Straining Kava?
maccroz I haven't had too much trouble making a good tasting beverage, but I have had a hard time finding a way to strain my Kava. I first strain the kava through a somewhat coarse metal strainer 5-10 times to get the major chunks out, then I have tried T-shirt material, coffee filter, etc, and they all seem to be too thick. The liquid just pools up in the filter and does not drain. What does everyone here use to filter/tea-bag their kava?
yee
quote:
Originally posted by maccroz
I haven't had too much trouble making a good tasting beverage, but I have had a hard time finding a way to strain my Kava. I first strain the kava through a somewhat coarse metal strainer 5-10 times to get the major chunks out, then I have tried T-shirt material, coffee filter, etc, and they all seem to be too thick. The liquid just pools up in the filter and does not drain. What does everyone here use to filter/tea-bag their kava?
It may be a matter of technique. Are you using hot water? Like those tapioca balls, starch within the kava powder will expand and form a gelatin-like consistency. This is makes it difficult to strain. Although heated water seems to render a stronger brew, the difficulty in straining is a tradeoff to using cold water. Are you mixing the water and kava first, then straining it? This may give the starches a chance to expand first without having to release much of the KLs. If you are doing this, perhaps you could pour the mixture into a bag-like strainer, e.g., paint strainer, then shake it up & down to release much of the liquid first, then massage the rest within the released liquid. Another way is to try placing the kava in the strainer first, then massage vigourously beneath the water. It does take time to make the kava beverage. This is how it seems to be commonly done. Although paint strainers will work, they are fragile if you're too rough with them. An alternative is the nylon screens available at a silk-screen supply shop. They come in a variety of mesh sizes. Though I can't recommend it, if lost without such strainers, like on a business trip, I buy white women's nylon stockings & massage the kava slowly but surely. My cousin who lived in Fiji mentioned that sometimes people do use t-shirts. (I guess when they can't find anything else.) Mahalo, Jonathan
maccroz I guess I have been doing it all wrong...I have been blending the kava with warm water (and other flavoring ingredients) and then trying to strain it. It just seems like it is too thick and impossible to strain. Perhaps I'm not being patient enough. What about cheesecloth? I have heard that that is a way that one could filter the kava.
yee Cheesecloth would work. I used it long ago. I think you might have to layer it twice to provide a finer sieve. As cheesecloth I've seen have been made of cotton, some people mention that it absorbs KLs more than a nylon sieve. I don't know if that makes a significant difference. Perhaps so long as it's not swished slowly along and treated like a mop or other absorbant material but wrung hard and quickly. mahalo, Jonathan
quote:
Originally posted by maccroz
I guess I have been doing it all wrong...I have been blending the kava with warm water (and other flavoring ingredients) and then trying to strain it. It just seems like it is too thick and impossible to strain. Perhaps I'm not being patient enough. What about cheesecloth? I have heard that that is a way that one could filter the kava.
KAVAnSurf keeping the topic alive [img]http://www.deanclearysurfboards.com/images/kneeboard_gallery/davesmall.gif [/img]
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yee The muck appears to be gelatanized. It must be hard to strain. And I normally don't peek into the bag like that. [:0] Perhaps hot water activated the starches? Otherwise the bottled water (Kirkland?) is to me helpful as the kava seems to last longer in the fridge (if kept for next time). Mahalo, Jonathan Board Member [url="http://awadevelopment.org"]`Awa Development Council[/url] a nonprofit 501(c)(3) public charitable organization [url="http://iliahi.com/kfweb/contributions.htm"]Please support the Kava cause, mahalo nui loa![/url]