Ahouia (Biya) kava
Ahouia, also written Biya, is a kava cultivar from Tanna, Vanuatu. Legal class: Noble.
Origin
Island: Tanna. Country: Vanuatu. Coordinates: -19.5, 169.3333. Tanna on the kava map.
Legal standing
Noble, per Vanuatu Kava Act No. 7 of 2002, Schedule Table 1.
Legally the same entry
The Kava Act groups these names in one schedule row, so in law they are synonyms even where vendors sell them as separate cultivars.
Chemotype
A chemotype ranks the six kavalactones from most to least abundant. It says nothing about how much kava is in the root, only about the order. Published readings for this cultivar disagree, so all of them are shown.
| Code | Kavalactones, most to least abundant | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 426531 | Kavain > Dihydrokavain > Methysticin > Dihydromethysticin > Yangonin > Desmethoxyyangonin | Kava Forums chemotype thread |
| 265431 | Dihydrokavain > Methysticin > Dihydromethysticin > Kavain > Yangonin > Desmethoxyyangonin (Kavain ranks fourth or lower) | Kava Library |
Chemotype genuinely shifts with plant age, which part of the root was milled, soil and shade. Some of this spread is real variation and some of it is disagreement between laboratories. Treat any single code as a claim about one batch, not a property of the variety.
How it is described
No published account of how Ahouia is said to feel.
Taste and mouthfeel
No published tasting notes.
Background
No background published beyond its legal listing.
Availability
Rarely exported. Rarely leaves the islands.
Documentation
Corroborated. Sources cited on this page: