A man orders four bowls of kava at a kava bar operating with limited electricity days after Cyclone Pam in Port Vila, capital city of the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu March 19, 2015. The sprinkling of fairy lights on the roadside was the only sign of life as darkness descended and a curfew began in Vanuatu's shattered capital, Port Vila, in the aftermath of Cyclone Pam this week. Ignoring calls to stay at home, men were gathering among the debris of blasted trees and twisted corrugated iron to swap news of the storm over a drink of kava, a mildly intoxicating brew that is deeply embedded in the social fabric of Pacific islanders. Vanuatu escaped the worst with only 11 people confirmed dead. But as the rebuild begins, one concern is for the devastated kava crop, a major export and vital source of cash for subsistence farmers in the South Pacific island nation. Picture taken March 19, 2015. REUTERS/Edgar Su
Chattanooga, TN – The Pulse:
Kava, a Pacific Islands root traditionally consumed as tea, is a trendy ingredient featured in non-alcoholic cocktails this summer. The root is known to have pain relieving and cognition-boosting effects.
Some trendy New York spots offering the drink include Kava Social, Ka-Va Kava Bar, Brooklyn Kava, and Misfit Kava.
This trend may be in part due to more and more millennial and Gen-Z drinkers are becoming sober-curious. (NY Post)
