What is Kava?
Kava (Piper methysticum) is a member of the pepper family that has been cultivated by Pacific Islanders for over 3000 years for use as a social and ceremonial drink. The first description of kava came to the west with Captain James Cook, who traveled through the South Seas in a number of celebrated voyages. To this day, when village elders or others in the Pacific Islands come together for a significant meeting, they begin with an elaborate kava ceremony. Currently, kava is used in Europe and increasingly in the United States to treat stress, anxiety, and insomnia.
Vanuatu is well known for the largest producers and source of kava. Kava is an herbal ground root. Kava has been used from many thousand years ago in the south pacific. The kava drink is made from only using the roots of the kava plant that is mix with water. Another name for kava is Piper methysticum which means intoxicating pepper in English. Kava is only drunk after sunset. Long ago kava was only drunken during special ceremonies like funeral, weddings and it was only drunk by the chief and the important people. Women were not allowed to drink kava but now a days kava is drunk every day by men and woman. The kava bar here in Vanuatu is called a Nakamal. The kava plant is harvested after four years, a kava root can grow up to 50kg or sometimes even more when it is harvested in a four years time period, the older the kava the bigger the root will be. How is the kava made? • First of all cut they cut the roots off the plant • Then they peel all the skin off the root wash it and cut it
