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kava fiji's favorite past time      report spam      2 0
         posted by   coco on July 8, 2008
Through out Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia alcohol takes a back seat to a local drink called Kava. Fiji is no exception to this rule ... Kava is very popular here. So what is Kava?



Kava is made from the root of a pepper plant (Piper methysticum). Kava is a tranquilizer that makes you very mellow. It is consumed as a drink and it makes your mouth feel numb like you just got out of the dentist. People say it gives you mental clarity. I am not sure this is true but certainly people on kava are more lucid than people who are drunk.

Kava is like alcohol in that you need to drink quite a bit of it before you feel its full effects. Tourists are often served a small amount of kava on boat tours or at their hotel in Fiji. It can even be served to kids.



The people of Fiji are friendly and super relaxed. To be quite honest I have always wondered how much Kava plays a part in that. When hotel staff are smiling and patient with some demanding guests I am thinking ... they are high on Kava!



To be quite honest I have no idea how often people in Fiji go to work high on Kava but it is very popular as a recreational drug. It does not seem to be resposible for any social problems (unlike alcohol).

As far as I know Kava is not illegal in any countries. Although it is certainly regulated as herbal medicine. You can buy Kava in Fijian souvenir shops and bring it home. I often wonder why it does not get popular outside the South Pacific.

Kava was traditionally prepared by chewing the pepper root and spitting it out. This job was often assigned to children. Today it is ground into a fine powder by machines. To prepare it you need a muslin cloth and a large bowl. Put the water in the large bowl (50 grams of kava powder to 3 liters of water). Put the kava powder in the muslin cloth and put the muslin cloth into the water. Massage the muslin cloth in the water until the water turns light brown. Your kava is ready to drink!



Kava became popular as a herbal suplement in Germany in the 1990s and there were many reports of liver damage related to Kava in Germany. I have not heard of these problems in Fiji but maybe you should drink Kava in moderation. I would not mix it with other drugs such as alcohol. However, trying a little Kava while your in Fiji allows you to experience thousands of years of Fijian culture!

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