Kava

Out of curiosity last night I procured some Kava Kava root from the Wedge Natural Foods co-op here in my neighborhood in Minneapolis. I had been reading about Kava lately and wanted to try it out; as a potter I am always interested in trying any kind of beverage, especially traditional ones. Kava is a plant related to black pepper from Polynesia that's root is used to make a yellow muddy drink with reportedly relaxing effects. It is traditionaly drank at night as a social drink. It has been used there for thousands of years as a medicinal herb and ceremonial beverage.

Here's how to prepare it. I bought about 1/10 of a pound of Kava root. Ground it in my coffee grinder into a fine powder. In the blender with 2 cups of filtered water I added the approximate 4 Tablespoons of Kava powder to 16 oz (2 cups) of water. I blended this concoction for about 3 minutes. I poured this mixture into a big mixing bowl lined with cheese cloth and squeezed the liquid through the cheesecloth into the bowl. discard the pulp, transfer the liquid into a glass. I chilled the mixture in the fridge for half an hour. Let me tell you. It tasted really earthy and pretty bad to be honest.

It made my mouth numb, like Novocaine. After half an hour I felt a little relaxed, not sure if it was the Kava or if I was just tired... after another half hour I was in bed. I had some pretty vivid dreams and woke up feeling pretty relaxed. Not sure if any of this actually had to do with the Kava... but I think I'll try it again and document my experience in more detail!