1. Approximately 35-40g (a little less than half a cup) of traditional grind kava powder. explore the different types of high quality traditional kava powders.

2. Strainer bag. Some people use classic "Fijian-type" strainer bags, cheesecloth, socks, t-shirts or nylon stockings. However, these options often let too much sediment through and/or are not necessarily food safe . This is why you might prefer to use a finer, food grade strainer, such as a nut milk straining bag , which can produce a much smoother, easier to drink beverage.  We personally use and highly recommend getting one of the excellent, food grade kava straining bags that we sell through our Kava Shop.

3. Two cups (around 600ml) of warm (35-40C) water. (In general, we like to use 10-15ml of water per 1g of kava, but feel free to use any ratio you find effective and convenient).

4. One extra cup of water if you wish to make the so-called "second wash".

Insert a desired amount of kava inside the bag. Place the strainer containing the kava powder into an empty bowl. Next, pour warm water directly into the bag with the kava (make sure the powder stays inside!).

Let this sit in the bowl for a few minutes to loosen the tougher fibres.

Twist the top of your kava strainer closed and gently press out all the excess air. Begin kneading the powder that’s inside the bag in the water. Knead the bag in the bowl and from time to time twist it to strain all the water out.

After a few minutes your water should turn densely brown and should start feeling a bit oily (that's thanks to the kavalactones being released into your liquid).

Use force, but be careful not to rip your strainer! Knead for a few more minutes (max 10 minutes in total) and then squeeze the bag to remove all water from the root particles while not letting any actual root into your ready beverage. Your kava is ready!

If you want to, you can pour the ready beverage into a separate bowl and add some fresh warm water (half of the original amount) to your original bowl to prepare a "second wash" using the same bag with kava. It will be much weaker than the first one, but it can still offer some nice effects (you can add it to your original mix or drink it separately).

Kava servings should be chugged quickly in order to prevent the sediments from settling down and also because it's not very pleasant to sip it slowly. Drink one shell of kava (half a cup or 100-150ml) at a time.  It is a very good good idea to use a chaser (e.g. a fresh fruit or some mint ) to wash away the earthy kava taste. Take at least 15-20-minute long breaks between servings as it may take a while for the kavalactones to start acting and for you feel the effects.  Remember that kava works best on an empty stomach (try not to eat anything for at least 3 or 4 hours before drinking kava).