You might shop around for Kava and find it apparently supplied from many places, the prices of which and the speed at which it can be delivered may vary greatly. At the same time, quality and reliability also vary greatly. For these reasons, buying kava online from a reputable supplier is incredibly important. There are a number of reasons for this.

1. Purity and Nobility

Reputable suppliers will sell noble kava to customers, and within the packaging you will find only noble kava. Less reputable brands will use cutting agents, or mix the noble kava with cut-price tudei kava which may in some respects be the same plant, it is not the noble kava root and is nowhere near the same order of quality. Tudei kava is sometimes used by producers to reduce the amount of noble kava in the mix and thus cut costs. It’s like watering down good wine.

Reputable suppliers will only put into the product exactly what’s written on the label – 100 percent noble kava root. It should only take a single moment to look at the ingredients label to prove whether or not the noble kava root is the real deal, but you can also smell the kava once it’s prepared. If there’s any unpleasantness in the smell, then something is wrong.

2. Sustainability

Suppliers of a less reputable nature might not care where the kava is sourced from and how it is grown. There could be poor working conditions on the farms, or the farmers who grew and harvested the kava were poorly compensated in order to bring the final price point down. Kava is a premium item, but proper sustainable farming practices ensures that corners are not cut and that everyone involved in the process is paid and treated in a way that can keep the industry going on good terms.

The way kava is sustainably produced is a crucial part of what makes a supplier reputable. It demonstrates a level of ethics that supersedes pure profit, and yet the model is profitable for all concerned. It’s business done right, and for sensitive products like kava, a traditional natural product of the Pacific Islands, it’s important that it’s treated with respect and things are done right.

3. Safety

Reputable suppliers of kava don’t just employ sustainable practices in their farming, harvesting and processing of kava root, but also safe practices. Kava from a reputable supplier can stand up to the quality standards of any organisation, including the FDA and the HACCP. Those same reputable suppliers are willing to put that product up against anyone else’s and any international standard necessary to prove its purity, its authenticity and its quality. When you find packages of so-called pure kava root without even the most basic certifications, it doesn’t matter how cheap or easy to get it is, it simply can’t be trusted.

Hygiene is another big question mark around less reputable suppliers. If you buy from poor suppliers, you have no way of knowing exactly how the kava has been prepared and packaged. You can usually tell this by preparing the kava and seeing if there is any dark sediment present. If there is sediment, it’s a classic sign of unhygienic preparation. A reputable supplier is much more open about how they mature the roots, prepare the product and package it, and will let their certifications speak to their hygiene, not to mention the cleanliness of the kava once prepared and the better smell and taste.