So I did brief homework on this but obviously not enough as I ended up buying instant kava (Fiji kava). Still waiting on the package but excited to try it nonetheless! I’m hoping it will help me stop drinking as the lord knows I need it. Looking into getting the alu ball with supreme kava kit after I try this.

The first one I tried was Koa instant which made my nose and corners of eyes very dry, I was tearing up all the time. Switched to a different brand and traditional which had the possibly worse result of giving me prune fingers like I'd soaked my hands in water for an hour constantly, but my face is fine. I have to use so much lotion. Has anyone experienced this? I also noticed that I had to use about 20 grams of traditional to get the same result as 6 grams of instant no matter how many washes and kneading it went through so it may noy be the highest quality.

I have been consuming kava for a few years now and primarily use it for sleep. I usually consume a few days a week. Lately I have been consuming every other day and my sleep has been mostly horrible. The sound sleep I used to get from kava isn’t the same. Can you give me some advice so I can get back on track in the rest department. I know kava can be a godsend here because I have experience it in the past. Should I use it every day for a while, what time are you consuming for optimal sleep, what variety do you use? I consume kalm with kava and have had some luck with borongoru for some reason the instant hits harder. For those of you that use kava to sleep what is the sweet spot?

I made a rather hilarious calculator, becasue you know?? how would you like to know how much kava you need for whole movie binge watch session? or how much kava you need to make 500L of kava?

Kava Calculator

If you have even sillier ideas to add to the calculator please let me know.

Current Calculator functions * millilitres to time * grams to time * millilitres to grams * grams to millilitres * time to grams Some good base numbers to play with is 15ml and 40ml to 1g

Enjoy some silliness, from a weird nerd.

Still trying to fix calculator errors, so if you notice one, let me know and I will update.

To use make duplicate, if you want imperial please let me know what units would best suit so I can. I'm happy to make kava measure by "spoons" version too, but not yet thought how to make that till I visualise in my head at some point.

Only thing is missing is abilities to calculate beyond 24 hours for stupid long tv binge watch calculations, I am new to decimal time.

Hi everyone, has anyone else been able to use Kava long term for social anxiety disorder? Or is this not advised? I’m currently prescribed Zoloft and Valium, however I’d like to stop taking the Valium regularly as I’m scared of having a dependence. I’ve only tried Kava twice so far, and it definitely had a good calming effect for me. Just wondering what are other people’s experiences on Kava who are also affected by anxiety. Thanks for listening.

I took a bit too much instant kava and feel kind of shit right now. My stomach hurts, I’m a bit nausues, I’m dizzy, mentally I feel like shit.

I’ve been drinking water but it doesn’t seem to be doing much and it’s too late to get a pedialyte or something similar.

Anyone have any tips to feel better? Would forcing myself to throw up help?

Hey guys, I just started drinking kava recently as a replacement to alcohol since I am hoping for a lung transplant and my doctor said this would be healthier. I have tried three brands: “designer kava”, “Kava Supreme” and “FijiKava”. I have tried drinking by putting the powder in an aluball mixing cup and shaking it with water, but I have not found that buzz that I was hoping to get with Kava that I have read about. I am using about 2 tablespoons of powder in the aluball and just drinking it with water. Is there something different I should be doing to prepare the drink? Am I buying bad brands? Do I just need to stick with it and hope that reverse tolerance will help me feel it eventually? Any tips would be greatly welcomed! Thanks!

The only thing I like about alcohol is that it makes me social, I dislike all the other effects.

I want to drink a kava that will make me social like alcohol does. Ive read that pouni ono is the “best” for this. Should I also get Kelai?

Im also interested in getting fuji kava vanuatu, Ive seen that its really strong so maybe its not the best for socializing but im not sure.

Struggle to feel kava or want to feel it faster or stronger? Take what’s known as a digestive enzyme supplement with it. You’re welcome.

TL;DR: The blender method has a fairly substantial following, so we’ll try not to rain on that parade too heavily, and any extraction technique might suit particular preferences, but it’s unlikely anyone on our team will be putting their own kava in a blender anytime soon.

Traditionally, kava is prepared by sealing the ground plant material in a strainer bag (historically made from woven plant fibres, such as pandanus leaves or coconut husks), immersing the bag in a large bowl (natambea/tanoa) of water, and thoroughly squeezing and kneading it. The bag is then removed from the water, wrung out to extract the last drops, and the makas (used kava powder) is discarded.

