The Secret to My Micronized Kava

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

My process of creating Micronized Kava uses a concept from the traditional processing of Kava. I remove the "Makas". Click on this link to read my blog about "makas" and how they effect you.

 

[ApéroNoble]

My process of creating Micronized Kava uses a concept from the traditional processing of Kava. I remove the "Makas". Click on this link to read my blog about "makas" and how they effect you.

I've noticed some micronized kava foam a great deal at the top after blending / liquefying. Is this a sign of a very good micro kava?

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

I've noticed some micronized kava foam a great deal at the top after blending / liquefying. Is this a sign of a very good micro kava?

I would have to say no, it happens with all the micronized I have tried, even mine does that, I think it is just the real fine powder that causes that.
Aloha.

Chris

 

[ApéroNoble]

According to the “Vanuatu Kava Act”, It is considered illegal to sell Kava with “makas”


does kava root powder contain makas?

 

[ApéroNoble]

According to the “Vanuatu Kava Act”, It is considered illegal to sell Kava with “makas”


does kava root powder contain makas?

Are there kavalactones in these fibers that are traditionally thrown away? Yes there is, perhaps in the 4 or 5% range. During the Kava boom, German companies were unfortunately buying the makas residue to make there kava products and that may be the reason for the unfavorable reports on Kava. Dr. Lebot has said, "It is possible that Flavokavins are concentrated in these fibers, or undesirable kavalactones, causing nausea."



I ask because it would seem if there are Flavokavins in the makas folks straining kava powder would be getting what is concentrated in these fibers.

 

[Monkava'd]

@Gourmet Hawaiian Kava Chris, a question I'm interested in and not exactly concerned about is relates to this "This is the reason that I cannot Micronize Kavas I buy from other sources. The Kava has already been processed and contains “makas” and there is no way to remove them once the Kava has been processed"
Since you've said that you cannot micronize kavas from other sources because they've already been processed; does the individual distributing your Boroguru also remove the makas? Do you have to do it yourself? Or is there some other method?
I apologize since that's more than one question but it relates to more general question that I have in which I'm wondering how the micronized Boroguru is processed.
I'm sure it must be difficult to do this from a third party and all, so I'm curious how this process is derived.
Thanks for your article Chris, it's very informative and I hope others may also take some of that away in stride.

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

Hi everyone, the makas is what you have in your strainer when you finish straining your medium grind kava. It is against the law in Vanuatu to sell the makas, just the makas, it is fine to sell the medium grind kava because you traditionally strain the coarse fibers, the makas out with a strainer and then you throw away the makas. This is the safe thing to do, when you strain the kava to get the makas out you do not get any large amount of the ingredients inside the makas. When you micronize the kava this makes it easy to get all the ingredients in the makas, that is why I take it out before I micronize my kava. And as I said the kava you buy has makas, if it is medium grind then you strain it to get it out, micronized does have makas but mine does not, as I said I take it out, some of you who tried my micronized when I first started selling here have noticed a difference in the kava before I changed the process and after I changed the process, taking out the makas makes a better product. Any instant kava that is truly instant will have no makas.
If you get a micronized kava that says they take out the course fibers then they should be able to provide a picture of all the makas that they throw away. I have a lot of it, I actually grind it into a course fiber grind and then use it as a compost. Also micronized kava that has the makas in it seems to have more of a chalky taste to it, noticeably different than mine, I surmise that it is the fine makas particles that give you this effect.
Let me know if you folks have any other questions, aloha.

Chris

 

[ApéroNoble]

Hi everyone, the makas is what you have in your strainer when you finish straining your medium grind kava. It is against the law in Vanuatu to sell the makas, just the makas, it is fine to sell the medium grind kava because you traditionally strain the coarse fibers, the makas out with a strainer and then you throw away the makas. This is the safe thing to do, when you strain the kava to get the makas out you do not get any large amount of the ingredients inside the makas. When you micronize the kava this makes it easy to get all the ingredients in the makas, that is why I take it out before I micronize my kava. And as I said the kava you buy has makas, if it is medium grind then you strain it to get it out, micronized does have makas but mine does not, as I said I take it out, some of you who tried my micronized when I first started selling here have noticed a difference in the kava before I changed the process and after I changed the process, taking out the makas makes a better product. Any instant kava that is truly instant will have no makas.
If you get a micronized kava that says they take out the course fibers then they should be able to provide a picture of all the makas that they throw away. I have a lot of it, I actually grind it into a course fiber grind and then use it as a compost. Also micronized kava that has the makas in it seems to have more of a chalky taste to it, noticeably different than mine, I surmise that it is the fine makas particles that give you this effect.
Let me know if you folks have any other questions, aloha.

