What Is Kava? Meet the Zen Master
Kava is a drink made from the root of a pepper plant grown in the Pacific Islands. People there have been sharing it for around 3,000 years, mostly to slow down and talk to each other.
That's the short answer. The long one has volcanic islands, ocean-crossing canoes, a naturalist who gave it the wrong name, and a coconut shell.
At Milli we call kava the Zen Master. It's the friend who makes every moment feel like a vacation and reminds you it's really not that serious. Here's where that friend grew up.
Where kava comes from
Kava started in northern Vanuatu, a chain of volcanic islands in the South Pacific. About 3,000 years ago, farmers there took a wild pepper plant and kept replanting the ones they liked best.
Here's the part we love. Kava doesn't make seeds. Every variety is sterile and has to be grown from a cutting, which means every kava plant alive today was handed down by a person.
Three thousand years of passing it to the next guy. Very on brand.
Vanuatu still grows more kinds of kava than anywhere else, with around eighty distinct types by one count. The name changes as you cross the ocean: yaqona in Fiji, ʻava in Samoa, ʻawa in Hawaii, sakau in Pohnpei.
How kava is shared
Kava was never a drink-alone thing. The root is ground up, mixed with water, strained, and passed around, traditionally in a half coconut shell.
In Vanuatu, people head to a nakamal when the sun goes down. It's a meeting place that works a lot like a neighborhood bar, minus the bar fight.
In Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, kava gets a full ceremony. It welcomes guests, marks the big occasions, and gets served in an order that shows respect to everyone in the circle.
The setting changes from island to island. The point doesn't. Sit down, slow down, say something real.
How kava got around
No seeds means kava couldn't travel on its own. Voyagers packed cuttings into canoes and carried it east from Vanuatu through Fiji and on to Tonga, Samoa and Hawaii.
Think about that. Limited cargo space, thousands of miles of open ocean, and kava made the packing list.
Europe caught on late. On Captain Cook's second Pacific voyage, from 1772 to 1775, a young naturalist named Georg Forster wrote the first detailed description of the plant. In 1786 he gave it the name Piper methysticum, or "intoxicating pepper."
Pacific researchers have been correcting him ever since. Kava isn't fermented and it isn't alcohol, and the name gave people the wrong idea for about 250 years.
The Zen Master took it well.
Today kava is grown for export across the Pacific, and kava bars have opened in cities a long way from any coconut tree.
Why kava is in Milli
Matt built Milli to keep the good parts of a great night and skip the next-morning part. A plant with a 3,000-year record of getting people to sit down and actually talk was an easy call.
In the can, kava is the loosen-your-shoulders part of the blend. It rides with lion's mane, cordyceps, damiana and mitragynine, with 0% alcohol, no caffeine and 35 calories.
Milli is for adults 21+. Start with one, sip slow, and keep it to two cans max in 24 hours.
Meet the rest of the squad or grab a pack. Drink happy. Live Milli.
Kava FAQ
Is kava alcohol?
No. Kava is made from a root mixed with water. It isn't fermented and it contains no alcohol.
Where does kava come from?
Northern Vanuatu, in the South Pacific, about 3,000 years ago. Today it's grown across the Pacific Islands, including Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Hawaii.
What does kava taste like?
Earthy, peppery and a little bitter on its own. In Milli it sits behind lemon, lime and coconut water.
Is there kava in Milli?
Yes. Kava is one of five active botanicals in Milli Original, along with lion's mane, cordyceps, damiana and mitragynine.
Who is Milli for?
Adults 21+. Skip it if you're pregnant or nursing, and check with your doctor first if you have a medical condition or take medication.