Kava root should be stored in a dry, dark location. Prepared kava will take on an unpleasant (well, even more unpleasant) taste if left out for hours. Refrigeration will help it keep for a few days. It can be frozen and stored indefinitely.
Some kava drinkers have found effective value in adding fats to their kava. This is theorized to disperse the Kavalactones which are fatty substances. Many use emulsifiers such as coconut milk, cows milk, and soy lecithin granules. Some find an increased potency of traditionally prepared kava when adding this during the kneading phase.
It has varied effects, and while some find it an absolute necessity, others may not see the same increase in effects. Just as kava is a substance that affects each person differently, so does this method. Give it a shot, and see if you’re one it works for.
Occasionally you may open a bag of kava that jumps out at you as being off. Typically these kavas will have an off smell to them. The smell is that of chemicals or plastic or diesel fuel. We've discovered two scenarios where this can happen.
1.) The kava was pulverized and immediately placed into bags for shipment while still being hot. This smell becomes part of the kava intrinsically and cannot be driven off by placing the powder in the oven or the sun.
2.) MVOC - Microbial volatile organic compounds. The kava would have been stored too damp. This excessive moisture content provide a breeding ground for molds and bacteria which produce these offensive smells. These types of issues can occasionally be corrected by heating the kava or spreading out the kava to air out in the sun.
What do I do in this situation?
Notify the vendor. Likely something is either wrong in thier processing steps or the exporter is not totally drying the kava. Both issues are something the vendor needs to know as soon as possible in order to correct. You'll likely get another batch of kava out of it for bringing it to their attention.
There is no one single kava culture. Similarly, there are many different ways of preparing and kava across Oceania. For instance, Vanuatu is famous for its "strong" kava that is prepared using just a little bit of water and plenty of freshly harvested (and potent) plants. By contrast, Tongan and Fijian consumers drink a very heavily diluted beverage prepared from dried kava roots, as this way they can spend many hours consuming it without falling asleep.