Chris

Thanks Chris, your answer as always is well thought out and patient.

"when you strain the kava to get the makas out you do not get any large amount of the ingredients inside the makas"
"It is possible that Flavokavins are concentrated in these fibers, or undesirable kavalactones, causing nausea."


The only other question I have is regarding those who blend / liquefy kava powder. If they liquefy it in the blender and then strain it wouldn't the concentrated Flavokavins release into the water bypassing the strainer?

 

[Deleted User01]

Good post Chris! I guess that explains why I can shove down so much Micronized and have yet to have either Nausea or Dermopathy. No "makas" means no problems. Now I know why you refuse to make Micronized from Kava that WAS NOT PROCESSED by you. Shame, I was looking forward to some Fijian Micronized but without "Makas".

And I beseech the Gods of Kava not to bring Dermo into my life just because I said that. What's that? (scratch, scratch, scratch). That's a mosquito bite right???

 

[ApéroNoble]

Good post Chris! I guess that explains why I can shove down so much Micronized and have yet to have either Nausea or Dermopathy. No "makas" means no problems. Now I know why you refuse to make Micronized from Kava that WAS NOT PROCESSED by you. Shame, I was looking forward to some Fijian Micronized but without "Makas".

And I beseech the Gods of Kava not to bring Dermo into my life just because I said that. What's that? (scratch, scratch, scratch). That's a mosquito bite right???

What do you think on my thoughts regarding blending / liquefying powder Deleted User01, it may be a little dicey for Chris to answer as some other vendors may take umbrage.

Here are my thoughts, using the infraredz "simple method" on powder may not be the best idea. Perhaps those using powder or any micro without the makas being removed would do well to stick with kneading only

 

[Deleted User01]

Noueky, that's a good question. Do the FKB stay in the fiber and cause distress when you toss and wash Kava with Makas in it? I would say yes. Toss and wash has always been associated with Nausea and Dermopathy.

Do they release during blending? There lies the rub and I don't know the answer. Logically, I would say No, they don't release because nobody complains about the symptoms. Or perhaps a tiny portion of it releases. I fear we need the Kava Expert (Chris) to answer that one. Or maybe Dr. Lebot.

And by deduction, then you could say that GHK Micronized is better and safer than regular Kava because it has no Makas. If you strain it like some of us do, then its super duper safe. Would you agree Noueky? I'm going to throw this out there. I don't think anyone else removes the Makas except Chris. A few times that Chris has analyzed micronized from other vendors, he has always told be that he found "stuff". Some of it Makas and some of it weirder. He won't post it here though but some of us know. Nobody wants to go to all that trouble and they may not have the technique to do it right. But Chris eats his own cooking so he does it right.

Man all this Micronized talk is making me thristy but it's too early for Kava.

 

[ApéroNoble]

Noueky, that's a good question. Do the FKB stay in the fiber and cause distress when you toss and wash Kava with Makas in it? I would say yes. Toss and wash has always been associated with Nausea and Dermopathy.

Do they release during blending? There lies the rub and I don't know the answer. Logically, I would say No, they don't release because nobody complains about the symptoms. Or perhaps a tiny portion of it releases. I fear we need the Kava Expert (Chris) to answer that one. Or maybe Dr. Lebot.

And by deduction, then you could say that GHK Micronized is better and safer than regular Kava because it has no Makas. If you strain it like some of us do, then its super duper safe. Would you agree Noueky? I'm going to throw this out there. I don't think anyone else removes the Makas except Chris. A few times that Chris has analyzed micronized from other vendors, he has always told be that he found "stuff". Some of it Makas and some of it weirder. He won't post it here though but some of us know. Nobody wants to go to all that trouble and they may not have the technique to do it right. But Chris eats his own cooking so he does it right.

Man all this Micronized talk is making me thristy but it's too early for Kava.