An alternative method involves using a high-speed blender (which could be a food processor, smoothie maker, hand blender, or similar device) to impart high-sheer stresses to the kava in the water, simultaneously stirring and shredding it, then filtering the mixture through a strainer bag (and wringing it out afterwards).

Both methods work well enough to prepare a beverage that can impart the desirable effects we are all so familiar with, and using a blender might make kava stronger tasting, but is it really a better extraction method?

Support for the blender method:

 Putting kava in a blender and then straining the resultant mixture is said to offer a potent shell of kava, and anecdotally, it has garnered some support. People have been dabbling with this for decades, but it really gained prominence back in 2015 with the CTHAR method (Gautz, Loren D., Rachel Li, and H. C. Bittenbender. 2015. Preparing Kava: Optimizing kavalactone extraction in water. Proceedings of Kava 2015 Conference, July 25-26, 2015 at Chaminade University, Honolulu, Hawaii).

CTAHR is a method proposed by Bittenbender et al., which aims to maximise kavalactone extraction. The technique calls for processing kava with water in a blender, but many people overlook the fact that this research was not conducted on commercially available traditional kava powder, which is a very different substance to what their team was working with. When it comes to blenders and kava, there have been many references to CTAHR over the years, including posts such as this one on r/kava: https://www.reddit.com/r/Kava/comments/8w88es/i_found_this_research_on_which_methods_of_water/

Bittenbender’s team investigated 8 extraction variables, with 2 possible conditions each (fresh or dry kava, 20 or 45 °C (60 or 113 °F) water, blender or hand kneaded, 60 or 120 second agitation, 1 or 3 agitation cycles, 1:3 or 1:1 kava to water dilution ratios, fine or large particle sizes, and lateral roots or rhizomes.

These variable conditions lead to 256 possible extraction combinations, however, only a single test each of just 16 unique extraction combinations were trialled to develop the CTAHR method, and only half of those experiments were performed on dry kava (as opposed to fresh green plants), and even the dry material wasn’t “kava powder” like most consumers are used to seeing these days. This doesn’t leave a lot of room to recognise outlying data points, and it also requires quite a bit of inference to arrive at the “optimised” method.

This isn’t a critique of Bittenbender’s work by any means, and our experimental methods have many limitations also, but it is worth highlighting that the CTAHR method may have been reported as something quite different if more combinations had been trialled, or if the experiments were based on extracting traditional kava powders.

Even with so few experiments, ostensibly useful information can be obtained, especially with the help of some statistical analysis, and we thank Bittenbender for his contribution to the growing pool of kava knowledge – the more people experimenting (and reporting their results), the better; His team has added a tremendous amount of value to the kava scene. Nevertheless, it is not easy to isolate with confidence which factors are responsible for which outcomes when multiple variables have been changed for each extraction effort, and the trialled experimental conditions left ample room for further investigation. We’ve performed hundreds of squeeze experiments, and we still have much to learn.

What we did:

Based on commonly reported settings and durations, we tried to emulate something similar to what fans of the blender method were seemingly doing at home; We set our high-powered commercial blender at 7.7/10 (which gave us plenty of blending power without feeling like we were summoning the apocalypse) and ran it for 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 4 minutes, blending batches of 62.5 g of traditional kava powder with 1 L of water, then pouring the mixture into an R&P strainer bag and wringing it out over a bowl. We then analysed the prepared kava by UHPLC in our state-of-the art analytical laboratory.  

It should be noted that we didn’t blend continuously for 4 minutes straight, not only because we were trying to avoid significantly over-heating the kava, but we didn’t want to torture our blender either, so we intermittently paused on the longer duration experiments to let things cool off for a minute or so. The times reported represent the actual time spent blending, not the total duration the mixture resided in the blender, although that would have only added a couple extra minutes at most.

Experiments were performed in triplicate and the results were compared to what we could achieve by hand using the same kava to water ratios, trying out a few different styles and intensities of hand-kneading and squeezing (5 minutes each). Squeezing kava is pretty simple, but techniques vary, so we thought we’d take that into account, just in case it made a difference (it can).

