It's Foodie Friday! Polynesian Kava

Serving Kava at Kanaka Kava on The Big Island of Hawai'i

Taken by One Brown Girl® (2009) 

Have you ever had kava?  An elixir made from the kava root, it has been used by Polynesians for ages for medicinal, religious, political, cultural and social purposes.  [Wiki] 

On a trip to The Big Island of Hawai'i a few years ago, curiosity got the better of me and I went to a Kava bar with my husband.  I kept seeing signs around the island that touted kava as a stress and anxiety reliever and I figured, hey, that sounds interesting.  Of course, my husband had to be my guinea pig and drink it because (a) I'm not drinking anything that looks like dirty dishwater, and (b) because I'm not drinking anything that looks like dirty dishwater.   (Plus, it isn't sweet.) #nottryingtobemean

Kava plant aka Piper methysticum

After one cup (you should have seen me staring at him while he drank), he said his lips and tongue got a teeny tiny bit numb and tingly and then he felt like he had just had a glass of wine.  Okay...I thought as I looked at all of the people throwing back cup after cup of kava...at least he didn't start hallucinating or anything.  #whew

Although rare, you might be interested to learn that there have been some arrests in the United States for driving under the influence of kava.  (Click here and scroll down to the middle of the page for the details.)  I'm not hating on the dishwater kava users/drinkers, but come on, don't drink 16 cups and then get in a car.  #loser

Have you ever tried kava?  #whyamIthirstyallofasudden?