After a long, stressful weekend (seems like a contradiction, no?) I decided to brew up some Nakamal At Home Stone Kava and settle into the sofa and catch up on some reading. It was my first time drinking Stone Kava and the first thing I noticed was the beautiful color and texture of the Kava. Stone has a cocoa-tint to it and is thicker than other Kavas, it has a very pleasant consistency and feels very nice going down. This seems like the perfect Kava to serve chilled. The highly palatable scent and texture, combined with a good numbing buzz, made for a very pleasant initial reaction. But the flavor was something else entirely - it raised the bar interminably for me. Until further notice, I will be rocking a quart or two of Stone in my refrigerator for guests who want to jump right in. This Kava has an amazing flavor - a bit more than mild, but a lot less than strong. It comes on earthy, which is par for the course, but slowly progresses through a nutmeg and almond taste until it leaves an extremely pleasant cashew-like aftertaste. I could easily make the mistake of drinking eight shells of this stuff just for the flavor and not be able to wake up the next morning.
The buzz is epic. This is what you are looking for, folks. It doesn't completely bury you the way Wow! does. Alternatively, it completely relaxes you and gives you a deeply satisfying, totally anxiety-relieving, nerve-calming body and mind buzz. Lately I've been running two or three miles a day, and this Kava completely relaxed my leg muscles after thirty or thirty-five minutes. It is downright medicinal. After drinking two shells, I found some Solomon Islands music I collected while doing fieldwork last summer and drifted back to the turquoise south Pacific seas. In terms of effect, this Kava is the real deal.
Taste 10/10
Effect 9.5/10
Nakamal At Home Stone Kava - 9.75 shells out of 10
-Le Kavasseur
i agree with everything you said about the stone kava. to me it feels like the sativa of the kava world because the buzz is so cerebral and less body load than other kavas. i find this one far stronger than cheifs jungle and niugini which are supposed to be stronger. very very good kava.
ReplyDeleteLove your reviews, very informative and handy. Changed my decision on which kava to buy (importing to the uk, so had to be wise in my purchase) because of your blog, so saved me some money too I reckon !
ReplyDeleteStone Kava seems to have the highest rating but would you agree it is still your favorite after trying all these others?
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ReplyDeleteI'm confused as to exactly how much a "shell" is. I mixed up some Stone according to the directions of 1 cup root to 2 cups water, how many shells would this be?
ReplyDeleteHowever much it was, I drank it all and was feeling pretty tasty. VERY relaxing, probably my favorite so far out of the three I've tried including Wow and the Kona Kava farms.
variety.
Has anyone answered this question?
ReplyDeleteA regular-sized shell is 1/2 cup.
p.s. The regular formula applied to this strain (especially the way it is very finely milled) is waaaay strong. 1/2-3/4 cups Stone Kava per 3 cups water seems to work nicely; limiting intake to 4 (maximum) "shells"; more with this strain can be (somewhat) felt the next morning. (Tongan & even Solomon's doesn't seem to have this quality). Anyone else agree?
So far this is my favorite Kava from Nakamal. I just had the WOW last night and while it's body load was more pronounced, it's cerebral buzz was no where near the Stone Kava. Has anyone found Kava that is more cerebral than Stone Kava?
ReplyDeletecould you explain the cup , in mesure's ie 250ml half pint or more?
ReplyDeleteFirst thanks for your reviews. I was new to Kava and have tried three now. One blind and two based on your reviews. On the Stone here. I agree with what you said. A very "head strong" Kava. This may be one of my favs. This makes a Kava believer out of me.
ReplyDeleteStone is so awesome, pretty much a alcohol replacement. Im doing a experiment with Stone kava and Kava by Rex Vanautu3. Im doing 3/4 cup Stone with 1 tbs of Vanautu3, the nakamal way. Ill let you know how it goes!
ReplyDeleteAnd Anthony I agree. No matter how much stone I intake, I always feel it in the morning. Not so much a cheif jungle feel (where i pretty much want to kill myself before i have coffee), more of a uplifting happy-go-lucky morning feeling, with a litttllle bit of groggy-ness. Still a great variety, but not be used if you have to get up quite early.
ReplyDeleteI have done this kava a few times now, and i will say be careful! one of the 3 times i woke up completely hungover! a kava hangover is nothing like an alcohol one, but still be careful! I found it odd that i mixed it essentially the same way every time, but only felt it once... weird. I agree, 2 cups-1 cup of kava=too strong..I usually make a quart of water per cup, and nurse it for a few hours :) very nice!