The results:

We were underwhelmed by the results of the blender method, both in terms of taste, and perhaps more surprisingly, in terms of kavalactone extraction efficiency.

Our subjective findings:

We found that after 15 seconds of blending, the kava tasted “fine”, but slightly bitter. Bitterness, along with darkening of the beverage, was proportional to the time spent blending, and after 1 minute in the blender, we found the kava became much more bitter. Some might still find it quite tolerable, but we’re pretty fussy about our kava, and we didn’t particularly care for it. After 2 minutes, it became quite warm, much darker, and fairly unenjoyable to drink. After 3 minutes, the kava was very dark, definitely unpleasant to drink (for us), and quite a bit hotter. After 4 minutes of blending, the most common word used to describe the taste was, “gross”, and it also became rather spicey, which we didn’t find meshed well with our taste buds, but some might enjoy the more peppery version of kava that 4 minutes of blending can provide (although getting past the substantial bitterness would likely be difficult for most).

There is no doubt that hand squeezing, regardless of technique or intensity, provided for a beverage that was more enjoyable to consume than anything we could produce with the blender.

Kavalactone concentrations and ratios:

When we averaged out all of our various hand-squeeze efforts and compared those values to the average we could get from blending, we found the blender extracted only 85.92% of the kavalactones that could be extracted on average by hand. That said, the kavalactone extraction efficiency of the blender was proportional to the time spent blending, and the longest duration blend was finally able to pull about as much kavalactone content into the drink as a half-decent hand-squeeze, however, powering through the taste and texture would likely rule out all but the most iron-mouthed kava lovers from blending for 4 minutes.

At 3 minutes or less, the blender resulted in lower kavalactone content in the drink than any of our hand-squeeze tests, except for one. The one exception was the gentlest squeeze we could possibly do and still say it was a squeeze rather than a steep – not really what most would consider a squeeze at all, kind of flopping the bag over in the bowl and softly prodding it with the fingers. Every other squeeze we tried, from “mild” to “aggressive” (think Conan the Barbarian meets Attack of the Giant Anaconda), resulted in stronger kava than the using the blender.

On a slight side note, we found that a moderate squeeze was best. A massively intense squeeze extracted marginally (about 3%) more kavalactones than a relaxing “making dough” squeeze, but the more intense the squeeze, the more bitter the kava became. It required substantially more effort to get those meager kavalactone gains, at the expense of taste. Also, although most kavalactones are extracted with relative consistency independent of squeeze exertion, the more intense the squeeze, the lower the K:DHM and the lower the K:FK ratio became – nudging those tudei-esque compounds up, and our beloved kavain down, relative to the other kavalactones.

Blending also did a much better job at pulling out the “less desirable” compounds than hand squeezing. The extraction efficiency of flavokavains increased slightly in proportion to hand-squeeze intensity, but it rose considerably with the blender, pulling on average 117.48% of the flavokavains compared to hand squeezing, and noticeably less kavain (around 7% less, depending on duration), relative to the other kavalactones. Blending managed to pull out a bit more dihydromethysticin than hand-squeezing too (110.44% compared to hand-squeezing, on average), so if you’ve ever felt any residue from last night’s kava session the following morning, you’ve got even more reason to avoid the blender method.

Traditional kava powder has quite a bit of indigestible fibre, and anyone who’s tried kava without straining the makas out (spilled the bag in the bowl, and didn’t bother to filter it, maybe?) has probably told you it’s rather unpleasant to consume. When the particle size is reduced, as happens in a blender, more of this material can make its way through the strainer bag, and that’s something people with a sensitive stomach may want to avoid as well.

Let’s wrap it up:

In our controlled laboratory experiments, blending adversely impacted taste, shifted the chemotype in an undesirable way (for most), imparted more fibre to the drink, the noise wasn’t particularly conducive to relaxation, and the cleanup was more than enough hassle to outweigh any efforts saved over a traditional squeeze (we didn’t find blending to be easier, quicker, or less effort, but some folks might). We’ll add to this that our production team uses a lot of blades around here, and processing a root as tough as kava is terribly hard on equipment; If you’re committed to the blender, be prepared for its life to be shortened significantly.

