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Advantages of Grinds

CanAwa

CanAwa

1 kava 2 kava 3 kava COUCH
I've only tried 3 different types of kavas each with there own grind..melo melo with seems to be fairly fine as well as a Vanuatu whichis just a bit coarser and pk Fijian waka which was the coarsest and the one I liked the most as far as prep ..what are the advantages / disadvantages of the grind ?
 
kavadude

kavadude

❦ॐ tanuki tamer
CanAwa

CanAwa

1 kava 2 kava 3 kava COUCH
Seems like I just get a lot of sediment and I get an upset stomach ..I'm thinking of priming with pep to next time ..see how that works
 
HeadHodge

HeadHodge

Bula To Eternity
Akava said:
like @kavadude said.
finer grinds in particular cause dermopathy,
I go with coarse nowadays
Click to expand...
Why wouldn't a finer filter compensate? I'm getting over my 1st case of derma ick, and I think it was (in large part) from using a coarse nylon filter.
 
Last edited:
Akava

Akava

Kava Enthusiast
Hmm idk, I don't know much about varieties of strainers, I was using PK strainer and I thought that was quite fine
 
kavadude

kavadude

❦ॐ tanuki tamer
Kavanewb said:
Seems like I just get a lot of sediment and I get an upset stomach ..I'm thinking of priming with pep to next time ..see how that works
Click to expand...
Upset stomach can be a lot of things. What are you straining with? I'm not familiar with the other two but melo melo is on the finer side at the moment although not as fine as micronized. (It's normally coarser, but the exporter's equipment is broken). Another thing to try if you haven't is spacing out your shells a bit more.

HeadHodge said:
Why wouldn't a finer filter compensate? I'm getting over my 1st case of derma icky, and I think it was (in large part) from using a coarse nylon filter.
Click to expand...
It does, but it's also a pain to squeeze out and ends up not as potent as I like, personally. I've done some really fine stuff through a muslin bag and it worked *okay* and was mostly sediment free. Also, the strainers themselves get stretched out over time so it's good to replace them every once in a while.
 
HeadHodge

HeadHodge

Bula To Eternity
kavadude said:
It does, but it's also a pain to squeeze out and ends up not as potent as I like, personally. I've done some really fine stuff through a muslin bag and it worked *okay* and was mostly sediment free. Also, the strainers themselves get stretched out over time so it's good to replace them every once in a while.
Click to expand...
I think I remember reading Kapm was triple filtering his Kava. Do you think that would help remove sediment for finer grinds even if the bags were coarser than your muslin bag? I don't have three bags, so I can't try it myself at the moment.
 
CanAwa

CanAwa

1 kava 2 kava 3 kava COUCH
I've been using 2 nylon jam strainers one inside the other and then I lay an old white t-shirt over a second bowl and pour the grog through that ..then I squeeze out the excess liquid from the shirt
 
HeadHodge

HeadHodge

Bula To Eternity
Kavanewb said:
I've been using 2 nylon jam strainers one inside the other and then I lay an old white t-shirt over a second bowl and pour the grog through that ..then I squeeze out the excess liquid from the shirt
Click to expand...
Does that mean that after all that prep you feel the melo melo is still too fine to properly filter out excess sediment (root solids)? I re-read your original post and maybe I'm not understanding the real question.

If the question is which grind is the most potent, I think there's general consensus that the finer grind is more potent that the coarser grind, simply because more of the root cells are exposed making it easier to extract the Kava oils. But also the finer grinds makes it more susceptible to consuming the root solid itself, which in turn causes it's own set of side effects (stomach issues, Derma Ick, etc.). So maybe I got off on a tangent?
 
CanAwa

CanAwa

1 kava 2 kava 3 kava COUCH
To be honest I was just wondering if my prep was overkill ? The melo is very fine ..should I just use more root if I'm filtering out more of the sediment ?
 
HeadHodge

HeadHodge

Bula To Eternity
I've been using extracts and instants for about 1 year and never had any Derma Ick issues. So when I decided to dive into preparing and drinking Kava with root powder, I thought I was immune. So I was happily experimenting away (drinking about 3 to 4 cups of various preps per day) and then Bam I got a bad case of Derma Ick on my nose, eyelids, hands, etc. So I had to back off (went back to extracts only for awhile) to alleviate it. I can't prove it, but I believe it was because of the way I was filtering the Kava and letting too much root solids through. And I think I was consuming too much of the solids.

