Isa

[JonT]

I'm thinking of buying some Isa. It's between Kulea farm (kickbackwithkava.com) and Paradise kava. The difference in price is enormous - paradise is more than twice the price. So the question is....is Paradise twice as good as Kulea, and is Kulea any good? I know Paradise by its reputation, but the price plus international postage is a lot of money and I have to be sure of it. 
thanks

 

[krunkedout]

I have not tried either of them. But I remember back when I was starting out with kava my go to was an Isa from kava by Rex. I'm sure both of those guys sell some good product, and I've especially heard great things about paradises isa

 

[JonT]

Cheers. Rex is sold out of Isa at the moment.

Paradise is USD65 per half kilo, which is the most expensive kava I've seen anywhere. I'm sure it's good but it has to be really good for that price

 

[kl.new2kava]

Paradise also grows their own or buys from local farmers and processes it themselves, with the exception of their Fijian. There is a thread on here somewhere where Adil from PK shows the entire process from digging up the root ball and cleaning the roots. Other suppliers buy bulk from the South Pacific. Rex is almost always sold out of everything, really the only thing he ever has in stock is Tongan, the tudei is quite nice but varies in potency greatly between batches. I've never tried Kulea farm. If your looking for a physically overpowering kava at a good price I'd recommend stone from N@H or boroguro from BKH, stone is highly potent but costs more.

 

[kl.el187joker]

i have only tried the fijian from paradise but i must say by far the highest quality root i have ever experienced in effect and taste. right after i order(before i recieved it) i was looking at my stash witch consists of 4 different strains all of witch running very, very low. and i was thinking "damn did i really just blow my whole budget on a half pound when i could have bought a whole pound from bkh for the same price". when i recieved that root oh how my outlook has changed. it take half as much to get to the same place. i really am a pretty cheap guy, doing extensive research to get the best deals possible and i do not regret buying from paradise even though i will have to wait another month to order more root. but guess where i am going when my wife lets me order more... yup paradise. if you are considering ordering from paradise just do it. seriously, its the difference between shwag and chronic. lol

 

[Ed!]

I'm actually not sure I've had an Isa. I may well have, but I'm not even sure what's what.

 

[mos3z]

im not sure why but ISA dont have a strong effect on me. its a mellow effect, nowhere near what others say

 

[Prince Philip]

I think the Paradise Isa is worth the cost. I would say it's 50% better than the Kule'a Isa and 100% better than Isa By Rex.

 

[Paradise Kava]

I say, ISA is never going to be my first choice. Spend you money elsewhere when it comes to this Tudei.



If you must inundate your system with these persistent double bonded kavalactone kava root, try a small bag of our 9 year old ISA. In terms of quality and price, remember this: we are beyond fair trade.



Our vision goes far beyond the minimum wage requirement and compensation. This is Kava grown by farmers right here and don't get me started on costs of farming in Hawaii~



New batch from 1/22 will show up in 24-48 hours, whenever the girls update it.



A.G

 

[Prince Philip]

Speaking of farming, one thing I should mention for anyone new to kava. Kava is not consistent. True, the kavalactone profile is genetic. Flavor, potency, non-kavalactone fractions, etc. are all going to vary from year to year, depending on conditions. My above ranking of Isa's is based on my own experiences that given year.



One of the speculations of James Bond's preference for martinis that are shaken, not stirred, is that the friction of shaking causes a degree of ice melt that in fact waters down his martini, allowing him the appearance of greater alcohol consumption. I prefer the nine-year-old kava to the Kule'a kava that I assume is 4-5 years because it's actually mellowed with age.



I've been told that Hawaiian grown Isa tastes much better than PNG Isa. Of course, I've been told this by people living in Hawaii.

 

[Ed!]

I really want some of that 9 year old ISA... but alas, my wife has mandated that I must finish one of my other 6 or so kavas before I get another one.

 

[Prince Philip]

Probably a good idea. I would have done similar, were not for Cyber Monday. And when Adil threw in a strainer?

 

[Buddhacide]

PK Isa is excellent. However, KBWK PNG isa is the kava that got me hooked. I bought a sampler several years ago as my first kava purchase and the isa was the only stuff that worked for me. I found it phenomenal at the time. Had some in the freezer actually for several years and just re-discovered it in early 2012 (Hence my now being on this forum). Its the isa that got me committed to kava. Now that I have all sorts of experience with different strains I might not feel the same way if I had it now, but it was the first kava I really loved (*tears up*).

 

[kl.new2kava]

The very first few batches of tudei I got from KBR about 18 months ago were insane. Every batch since then has been okay, but not great. The original was extremely peppery and really brought up the gag reflex, the recent are more tasty and much less potent.

 

[JonT]

Thanks for the replies. I can see where Paradise are coming from with the pricing. I will make this a special occasion kava and grab some from them at some point.