot. This time I did not wash or rinse the roots - next time, maybe I will before grinding.
Using this many roots, I kneaded and squeezed for at least five minutes. At one point I noticed a fresh smell similar to that of the frozen fresh kava. I made the kava stronger than mentioned in the Sosoko method on the back, which also instructs you to agitate and knead the roots vigorously, and to spend more time preparing larger amounts of root. I'll definitely be back for a half a dozen more washes of this root before I open up another package tomorrow evening.
Bula! The shell is about twice as strong, kavalactone-wise, as I am used to. The texture is balanced. It is slightly smooth, slightly gritty, all the while having an earthy flavor. There appear to be lactone swirls on top and bottom of the kava. Even if it was whisked one moment ago, the clear swirls are present on top and the white lactone collections on the bottom, in this case, they settle on the grooves and ridges of my bowl and hang there, regardless of if I am rocking the bowl.
Thank you for the fresh roots, fresh experience, and fine kava.
Preparation!
Here is a few photos of the roots beginning to be processed. I chose to use a machine grinder with sharp spinning blades attached to a motor, because I had the tool available, and was anticipating a post-work shell and dinner. I realize traditionally this tool is unavailable and other methods such as pounding, chewing, and crank-grinding are suitable where a mortar and pestle or zester / grater are not available.
This image shows a few of the larger roots, as well as the Piper Methysticum leaves on the packaging. In this photo is a quarter pound of root.
Some roots were string-thin. I learned the fibers loosen more readily if you twist the roots instead of snap them or bend them.
The larger chunks, I used a knife to chop them - note that I CHOPped, not cutting back and forth like a saw. Using knives, you must be careful. I was trained to use kitchen knives by a chef who knows the skill from college education and experience working in the field. I find that cutting at a biased angle between the "root nodes" gives a clean cut. Here's something fascinating I found, it looks like a root within a root.
I believe the peelings or root bark were left on these Noble lateral roots. I am not certain if the larger chunks are part lawena or not. Certainly good quality, and takes up the bulk of the weight. The roots went through my machine grinder. Each time it jammed, or I wanted to empty it, I unplugged it before opening the top. This minimizes the risk of having my fingerpads chopped off. I'd use a large root to clear the jam and stir the dry roots around and pulse them to let the larger chunks settle. This did not take long, and I was able to process a few tablespoons at a time with this method, here's a photo of my home-milled kava powder!
Each time I made fresh kava root powder, to retain the freshness, I was placing it in warm water right away. When I had finished milling, I whisked the warm water and roots and poured it into my strainer in the mixing pot. This time I did not wash or rinse the roots - next time, maybe I will before grinding.
Using this many roots, I kneaded and squeezed for at least five minutes. At one point I noticed a fresh smell similar to that of the frozen fresh kava. I made the kava stronger than mentioned in the Sosoko method on the back, which also instructs you to agitate and knead the roots vigorously, and to spend more time preparing larger amounts of root. I'll definitely be back for a half a dozen more washes of this root before I open up another package tomorrow evening.
Bula! The shell is about twice as strong, kavalactone-wise, as I am used to. The texture is balanced. It is slightly smooth, slightly gritty, all the while having an earthy flavor. There appear to be lactone swirls on top and bottom of the kava. Even if it was whisked one moment ago, the clear swirls are present on top and the white lactone collections on the bottom, in this case, they settle on the grooves and ridges of my bowl and hang there, regardless of if I am rocking the bowl.
Thank you for the fresh roots, fresh experience, and fine kava.
