Making Kava
Photo Credit: Kevin Schmidt Flickr
While living on Guam I attended several island celebrations where Sakau was served. Sakau is called Kava in other areas of the pacific. I was unfamiliar with this local pacific island tradition. Fortunately I attended these celebrations with an island friend who was knowledgeable about Sakau so at his suggestion I took the plunge and accepted a cup. Sakau looks a little like a cup of mud so though I accepted it with a smile I was feeling some trepidation in not wanting to offend my Pohnpeian host. With all eyes on me I tasted this unusual foreign concoction. Almost immediately I felt a tingling numbness spread across my mouth and tongue. As I drank the cup of Sakau it didn’t taste like much, certainly not like anything I could identify. Yet it’s effect was a delightful feeling of relaxation and calm.
A couple weeks later I flew to the island of Pohnpei with friends. I was ahead of the game this time when Sakau was introduced. I was able to explain this traditional island drink my friends were being offered. Sakau/Kava is made from the ground up pulp of the pepper plant root and mixed with water. Kava/Sakau is often handed around during tribal island celebrations and at family gatherings. It’s gentle effect of relaxing the body and numbing the tongue and mouth are the only effects my friends and I felt while drinking it.
Fast forward several years and a move back to the U.S. I suddenly was enjoying a “wow, I tried that,” moment watching the Vanuatu survivors experience a tribal ceremony that included drinking Kava. Its a unique experience to drink a local island concoction served in a simple milk jug knowing that drink has been made by hand, pounded into a pulp. It leaves a special memory in my mind of Guam and the pacific islands when I think of Sakau/Kava and my first experience drinking it.
When I opened my copy of this Sunday’s edition of the St Petersburg Times and learned that a cafe has opened which serves Kava I was bowled over with surprise. I didn’t expect a pacific island drink to go mainstream and be found in a Florida cafe. As I read the article I knew a visit was in order; yet I knew nothing would surpass that first Sakau experience on Guam where local friends taught me one of their island traditions. Some things are better experienced in the heart of Micronesia.
If you are new to Kava and in the St Petersburg, FL area and would like to taste this island drink you can head over to Bula Kafe. at 2500 5th Ave North in St Petersburg, FL.