How to make instant kava powder?

[Todd]

I recently was given a kilo of kava Tonga from a friend. I have been making it the traditional way with a stainer and cold water at home, but I am getting ready to go away on a trip and I don't want to carry all of the tools and kava necessary to make it. I am wondering if anyone knows a way to make the instant kava powder from what I currently have? This would make having kava while travelling much easier because I could simply mix it with water. I know that there are currently instant kava powders that I can buy but I would like to use what I already have if I can. Any info on this process would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[The Kap'n]

I've spent some time on making instant kava at home and it's a bit difficult. Basically what you have to do is dehydrate prepared kava. I used a heating plate at 100 degrees then finished up the process in a vacuum oven. After that I ground it down in a ball mill.

 

[tomkrat]

Awesome!
Thanks for the info kapm. I might try that some time just for giggles; I quite like doing little projects like that

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

Hahaa me too tomkrat. Me too. They get my balls a tingling, I used to love making certain alchohol extractions in my kitchen

 

[The Kap'n]

Here's a link to my setup

http://kavaforums.com/forum/threads/homemade-instant-kava-construction.688/

 

[BulaJones]

Hmmm. I have a food dehydrator with a thermostat that goes down to 95F....

 

[The Kap'n]

Hmmm. I have a food dehydrator with a thermostat that goes down to 95F....

Give it a whirl. I bet it would work. The only thing you'd need after dehydrating it is a way to grind it down extremely fine. If you don't get the grind right it doesn't dissolve well in water.

Also, let the prepared kava settle for a few hours, and pour off the top liquid before you put it in the dehydrator. Kava itself is only a suspended solid, so the sediment will be what you'd want to go for.

 

[BulaJones]

I have a mortar and pestle. A little elbow grease and I should be able to grind it down.

Im guessing I am going to want to make the grog as strong as possible before tossing it in the dehydrator. Any suggestions on water to powder ratio for maximum potency without being wasteful?

 

[The Kap'n]

I used 60 grams of medium grind kava powder to 450ml water. That's a pretty stout brew, but once you get it down to instant you can easily pick and choose which dose you prefer.

 

[Joeyhodge]

I've been on an instant kava kick lately. I love the ease of taking it on the go and the effects. Been using Vanatu at night and I have been having by far the best night's sleep this year. I just mix my dosage in water and stir. I am going to try juice next and see how the taste is. Funny thing is that I actually don't mind the taste at all in water, maybe in a way I even enjoy it

 

[BulaJones]

I used 60 grams of medium grind kava powder to 450ml water. That's a pretty stout brew, but once you get it down to instant you can easily pick and choose which dose you prefer.

Thanks Kap'm! The dehydrator seems to work great. Took about eight hours and produced 20 grams. I followed your measurements, but didn't knead as long as I should have....and spilt quite a bit getting it in the dehydrator (I have a 100+ year old house and the counters in my pantry are not level ). I haven't used the powder yet as I need to google the instant powder/water mixing ratio.

I'm thinking of making another batch and trying my hand at making candy with the powder.

 

[Runding]

Thanks Kap'm! The dehydrator seems to work great. Took about eight hours and produced 20 grams. I followed your measurements, but didn't knead as long as I should have....and spilt quite a bit getting it in the dehydrator (I have a 100+ year old house and the counters in my pantry are not level ). I haven't used the powder yet as I need to google the instant powder/water mixing ratio.

I'm thinking of making another batch and trying my hand at making candy with the powder.

Very cool! You'll generally find instant to be 1.5x the strength of micro kava. I normally use half a tablespoon for each shell. Make sure to let us know how it goes!