I think the total removal of the makas is of the utmost importance. I've been doing a little experimenting with micro from different vendors and Chris' total removal of the makas from the micro kava in essence produces a micro so superior to all others I've tried that I don't think it to strong a statement to say it's "night and day" the micro he produces is a whole different animal than any other micros I've tried. I think it is indeed in large part due to the total removal of makas

 

[Deleted User01]

I think the total removal of the makas is of the utmost importance. I've been doing a little experimenting with micro from different vendors and Chris' total removal of the makas from the micro kava in essence produces a micro so superior to all others I've tried that I don't think it to strong a statement to say it's "night and day" the micro he produces is a whole different animal than any other micros I've tried. I think it is indeed in large part due to the total removal of makas

I agree and now I know why I don't get Dermo or Nausea. I only do the straining of Micronized once in a while. The last 4 sessions have been out of the bag. Maybe this weekend I'll find time to make another big batch of Micronized Syrup.

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

Hi everyone, no you will not get any of the bad stuff by blending it and straining it (the medium grind kava). If it is micronized already then you can not remove the makas, it is already a fine powder and mixed in with the good stuff so you will not get it out.
YOu are safe to drink the medium or course grinds but be careful with micronized that is not from me, as far as I know, I am the only person that takes out the makas or the course fibers, maybe that is why my kava is so high in kavalactones, because I use the makas as a compost.
Just remember that the makas is the hardest part of the kava, it is very hard to rupture the sell walls to let all the stuff out, this is only with the medium and course grinds, if they micronize the makas too then they expose and rupture the cells of the kava and release all the stuff in the makas as well as the rest of the kava so you get all the good stuff but you also get all the makas. I hope this helps explain things but if not let me know if you have any other questions, aloha.

Chris

 

[Deleted User01]

So actually ingesting Makas is bad but straining it with or without a blender is not bad. That makes sense since the majority of us do Blenders without ill effect. I have also said that your micronized was almost like instant and not at all like toss and wash. Now I know why.

 

[ApéroNoble]

So actually ingesting Makas is bad but straining it with or without a blender is not bad. That makes sense since the majority of us do Blenders without ill effect. I have also said that your micronized was almost like instant and not at all like toss and wash. Now I know why.

So the micro from GHK for all intents and purposes regarding side effects / health related issues of kava is virtually the same as instant kava for consuming straight without any straining. It was interesting in trials of various micro kava from vendors; the GHK kava was the only which left nearly zero residue behind in the strainer upon blending and then straining with a 25 micron filter. Also the foam at the top of the blender was nearly triple with GHK vs others

 

[TidyMinion]

Awesome post! Had a few nagging questions answered just from reading this.

 

[Monkava'd]

@TidyMinion Same here ! The makas feel like the secret sauce of dermopathy but I don't want to jump to any conclusions. Let me say though that the entire time I've been using the Opihikao micro I've had not a singe of dermopathy and that's been very surprising for me because up until now there's at least been side effects from each kava I've had.
At the same time I was using malekula magic whilst also using this micro and I've had no dermopathy and whether or not that's been because I've tended towards lesser dosages lately I'm just too unsure to say; so along those lines of thought, yes the makas definitely have a hand in our symptoms but other then that the doors still wide open on the subject it seems.
Thanks for all of the info @Gourmet Hawaiian Kava I'm overjoyed every time I get a new question answered or a question I didn't even think to ask.

 

[Monkava'd]

So the micro from GHK for all intents and purposes regarding side effects / health related issues of kava is virtually the same as instant kava for consuming straight without any straining. It was interesting in trials of various micro kava from vendors; the GHK kava was the only which left nearly zero residue behind in the strainer upon blending and then straining with a 25 micron filter. Also the foam at the top of the blender was nearly triple with GHK vs others

@Noueky I have a pic showing the foam you talk about,but it only happened when I used tea for some reason.

Since you've said you had micro from other vendors I'd like to know if Hkc was one of those vendors because they have got a popular hiwa (reviewed by kavasseur) in recently that'd been out of stock for a year, and I was thinking about giving it a try eventually, but I'd like some input from someone who's had experience.

 

[ApéroNoble]

Hey Monkava'd,

I didn't want to go into vendors but since you ask yes. Their micro Mapulehu is one I tried and compared to GHK micro Mapulehu; this is my favourite kava.

Here is my feeling on the comparison

I think the total removal of the makas is of the utmost importance. I've been doing a little experimenting with micro from different vendors and Chris' total removal of the makas from the micro kava in essence produces a micro so superior to all others I've tried that I don't think it to strong a statement to say it's "night and day" the micro he produces is a whole different animal than any other micros I've tried. I think it is indeed in large part due to the total removal of makas