Posted, on, behalf, of, S.C., by, jy., Anybody, want, to, comment[:)]?Jonathan,, Thank, you, tremendously, for, your, generous, gesture., I, look, forward, to, receiving, my, Nene, Nui, and, preparing, it, with, the, method, you, have, suggested., , My, most, recent, preparation, was, 3, Tbsp, of, the, Skinless, Mo'i,, 2, tsp, of, vegetable, oil,, and, some, chocolate, powder, blended, with, water., I, drank, the, concoction, straight, without, straining., I, did, feel, slightly, drowsy, afterwards., I, am, curious, about, the, chemistry, behind, Kava., I've, read, several, conflicting, reports, on, various, websites., From, what, I've, gathered,, there, is, are, several, alkaloids, called, kavalactones, which, are, NOT, water, soluble,, instead, are, soluble, in, alcohol, or, lipids., If, this, information, that, I've, received, is, correct,, it, makes, me, wonder, why, the, tea, preparation, is, the, method, of, choice., I'm, assuming, that, the, goal, is, to, ingest, as, many, of, the, kavalactones, as, possible, in, their, undisolved, form., If, you, have, a, spare, moment,, perhaps, you, could, ease, some, of, my, confusion., I, thank, you, again, for, your, overwhelming, generosity., I, look, forward, to, doing, business, with, you, again, in, the, near, future, and, will, certainly, recommend, your, company, to, my, friends, and, colleagues., , Mahalo, nui, loa,S.C.">
Why use a water-based beverage?
yee Posted on behalf of S.C. by jy. Anybody want to comment[:)]? Jonathan, Thank you tremendously for your generous gesture. I look forward to receiving my Nene Nui and preparing it with the method you have suggested. My most recent preparation was 3 Tbsp of the Skinless Mo'i, 2 tsp of vegetable oil, and some chocolate powder blended with water. I drank the concoction straight without straining. I did feel slightly drowsy afterwards. I am curious about the chemistry behind Kava. I've read several conflicting reports on various websites. From what I've gathered, there is are several alkaloids called kavalactones which are NOT water soluble, instead are soluble in alcohol or lipids. If this information that I've received is correct, it makes me wonder why the tea preparation is the method of choice. I'm assuming that the goal is to ingest as many of the kavalactones as possible in their undisolved form. If you have a spare moment, perhaps you could ease some of my confusion. I thank you again for your overwhelming generosity. I look forward to doing business with you again in the near future and will certainly recommend your company to my friends and colleagues. Mahalo nui loa, S.C.
Ed Johnston Reply to S.C., from Ed Johnston-- The active ingredients in 'awa (kava) are generally thought to be kavalactones. Kavalactones are not alkaloids. An alkaloid has been found in the leaf of 'awa and (most recently) in the peelings of the basal stem of one cultivar (not a Hawaiian cultivar). It is important to remember that 'awa beverage is lots of things besides kavalactones-- there are minerals, starches, sugars, glutathione and other "ingredients" in the traditional (water) beverage. Personally I would prefer this whole product rather than extracting JUST kavalactones.
quote:
Originally posted by yee
Posted on behalf of S.C. by jy. Anybody want to comment[:)]? Jonathan, Thank you tremendously for your generous gesture. I look forward to receiving my Nene Nui and preparing it with the method you have suggested. My most recent preparation was 3 Tbsp of the Skinless Mo'i, 2 tsp of vegetable oil, and some chocolate powder blended with water. I drank the concoction straight without straining. I did feel slightly drowsy afterwards. I am curious about the chemistry behind Kava. I've read several conflicting reports on various websites. From what I've gathered, there is are several alkaloids called kavalactones which are NOT water soluble, instead are soluble in alcohol or lipids. If this information that I've received is correct, it makes me wonder why the tea preparation is the method of choice. I'm assuming that the goal is to ingest as many of the kavalactones as possible in their undisolved form. If you have a spare moment, perhaps you could ease some of my confusion. I thank you again for your overwhelming generosity. I look forward to doing business with you again in the near future and will certainly recommend your company to my friends and colleagues. Mahalo nui loa, S.C.