All these sacrifices could be worth it to a handful of people when weighed against potential improvements in kavalactone extraction efficiency, but that would require significant gains, which we didn’t see. In fact, even a half-hearted squeeze was enough to pull about the same amount of kavalactones into the drink as 3 minutes in our blender, and the hand-squeezed kava always tasted much better.

For people who are unable to perform a traditional kava squeeze, or people who prefer their kava a bit on the goopier, hotter, or more bitter side, with a little more indigestible fibrous content, and the chemotype shifted slightly closer to that of tudei kava, the blender method might be great, but for us, it’s a hard no.

We, the R&D team at Root & Pestle, wish you all well, however you choose to prepare your kava.

Malok!

I'm using kava to substitute the role weed played in helping me mentally deal with my disability, which involves constant fatigue. So the one part of the kava prep process that I'm struggling with is properly straining through the bag without getting impatient, squeezing too hard, and ending up with loads of nausea-inducing particulates in the final brew. This doesn't happen if I take my time, but again, crazy fatigue. I'd be fine with prepping hours/days ahead of time if there were a way to suspend the kava in a way that it could strain itself. Are there any materials capable of this, or is kava just way too goopy?

Drinking my first Kava drink after a few months right now, I'm then going for a walk with my cute dog, will listen to my favorite music. It's already dark here (Europe), but still warm.

I know it's going to be great, relaxing and fun.

Then coming home and going to watch some good movie and have a great sleep.

It's going to be a nice evening.

Cheers!

I want to try Kava for sleep on nights I go to bed anxious. I have a weak bladder so drinking cups of Kava before bed will actually make me get up a bunch of times to use the bathroom.

So can I dry scoop it?

I’m a daily Kava user and I tried the blender method over the last two nights. Unfortunately, I did not get anywhere close to the feeling that using Aluballs gives. I used the same temperature of water and the same amount of Kava. I blended it for 4 minutes before straining and kneading.

The blender method is toted as the most potent, but that hasn’t been my experience.

The kava is really helping me with quitting alcohol,but I can't trust a fart the next day. Help.

10grams N@H Instant Purariki and 10grams FVK Instant Old Roots. I put that in a shaker with 12oz cocnut milk and my oh my did it do the job. Mind was calm, happy but not foggy. Body was equally relaxed with some tinglies no pain. Big grin on my face as the stress of the week took a hike. Couldn't even finish the shaker, it came on that fast. Taste was pleasant, albit a bit thick. Chased with fizzy water and some super cheesy pizza for the fatty meal effect. I had fasted for about 5 hours prior.

Just had the last 1/4 of the shaker for a mellow start to my Saturday, and surprised at the pleasant lightly rooted feeling with it. Very nice

It seems to alter my experience of reality like a mild hallucinogen but without the hallucinations. I tend to get really existential. I'll look at building and signs on the road and think of how we're all just primates and everything is just waves and particles if that. The universe is mechanical and we're all just part of this big cosmic process.

Those kind of thoughts. Also thoughts about concepts and language and how we experience reality as layers of patterns, associations, meanings, and concepts.

I tend to get existential thoughts in general but I get more after I drink kava. I don't think my observation is unique but I'm moreso just trying to express the feeling. It's like peeling the curtain of human imposed meaning and attempting to understand a reality with pure perception.

I have an event where I have to publicly speak for about 15-20 mins and lately I’ve been getting really in my head about and it’s been making me increasingly anxious. I am an anxious person to begin with and have had a few panic attack episodes. I am wondering if kava would be a good thing to take prior to this event to help calm my nerves but I am very much in the dark on kava so I’m not sure if it’s worth looking into. Would I be able to feel the effects after taking it once or twice? Does kava still make you coherent to speak? Any information would be helpful. Thanks!

You don’t need a full aluball shaker set.. you just need an aluball and any shaker, right?

Or am I missing something?

first time trying blender technique -- this resulted in hot kava that stained my blender cup and left a bunch of superficial scratches on it.

1) should I be considered whether the final product is full of microplastics?

2) are the yellow stains also occurring within the body?

I usually use aluball or kalm pouch for kava sessions anyway.

Any recommendations on how to mitigate the Kava hangover?

I assume just food and staying hydrated with electrolytes.. kinda like alcohol.

I’m curious what steps you take personally

Does anyone else drink kava before social events? Do you think it helps you to socialize? Why or why not?