It’s been a long time, but Kava.com is finally offering WHOLE KAVA ROOTS once again, as of this writing.  These whole kava roots are typically reserved for our hardcore Kava lovers, but now anyone can once again enjoy Kava just like coffee; ground fresh the moment you choose to make some Kava for yourself or for friends.

WARNING: Kava roots are VERY fibrous and woody!  Take a look at a typical Kava root that we harvest and ready for manufacturing here at Kava.com:

[PICTURE OF KAVA ROOT]

Notice how it’s about a pencil thick.  This is typical of most of the Kava roots we harvest and process for manufacture into powdered Kava root or our other Kava-based products.  Although that might not seem like a tough adversary, if you try to grind those roots as-is, your typical coffee grinder just won’t be able to handle it.  At minimum, you’ll need to place your Kava roots into a plastic bag of some kind (personally, I like the Ziploc Freezer Bags), and get a trusty hammer to pound those Kava roots into a more cooperative state.

Pounding Kava roots is quite common, even when they’re fresh, and although pounding stones are used throughout Oceania, making use of any hardware store hammer does quite well.  Once the Kava roots are sufficiently smashed, I will then take some scissors and cut the roots into smaller 1″ – 2″ sections, to make it even easier for my blender or grinder.

Speaking of, I’ve found that freshly-grinding Kava roots works just as well if they’re ground as you’re extracting inside a standard blender.  In other words, it’s not necessary to pound your Kava roots and then grind them in a coffee grinder if you’re going to extract your Kava into a drink.  It’s an unnecessary extra step.  When I’m working with fresh Kava roots, once I’ve sufficiently pounded them (just a few minutes work in actuality), I’ll drop them directly into my blender, and give them an extra 10 minutes of blending time.

At this point, let’s go over the typical minimal recipes:

01. KAVA FROM POWDER: If you’re extracting Kava Root from a powder, take 2 tablespoons of powder and add to the blender.  Adding a teaspoon of soy lecithin will help extract the all-desirable Kavalactone from the Kava, no matter what you’re extracting into (which is typically water).

02. KAVA FROM WHOLE ROOT: If you’re extracting from Whole Root, then I double the amount I’m using as only half of the total Kavalactone content gets extracted when working with freshly-ground whole roots.  It can be a bit tricky to measure out 4 tablespoons of Kava powder, but in all honesty; just eyeball it, and you will have a good amount to work with.

I often think of Kava as I do any drink mix; if you add 1 tablespoon or 4 tablespoons, it always comes out pretty darn good.  There is a wide range of what works, and the best thing to remember is that it’s all open to experimentation.  Don’t be afraid to extract too much Kava, and conversely; if you don’t feel the effects you were hoping for, then simply slowly work your way up in dosage until you find what works best for you.