Kava

Kava or kava kava is a plant in the pepper family, native to the Pacific Islands. The name kava is from Tongan and Marquesan, meaning 'bitter'. Kava can refer to either the plant or a psychoactive beverage made from its root. The beverage is a traditional ceremonial and recreational drink from Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. Nakamals and kava bars exist in many countries. Traditional kava is made by grinding fresh or dried kava root, mixing it with water or coconut milk, and straining it into a communal bowl. Outside the South Pacific, kava is typically prepared by soaking dried root powder in water and straining it. It is consumed socially for its sedative, hypnotic, muscle relaxant, anxiolytic, and euphoric effects, comparable to those produced by alcohol. Kava also produces a numbing sensation in the mouth.
Kava consists of sterile cultivars clonally propagated from its wild ancestor, Piper wichmanii. It originated in northern Vanuatu, where it was domesticated by farmers around 3,000 years ago through selective cultivation. Historically, the beverage was made from fresh kava; preparation from dry kava emerged in response to the efforts of Christian missionaries in the 18th and 19th centuries to prohibit the drinking of kava.
According to in vitro research, the pharmacological effects of kava stem primarily from six major kavalactones that modulate GABA_A, dopamine, norepinephrine, and CB1 receptors, and inhibit MAO-B and ion channel mechanisms. Reviews of research have indicated an effect of kava on anxiety, but its specific efficacy for generalized anxiety disorder remains inconclusive. There appears to be no significant cognitive impairment from consumption. Kava does not exhibit the addictive properties associated with many other substances of abuse.
Moderate consumption of kava in its traditional form, as a water-based suspension of kava roots, is considered by the World Health Organization to present an "acceptably low level of health risk". However, consumption of kava extracts produced with organic solvents or excessive amounts of low-quality kava products may be linked to an increased risk of adverse health outcomes, including liver injury.

History and common names

Kava is conspecific with Piper wichmannii, indicating kava was domesticated from Piper wichmannii.
Kava was spread by the Austronesian Lapita culture after contact eastward into the rest of Polynesia. It is endemic to Oceania and is not found in other Austronesian groups. Kava reached Hawaii, but it is absent in New Zealand, where it cannot grow. Consumption of kava is also believed to be the reason why betel nut chewing, ubiquitous elsewhere, was lost for Austronesians in Oceania.
According to Lynch, the reconstructed Proto-Polynesian term for the plant, *kava, was derived from the Proto-Oceanic term *kawaR in the sense of a "bitter root" or "potent root ". It may have been related to reconstructed *wakaR via metathesis. It originally referred to Zingiber zerumbet, used to make a similar mildly psychoactive bitter drink in Austronesian rituals. Cognates for *kava include Pohnpeian sa-kau; Tongan, Niue, Rapa Nui, Tuamotuan, and Rarotongan kava; Samoan, Tahitian, and Marquesan ava; and Hawaiian awa. In some languages, most notably Māori kawa, the cognates have come to mean "bitter", "sour", or "acrid" to the taste.
In the Cook Islands, the reduplicated forms of kawakawa or kavakava are also applied to the unrelated members of the genus Pittosporum. In other languages, such as Futunan, compound terms like kavakava atua refer to other species belonging to the genus Piper. The reduplication of the base form is indicative of falsehood or likeness, in the sense of "false kava". In New Zealand, it was applied to the kawakawa, which is endemic to New Zealand and nearby Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island. It was exploited by the Māori based on previous knowledge of the kava, as the latter could not survive in the colder climates of New Zealand. The Māori name for the plant, kawakawa, is derived from the same etymon as kava, but reduplicated. It is a sacred tree among the Māori people. It is seen as a symbol of death, corresponding to the rangiora, which is the symbol of life. However, kawakawa has no psychoactive properties. Its connection to kava is linked to its similarity in appearance and bitter taste.
Other names for kava include ʻawa, ʻava, yaqona or yagona, sakau, seka, and malok or malogu.

