COAs
3 guides tagged COAs
Explainer
Kava Chemotypes Explained: The Six Kavalactones and the Numbers on Your COA (2026)
A chemotype is the six-digit fingerprint that tells you how a kava will actually feel — before you ever taste it. This is the definitive plain-English decoder: the standard Lebot numbering (kavain = 4, dihydromethysticin = 5, and the rest), how to read a code like Borogu's 423561, why the first one or two digits carry the whole experience, and how the same numbers separate a heady daily drinker from a heavy, next-day-grog tudei. Plus the one distinction that trips everyone up — total kavalactone percentage is potency; the chemotype is character, and a COA prints both.
Read the guide →~10 min read
Buyer's Guide
The Best Kava Brands (2026): Ranked by Transparency
There are dozens of brands selling kava and only a handful that will tell you, in writing, what's actually in the bag or the can. We ranked the names worth trusting on the one thing the category mostly hides: published lab transparency — certificates of analysis, disclosed kavalactone numbers, named cultivars and origins — then weighed each on value and consistency. Here are the five brands a serious buyer should start with.
Read the guide →~10 min read
Explainer
How to Read a Kava COA in 60 Seconds (2026)
A Certificate of Analysis is the receipt that proves a kava is what the label says — but only if you know which five lines to read. This is the field guide: lab name and accreditation, batch match, total kavalactones plus chemotype, the microbial panel, and heavy metals — in that order, in about a minute. Plus the label trick that fools almost everyone, and our standing rule: no number, no ranking.
Read the guide →~7 min read