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The Good Old Days of Kava
I have been in kava for many years now. I grew up with it and it has always been a part of my life since I was young. I had the privilege to learn much about kava in these many years. It has always impressed me at how good kava works at so many things. For example, the Hawaiians used 'Awa or "Kava" as a remedy for tooth aches, this is because of the obvious numbing effects that kava has. But kava does not stop there. The Hawaiians used to come home from a hard days work and they would drink kava to help them relax and sleep. They would get up the next day feeling great and well rested and ready for another day’s work. There are many good things that come from kava and that is why I started GHK. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, good kava was easy to find. I could get great kava here in Hawaii, or I could get great kava from Vanuatu, Tonga, Fiji, Samoa and other places.
I remember how I felt when I got a new batch of kava from the Islands of Fiji or Vanuatu. I could not wait to try it to see what the effects would be. As most of you know, the many different kava's have many different characteristics. I remember I was careful of what variety I would get from Fiji because there were some kava varieties growing there that cause an upset stomach. But all the other places were great and I never had to worry about what variety it was. Nowadays, most of the farmers in Fiji plant only the good kavas that are easy on the stomach compared to some they grew in the past. I have often wondered why some of the Fijian kava would do this, the amounts of DHK and DHM were no different most of the time than Hawaiian kava. Oh, I can tell you that kava was real fun back then (still is today), the Tongan kava was sooooooo good. It still good but as of late, it is difficult finding a good consistent supplier of this good quality kava.
The kava from each area like Hawaii or Tonga or other pacific areas are unique to themselves in terms of flavor, smell, and effects. I could tell just my smelling and tasting where the kava was from. I must make it clear that I am talking about good quality kava. Old, moldy, chemically treated kava will smell different so you will not get a good idea of the smell.
That is when I really liked the kava from Vanuatu, the smell and flavor is very unique. I have to say though that the kava in Pohnpei, named Rahmedel, was very much like the Hawaiian kava and I found it hard to tell the difference sometimes. This kava was so good and holds great power in its country of origin. In Pohnpei, if you wanted to talk to the Chief about something and he did not want to talk to you, you brought a Rahmedel plant and placed it before him. At that point he was obligated to listen to you. It is a very good kava indeed.
Kava In the Present
I have recently found that many kavas on the market are low quality or are mixed with a non noble kava. The quality is just not the same anymore. Please note that there are still some good sellers of kava out there, but there are many more that sell kava that is not up to par with mine or some of the other great kavas from the past. I have read stories and received emails about people's bad experiences with substandard kava. The Islanders never used anything but Noble kava for daily drinking. I started GHK because I wanted people to know what some of the best kava in the world was like, what good noble kava was like, what true kava was like. I get the privilege of testing all my kavas to make sure it is of the quality I expect because I will never sell anything less. I drink the same kava that I sell and it is good stuff. I have also been privileged to experience some of the different Pacific cultures and their kava ceremonies and kava culture. I have seen first hand how they prepare the kava and how they drink and use it. I strive to always maintain the traditional use of kava and that is one reason I do not sell any extracts. To me, water extraction by kneading the kava or micronized kava in water or juice is the traditional way to drink kava and it guarantees that you get all the nuances that kava has to offer.
How I Learned to Remove Makas
In watching other cultures prepare kava, I noticed that they took a lot of steps to remove the course fibers in the drink. This was relatively easy to do when using fresh undried kava root. This is what I based my processing techniques on. When I make my micronized kava, I remove the hard fibers also known as "Makas". In Vanuatu, that translates to “rubbish”. I take the fibers out when the kava root is still wet and undried. When the makaless kava root is dried, then I micronize the kava. This ensures that you get makas-free kava, no coarse fibers. It is almost impossible to get the makas out of the kava once it has been dried. This means the grower or farmer has to remove them by request before shipping to the vendors.
Since I created the techniques to process my micronized and instant kava, I can say that if you buy micronized kava from anyone else, then it will have makas in it. I do not know of anyone that makes micronized kava the way that I do because the farmer is not interested in the labor intensive process of removing the makas. How can you tell if your Micronized kava has makas? One way you can tell is by looking at the sediment in your kava cup. If there are any small bits or fibers floating on the top, then that is makas. This is because other farmers harvest the kava, dry it, and they simply grind it with "Makas" and all. The splinters are a byproduct of the grinding process and are in fact the hard coarse fibers that are traditionally thrown away by the islanders.
Where is the Makas?
To better understand Makas, you need to know how the kava root is built. The "Lateral Root" of the kava plant is not all hard fibers and we use all of the root except the outer bark and the hard coarse fibers which is called makas. Since the root grows long and parallel to the ground, these long roots will have long hard fibers (makas) running all the way down the root. If we look at the end of the root you will see a star pattern. The hard coarse makas is what makes the star pattern. The makas is thin and long and about half the diameter of the root in width. If I had a root that was a foot long and I smashed the root with a hammer to a pulp, I would be left with the pulp along with a foot long of thin, hard, and woody makas. This is what I throw away. The Makas does have a small amount of kavalactones but not enough to warrant using it. The growers do not remove the strip before processing because they are selling kava powder that will be strained. So some vendors will take the powder with makas, grind it real fine, and call it micronized kava. However since it has makas, it is just a fine grind that you are basically “toss and washing”. It is not a true micronized kava per my specification. The makas actually have an effect on the flavor of the kava and it imparts a noticeable flavor that is hard for me to describe. You can also smell the makas in the micronized if you have a trained nose (like me). lol.
So I remove the strip of makas when the root is long, whole, and wet; and you are guaranteed the freshest kava with the best kava flavor and smell. My micronized kava does not contain “makas” or any other filler. That is why my micronized kava is said to give you the most "bang for the buck". When you buy from me; you get a potent, high quality, and truly Gourmet Hawaiian Kava.
Chris Allen. 03/30/2015
What is so Special About GHK Micronized?
The Kava Blog
Cut out of the star shaped end of the root that shows the makas.
Strips of makas on the outside and soft starchy kava root in the in the middle.
The strips of makas are in my hand and the remaining kava is in the bowl ready to be micronized.