Characteristics

Kava was historically grown only in the Pacific islands of Hawaii, Federated States of Micronesia, Vanuatu, Fiji, the Samoas, and Tonga. It appears to have originated in Vanuatu; an inventory of P. methysticum distribution showed it was cultivated on numerous islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia, and Hawaii, whereas specimens of P. wichmannii were all from Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.
Traditionally, plants are harvested around four years of age, as older plants have higher concentrations of kavalactones. After reaching about in height, plants grow a wider stalk and additional stalks, but not much taller. The roots can reach a depth of.

Cultivars

Kava consists of sterile cultivars cloned from its wild ancestor, Piper wichmanii. Today it comprises hundreds of different cultivars grown across the Pacific. Each cultivar has not only different requirements for successful cultivation, but also displays unique characteristics both in terms of its appearance and its psychoactive properties.

Noble and non-noble kava

Scholars make a distinction between the so-called noble and non-noble kava. The latter category comprises the so-called tudei kavas, medicinal kavas, and wild kava. Traditionally, only noble kavas have been used for regular consumption, due to their more favourable composition of kavalactones and other compounds that produce more pleasant effects and have lower potential for causing negative side effects, such as nausea, or "kava hangover".
The perceived benefits of noble cultivars explain why only these cultivars were spread around the Pacific by Polynesian and Melanesian migrants, with presence of non-noble cultivars limited to the islands of Vanuatu, from which they originated. More recently, it has been suggested that the widespread use of tudei cultivars in the manufacturing of several kava products might have been the key factor contributing to the rare reports of adverse reactions to kava observed among the consumers of kava-based products in Europe.
Tudei varieties have traditionally not been grown in Hawaii and Fiji, but in recent years there have been reports of farmers attempting to grow "isa" or "palisi" non-noble cultivars in Hawaii, and of imports of dried tudei kava into Fiji for further re-exporting. The tudei cultivars may be easier and cheaper to grow: while it takes up to 5 years for noble kava to mature, non-noble varieties can often be harvested just one year after being planted.
The concerns about the adverse effects of non-noble varieties, produced by their undesirable composition of kavalactones and high concentrations of potentially harmful compounds, have led to legislation prohibiting exports from countries such as Vanuatu. Likewise, efforts have been made to educate non-traditional customers about the difference between noble and non-noble varieties and that non-noble varieties do not offer the same results as noble cultivars. In recent years, government regulatory bodies and non-profit NGOs have been set up with the declared aim of monitoring kava quality; producing regular reports; certifying vendors selling proper, noble kava; and warning customers against products that may contain tudei varieties.

Growing regions

In Vanuatu, exportation of kava is strictly regulated. Only cultivars classified as noble are allowed to be exported. Only the most desirable cultivars for everyday drinking are classified as noble to maintain quality control. In addition, their laws mandate that exported kava must be at least five years old and farmed organically. Their most common noble cultivars are "Borogu" or "Borongoru" from Pentecost Island, "Melomelo" from Aoba Island, and "Palarasul" kava from Espiritu Santo. In Vanuatu, Tudei kava is reserved for special ceremonial occasions and exporting it is not allowed. "Palisi" is a common Tudei variety.
In Hawaii, there are many other cultivars of kava. Some of the most common cultivars are Mahakea, Moʻi, Hiwa, and Nene. The Aliʻi of precolonial Hawaii coveted the Moʻi variety, which had a strong cerebral effect due to a predominant amount of the kavalactone kavain. This sacred variety was so important to them that no one but royalty could ever experience it, "lest they suffer an untimely death". The reverence for Hiwa in old Hawaiʻi is evident in this portion of a chant recorded by Nathaniel Bright Emerson and quoted by E. S. Craighill and Elizabeth Green Handy: "This refers to the cup of sacramental ʻawa brewed from the strong, black ʻawa root, which was drunk sacramentally by the kumu hula":
Winter describes a hula prayer for inspiration that contains the line, He ʻike pū ʻawa hiwa. Pukui and Elbert translated this as "a knowledge from kava offerings". Winter explains that ʻawa, especially of the Hiwa variety, was offered to hula deities in return for knowledge and inspiration.
More recently, specialized kava varieties have been introduced to South Florida which have been acclimated and adapted to grow well in South Florida's unique soil and climate and have significant resistance to pest and disease pressures. As of 2024, cultivation of these varieties is limited to a small number of commercial farms and backyard growers.