Today I planted six kava bushes. It’s a native Hawaiian medicinal plant, and it’s called awa in Hawaii. The roots are mashed up and the liquid is strained out and mixed with water to produce a beverage that basically tastes like dirt.
However some people love drinking kava due to its numbing effects. As you sip on it, your mouth, your throat, and eventually your whole body feels relaxed. I read once that Hawaiian chiefs would ceremonially drink awa during important meetings to keep the vibe chill.
Kavalactone is a compound found in kava and research is being conducted to study its anxiolytic properties that can reduce anxiety (I totally googled that).
Kava is a great alcohol and opiate replacement. It should never be consumed with alcohol and drinking too much (like anything else) is bad for your liver.
We’ve been planting kava between cacao trees and they seem to fill up the spaces below and in between really nicely. We have about 10 bushes that are ready to harvest!
Originally posted on 2021-01-29, part of the daily planting journal behind Ha’a Chocolate’s food forest on Hawai’i Island.