Krunkie McKrunkface
Kava Connoisseur
Now that Deleted User has tested this as noble I guess it's OK to post.
I bought a kg of kava from @Josh Kumar. I understand it was a lot of kava he had shipped to the US for a party in the Houston area that got cancelled because of Hurricane Harvey. He says it's Fijian from Taveuni. Sounds a little different, but I have no reason to doubt him and everything he said has checked out so far. The packages (he had first sent me a sample) were mailed from Houston. The kava looks and tastes and feels Fijian to me and Deleted User's test confirmed that it is probably Fijian. It doesn't smell or taste like any other Fijian I have had, and certainly not like any of the more common cheapo Fijians out there, like Wakacon, Herbal Island or Best Fijian (not that those are bad kava, they're just cheap and not terribly special). So, to be honest, I believe that this is just kava, real kava, from Fiji, and that it is noble. The kilo came in a plain bag that fits his description of a special order for a party. Even the cholorophyl content, not bad but noticeable, fits the story that this was fairly rushed in processing for a big party.
It smells like it tastes but much milder. The flavour is quite intense and I can only describe it as tasting like the smell of a basket full of fresh laundry waiting to be folded. It also tastes like the smell of a wad of $20 bills, not the fresh ones just printed, but a pile of them you just got from the bank. This is neither a pleasant nor an unpleasant flavour it just is what it is. It doesn't make you crave it, but neither did it stop me from drinking the kava. Not at all.
The first batch I prepped medium strength, 1 cup root to 5 cups water. It did make a beautiful grog, thick and with the classic brownish gray of Fijian. Also, it was very greasy in the bag while kneading, most satisfying. This was nicer than the smell in the bag had led me to expect.
Trying out mini shells 20 minutes apart to be on the safe side, it hit fairly quick, comparable to any other strong Fijian, and I did ultimately find this to be quite strong.
And it is balanced, but with the caveat that this is about as heavy as a balanced kava could be and still be called balanced. It is almost entirely heavy and for this reason while I liked it, my wife enjoyed it more than me because she's a heavy fan and I'm a heady guy, but we both love balanced kavas.
Because of this I now like to blend it with lawena (Best Fijian lawena is fine for this), anywhere from 4:1 down to 1:1, with 3:1 being optimal, IMO.
The price was good, delivery was fast, every interaction I had with Josh Kumar was polite and pleasant, very much so. So, I'm glad I bought the kava and my wife is very glad. Though I recommend blending with lawena, I'm sure that fans of heavy kava will want it straight up, and probably want to prep it stronger than I do, say a 4:1 water ratio.
I bought a kg of kava from @Josh Kumar. I understand it was a lot of kava he had shipped to the US for a party in the Houston area that got cancelled because of Hurricane Harvey. He says it's Fijian from Taveuni. Sounds a little different, but I have no reason to doubt him and everything he said has checked out so far. The packages (he had first sent me a sample) were mailed from Houston. The kava looks and tastes and feels Fijian to me and Deleted User's test confirmed that it is probably Fijian. It doesn't smell or taste like any other Fijian I have had, and certainly not like any of the more common cheapo Fijians out there, like Wakacon, Herbal Island or Best Fijian (not that those are bad kava, they're just cheap and not terribly special). So, to be honest, I believe that this is just kava, real kava, from Fiji, and that it is noble. The kilo came in a plain bag that fits his description of a special order for a party. Even the cholorophyl content, not bad but noticeable, fits the story that this was fairly rushed in processing for a big party.
It smells like it tastes but much milder. The flavour is quite intense and I can only describe it as tasting like the smell of a basket full of fresh laundry waiting to be folded. It also tastes like the smell of a wad of $20 bills, not the fresh ones just printed, but a pile of them you just got from the bank. This is neither a pleasant nor an unpleasant flavour it just is what it is. It doesn't make you crave it, but neither did it stop me from drinking the kava. Not at all.
The first batch I prepped medium strength, 1 cup root to 5 cups water. It did make a beautiful grog, thick and with the classic brownish gray of Fijian. Also, it was very greasy in the bag while kneading, most satisfying. This was nicer than the smell in the bag had led me to expect.
Trying out mini shells 20 minutes apart to be on the safe side, it hit fairly quick, comparable to any other strong Fijian, and I did ultimately find this to be quite strong.
And it is balanced, but with the caveat that this is about as heavy as a balanced kava could be and still be called balanced. It is almost entirely heavy and for this reason while I liked it, my wife enjoyed it more than me because she's a heavy fan and I'm a heady guy, but we both love balanced kavas.
Because of this I now like to blend it with lawena (Best Fijian lawena is fine for this), anywhere from 4:1 down to 1:1, with 3:1 being optimal, IMO.
The price was good, delivery was fast, every interaction I had with Josh Kumar was polite and pleasant, very much so. So, I'm glad I bought the kava and my wife is very glad. Though I recommend blending with lawena, I'm sure that fans of heavy kava will want it straight up, and probably want to prep it stronger than I do, say a 4:1 water ratio.