So now I'm going to go to great lengths to filter as much of the root solids out as I can. I'm so paranoid right now about, I'm thinking of putting a triple bag filter inside a triple bag filter. :) So based on my experience I would say no your prep is not overkill for fine grind stuff, but maybe you could lighten up the filter for coarse stuff. Someone posted to me once earlier (when I was complaining about stomach problems) that I should stop blending my Kava. At the time I didn't understand why they said that, but I do now. The blending grinds the Kava down to something even finer that from what came out of the bag. Between the blending and only filtering through a relatively coarse nylon filter was (IMO) the reason for my case of Ick.

My unpleasant experience with the Ick is the reason I'm now experimenting with prep techniques trying to get my Kava solids to sink to the bottom of a jar and let the water with Kava oils float to the top and then skim this off (like fresh moo-cow cream after milking a cow, if you've ever worked on a farm like me). I would even be willing to try a centrifuge if I could get a hold of one. I know a medical technician, maybe I can get her to sneak a batch into the lab for me. :)
 
The Kap'n

The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
Just to clarify, I use 3 nylon paint strainers and a good bit of sediment still makes its way through. The fijian strainers are just too hard to knead, and I feel like I'm kneading play-doh. There's something about the texture of the nylon strainers that make me think I'm able to really crank down on it.

I had a friend who took a small container and taped it to one of the blades on his ceiling fan to centrifuge it and separate the particulates from the water. He was looking for ways to help me produce instant, but by that time I was a little past the idea as it took waayyy to long.
 
HeadHodge

HeadHodge

Bula To Eternity
Kapmcrunk said:
Just to clarify, I use 3 nylon paint strainers and a good bit of sediment still makes its way through. The fijian strainers are just too hard to knead, and I feel like I'm kneading play-doh. There's something about the texture of the nylon strainers that make me think I'm able to really crank down on it.

I had a friend who took a small container and taped it to one of the blades on his ceiling fan to centrifuge it and separate the particulates from the water. He was looking for ways to help me produce instant, but by that time I was a little past the idea as it took waayyy to long.
Click to expand...
Well the ceiling fan is a cool idea. I have 3 ceiling fans with 5 blades each. Maybe I could get some sort of production line going! (Would make for a good conversation piece too!) :) Maybe even get an old Lava Lamp for effect.

I'm confused about what you're using to strain. I thought a paint strainer was something like a colander in shape, but you say you are cranking down on it (the strainer). Could you elaborate a little on how you do that please?
 
CanAwa

CanAwa

1 kava 2 kava 3 kava COUCH
I think my method works fairly well ..but I think I'm gonna try and find a kava I like that has a coarser grind ..the pk Fijian was bad for me at first cause I crashed through my RT with it and was caught off guard but I've been experimenting with it and have found a happy spot and have to say it's a nice kava at the right dose
 
The Kap'n

The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
Nakamal @ Home Strainer

In reality they're just paint strainers you would buy at a local home improvement store. They are like a colander in shape being that they're pretty wide at the bottom. It's perfect for my tupperware bowl I use to squeeze in. I'll get home and take pictures. I've got to whip up a batch as soon as I get in from the office today so I'll document the process this afternoon.
 
infraredz

infraredz

BULA!
Also, to add to kavadude's tthreads from the past, the new people should go back and vote in this poll:
http://www.kavaforums.com/forum/threads/how-finely-ground-do-you-like-your-kava.1452/

Basically to me, the grind is a very simple thing. The finer the grind, the more sediment is likely to get through and the more potent your grog will be. Along with this increase in potency comes an increase in the possibility for GI discomfort and dermopathy. Sometimes I can get away with one nylon, but sometimes I need to double them up but then sacrifice potency.

It all boils down to how much sediment/particulate you can tolerate. It takes a while for us to find the perfect spot, and even then it changes sometimes.
 
HeadHodge

HeadHodge

Bula To Eternity
infraredz said:
The finer the grind, the more sediment is likely to get through and the more potent your grog will be. Along with this increase in potency comes an increase in the possibility for GI discomfort and dermopathy. Sometimes I can get away with one nylon, but sometimes I need to double them up but then sacrifice potency.

It all boils down to how much sediment/particulate you can tolerate. It takes a while for us to find the perfect spot, and even then it changes sometimes.
Click to expand...
You really summed that up exactly the way I think about it now. Jealous that I'm not as eloquent as you.
 
CanAwa

CanAwa

1 kava 2 kava 3 kava COUCH
Well perhaps I will be sampling courser kava from now on ..Seems to agree more with my gut..my coarser Fijian doesn't effect my stomach compared to the finer grind. Any suggestions for a great coarser ground kava ?
 
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