yee I personally don't care for oily drinks. But with coconut water and its lipids (likes generally are solvents for likes) the kavalactones appear to be rendered more effectively than with plain water. And perhaps the coconut flavor is complementary. In addition, hot water also appears to be more effective than cold water in rendering the total kavalactone concentration. I've also tried hot chocolate powder mix with the kava and found it to be somewhat complementary. Though I prefer drinking the kava beverage unadulterated. Why do Pacific islanders often use plain cold water (though Hawaiians sometimes use coconut water)? One of my Pacific island cousins, a regular drinker, believes that hot water tends to bring out the sedative qualities. Could this be due to an increase in the ratio of DHM & DHK or does heat affect the absorbtion rate of certain kavalactones in the body? And perhaps it's one of convenience. I've asked on of my native Fijian friends and he explained that, in a village, it is troublesome to heat water with wood. Moreover, mixing a hot beverage by hand (without gloves) is uncomfortable. HPLC analysis (a way of quantifying the individual kavalactones) may help validate some of these assertions... It looks like there's a whole lot of science that could be done. However, I'd look to the cultural practices as the guide.
quote:
Originally posted by Ed Johnston
Reply to S.C., from Ed Johnston-- The active ingredients in 'awa (kava) are generally thought to be kavalactones. Kavalactones are not alkaloids. An alkaloid has been found in the leaf of 'awa and (most recently) in the peelings of the basal stem of one cultivar (not a Hawaiian cultivar). It is important to remember that 'awa beverage is lots of things besides kavalactones-- there are minerals, starches, sugars, glutathione and other "ingredients" in the traditional (water) beverage. Personally I would prefer this whole product rather than extracting JUST kavalactones.
quote:
Originally posted by yee
Posted on behalf of S.C. by jy. Anybody want to comment[:)]? Jonathan, Thank you tremendously for your generous gesture. I look forward to receiving my Nene Nui and preparing it with the method you have suggested. My most recent preparation was 3 Tbsp of the Skinless Mo'i, 2 tsp of vegetable oil, and some chocolate powder blended with water. I drank the concoction straight without straining. I did feel slightly drowsy afterwards. I am curious about the chemistry behind Kava. I've read several conflicting reports on various websites. From what I've gathered, there is are several alkaloids called kavalactones which are NOT water soluble, instead are soluble in alcohol or lipids. If this information that I've received is correct, it makes me wonder why the tea preparation is the method of choice. I'm assuming that the goal is to ingest as many of the kavalactones as possible in their undisolved form. If you have a spare moment, perhaps you could ease some of my confusion. I thank you again for your overwhelming generosity. I look forward to doing business with you again in the near future and will certainly recommend your company to my friends and colleagues. Mahalo nui loa, S.C.
maccroz Hi, (I am S.C. by the way [:)]) My recipe seems to work rather well as far as taste goes. But one thing that I have yet to confirm is what temperature is ideal for extraction. I have seen on various sites that kava should not be prepared at temps higher than 140 degrees F. Is this true? I have read that it will start to destroy the kavalactones if prepared with water that is too hot. Thanks, -Shane
yee Aloha Shane, About three years ago, a test (using HPLC) was done on boiling the kava beverage (~212F). Loss after a few minutes at that temperature was considered insignificant. Less than 5% of the kavalactones were lost. Perhaps warm water would be a balance between the supposed advantages/disadvantages between hot water and cold water extraction. I still use cold water and I don't have a wood stove. [:)] mahalo, Jonathan
quote:
Originally posted by maccroz
Hi, (I am S.C. by the way [:)]) My recipe seems to work rather well as far as taste goes. But one thing that I have yet to confirm is what temperature is ideal for extraction. I have seen on various sites that kava should not be prepared at temps higher than 140 degrees F. Is this true? I have read that it will start to destroy the kavalactones if prepared with water that is too hot. Thanks, -Shane
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