We have a new question that is being asked more and more these days. It is how to make the strongest Kava possible. Well luckily for you, there are many ways to make your Kava as strong as possible!

First, anyone who has experience with Kava knows that Kava drinks are usually made with water or coconut water. Fruit juices are often added, but mainly, Kava drinks are made from water.

The problem is that Kavalacatons, the active ingredients in Kava responsible for the pleasant effects, really like that they are extracted from fat. Fats include liquids that we are all familiar with, such as milk, soy milk, coconut milk, and many others. Oils are fatty too, but who wants to make an olive oil drink? I do not!

The other problem is that fats and oils don’t get along. If you’ve ever had balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing, you know that you need to stir the oil and vinegar to get them together. And even then, it only mixes long enough to reach your salad! So, let’s do a little math:

Kavalactones account for only 10% of the total Kava root powder material. Doesn’t that mean we could use a 10% fat solution for our drink to get that 10% Kavalactones? Well, unfortunately, it doesn’t exactly work like that. Things like soy milk are already water-based and contain a lot of water. So if we wanted the strongest drink possible with no additional additives, we could simply use 100% milk, soy milk, or almond milk, as they are already mixed with a lot of water, rather than just water.

Kava additives

But there are more than a few natural products that act as emulsifiers. What is an emulsifier you say? I’m glad you asked! Emulsifiers help bridge the gap between water and oils (or fats). Emulsifiers allow water and fats or oil to play well together and stay mixed in your drink. So if your salad dressing had an emulsifier added (many do), you would never have to shake your dressing!

Knowing that, what could be the typical Kava emulsifiers? Making water and fat play well together makes Kava drinks stronger. One very common emulsifier is coconut milk and another is soy lecithin. These are used quite often as a way to give your Kava that extra “kick”. They are both safe and vegan too. So, they are popular options. There is another product available online called Kava Blender. This is an organic rice-based product that does a job very similar to soy lecithin, but as a powder rather than a thick, sticky substance or in the form of granules. I really like it and prefer it to soy lecithin right now.

Heat up your kava

They also ask me if Kava can be heated or not. Even though the breaking point for Kavalactones is only 140 degrees Fahrenheit, we’ve made a ton of Kava tea, Kava brownies, and a pile of other Kava-related items that still have a lot of flavor. So even though Kava is not approved as a food ingredient, there are plenty of reports online of people making treats with Kava and enjoying a Kava brownie alongside that Kava drink. And from personal experience, I can say that this is an effective way to have a stronger Kava experience without actually doing a strong Kava.

Drink more kava

Let’s now look at the most obvious ways to make Kava strong. One of the easiest ways is to simply drink more! I know the focus of this article is to make Kava strong, but the beauty of Kava is that there is no immediate tolerance when drinking it. This allows you to enjoy several shells over the course of a few hours. In social situations, my friends and I will enjoy several cups (“shells”) of Kava over the course of a few hours.

No matter how strong you make your Kava, the effects only last for about an hour when you take individual servings of Kava. But, when you start consuming more than one peel per hour; Let’s say 2 shells per hour, some very relaxing and pleasant effects are beginning to take hold. And that’s when things can get really interesting.

Another simple way to increase the effectiveness of your Kava is to simply add a stronger Kava to the drink you are making. This is most easily accomplished by using items such as Kava Tincture Plus or Kavalactone Paste 55%. These elements are emulsified and will mix easily with whatever Kava extraction you are working on. If you are looking for a bigger starting “kick” then these simple additives are the perfect solution for making strong Kava drinks.

And, like anything else, both responsibility and restraint are the key to having a safe and fun time with Kava. It is completely legal worldwide for personal use (except in Germany at the time of writing this article), but it can have effects that could make driving difficult. So if you plan to make strong Kava, make sure you are in a safe place, such as a Kava bar or your own home, and familiarize yourself with the effects before venturing out into the world.

In summary

So what have we learned about how to make strong Kava drinks today? That is possible and fun at the same time! You can extract it into something that already has natural fats, like soy milk, almond milk, or even cow’s milk. That will make a Kava drink stronger than if you had extracted it only in water.

There are also additives that can be quite effective and are only needed in small amounts. Next, you always have to drink more Kava! Technically, you are not making Kava stronger, but you are definitely concentrating your Kava within your body.

Lastly, be responsible and don’t be afraid to experiment and have fun with your Kava trips. And now, hopefully, you can do it as a better informed Kava drinker!