ReplyDeleteI just received some of this stuff and decided to whip up a batch using 3/4 cup of kava, 2 cups water, and a teaspoon of lecithin. I followed the Nakamalathome method to the T (soak, knead, blender, knead, strain) and came out with what looked like pretty nice, potent Kava. This was only my second time ingesting Kava, btw ( last night I tried the Shaman instant packet with very little result) so anyways i drank the stone Kava over about an hour within 4 shells and didnt feel too much. The only effects i felt were physical, slightly relaxed body, sweaty hands, numb mouth and throat. 30 minutes after finishing the last shell I decided to eat and have a slice of pizza. Almost as soon as I was done with it, I immediately almost felt drunk. Very uncoordinated and definitely intoxicated and now I am pretty tired 3 hours after my first shell. Anyone with a similar experience or any explanations? Thanks- Matt
ReplyDeleteI took this earlier today after i ran, and man was it great. It tastes much better than most of the other kavas i have had. Like you said, it had an earthy and nutmeg taste, but it also had a nice peppery finish which was really great. It also gave a nice numb to the tounge and lips. I also got a nice buzz. It really relaxed my body and cleared my mind. Thanks for the posts. They are great guides for people who want to experience kava. Keep on posting!
ReplyDeleteMatt - I think kava attaches itself to fat, which is why they say use soy lecithin. Also 4 shells in a hour is pretty rush rush, Id space them out to almost 2 hours so you dont get slammed, unless thats what you want...cant blame ya :P
ReplyDeleteKavasseur- Thank you for your comments on the medicinal qualities of the individual kava's. It really helps in the choosing! I know the companies selling Kava cannot make medical claims so your research is very helpful. Please continue!
ReplyDeleteFirst off, awesome site! I've made some decisions based on your reviews, and it's all turned out well! Haha this stone kava is really great stuff! Since it binds with fat, is using oil a good option? I made a gallon of kava and used about 1/4 cup of vegetable oil. Seems like it worked, actually makes it go down even smoother, just a bit greasy when kneading lol.
ReplyDeleteI tried Stone for the first time tonight. Ive tried wow, chiefs jungle, Tongan, Kona Kava.....but I gotta say I really like this one. I made 1 cup root to 4 cups water. I only drank about 14 ounces or so. OMG....what a buzz....Im krunk to the max. Im quite impressed. I really liked the Tongan too...this feels similiar but its def nice. Super chill right now. Had a beautiful girl over earlier. I couldnt take the smile off my face :) She thought I was drunk but she knows I dont drink alcohol. And yes, the taste is a bit milder which I appreciate because I really struggle with the flavor.
ReplyDeleteHey, Im about to place an order for half a kilo of Stone Kava and a quarter kilo of Chiefs Jungle.. I noticed that you usually say you mix a cup of kava in with the water and thats what you drink for your serving. How many cups of kava are in 250g? 500g? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis Stone Kava is some powerful stuff.
ReplyDeleteBig Kava fan- for relaxation, mainly- have tried Fiji and Hawaii ground root before with nice, mellow results, along with plenty of Kava pills/tinctures/etc. Tonight, I mixed 1 cup of Stone with 1 cup of water and 1 cup of milk, put it in the blender for 10 seconds, let sit for 1 hour, then strained and drank it down. Holy. Crap. I am obliterated. In my younger days, I experimented with all sorts of substances- this Kava is every bit as powerful as _most_ of those were. I feel wonderful...though I think it's going to be bed time soon. LOL
Good lord, THIS is kava?! I drank practically an entire bag of Kona Instant (cocoa flavor, awful tasting stuff) without effect. With Stone, I mixed a quarter cup in 2 cups of water for 30 minutes, and kneaded per the instructions on this site (I really dig the ritual of preparing it). Drank it all fairly quickly since I figured it was way weaker than the above ratio. Nope. I'm sinking into my desk chair, workout pain completely gone, and like the above poster, good and wrecked (although I'd prefer a bit less for most nights). The only weird thing I notice is a floaty feeling in my head and a slight ringing in the ears...I don't yet know if this is the norm or not. The taste is VERY tolerable, even enjoyable, and the texture is velvety smooth. Since I've given up alcohol and cannabis, this seems like a wonderful replacement. A gift to be appreciated and respected. Consider me on board the kava train...I might even start recommending it to my patients. Thanks for working so hard on this site, and BULA!
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