The Kava Blog

Guest Post: Deep Dive into Kava Chemotypes

Today we have the pleasure to share a post from our friends and collaborators at Vanuatu’s Root and Pestle The post was written John McGowan, the chief scientist and lab wizard at Root and Pestle’s...

What's the Best Kava? What's the Best Kava Cultivar?

One of the most common (and perhaps rather obvious?) questions asked by those who may be new to kava is: what’s the best kava? The fact that there are so many options, forms and types of kava may b...

Kava Strainer Bags: How They Work, Why They Matter and What Makes a Great Kava Strainer Bag

A blog post explaining why you need a strainer bag to prepare kava, what makes a good strainer bag and how to look after your kava strainer. Turning traditional grind kava into an effective and enj...

Interview with Dr Vincent Lebot, a leading expert on kava

Dr Lebot is often seen the father of modern kava science. It would be difficult to find anyone who has done more to help broaden the Western understanding of both the plant and the beverage. His wo...

Kava as an Alternative to Alcohol and Kava vs Alcohol

Some of the most commonly asked questions about kava revolve about how it compares to alcohol, whether it can be used as an alternative to alcohol and whether the two can be mixed. In today’s blog ...

Kava and Caffeine

We've found people reporting that the mixture of kava and caffeine can cause an increase in the stimulation effects of caffeine when the two are consumed within a reasonable time together. Some p...

Kava and Sleep Quality

One of the most common questions we receive are related to kava’s effects on sleep. We’ve decided to write this quick post to share our thoughts on this topic and to hopefully present a useful pers...

Different ways of drinking kava and the art of “listening to the kava”

Today’s post looks at the different ways of preparing and drinking kava, as well as the art of listening to the kava. We start with a look at ways in which kava is consumed as a social lubricant, p...

Best kava chasers

Few kava lovers drink it for its taste. Most people find kava to be quite bitter or even unpleasant. There are milder tasting kavas (e.g. some of our Hawaiian varieties or one or two Tongan kavas...

Kava vs Kawakawa and the Maori memories of kava

Many people wonder whether there is any connection between the Kawakawa plant  (Piper excelsum) and Kava (Piper methysticum). The two plants do not only have similar names, but also look similar....