Making & drinking Kava for the first time!

Well here I am finally experiencing some Kava!

First of all, we saw some men outside under the street light pounding away grinding kava in a tall narrow pot with a very heavy heavy steel pole. When the pole hit the ground - the ground vibrated!!! My friend says one must be careful when grinding the kava or it will hit the foot & cut it badly. This is why the street light is needed - when doing it at night.

After this we went knocking on a neighbours door for a few packets of grounded kava.

Then finally in my friend's house to begin making the kava.

Making the kava started off really well! It started with a little puppy dog lapping up our fresh water in the green bowl! Ha! We had to start again & change the bowl with some more fresh water. After this, the kava (grounded root from a special tree) was put in large strips of fabric & dipped & swirled about in the water. Then the water was stirred until it became clear & muddy & of a smooth texture.

Then the the kava was ready to be drunk & was poured into a coconut cup. The cup was passed to me first - gulp! I had to clap my hands 3x times & sign 'n' say 'bula' before drinking the cup in one mouthful. But I confess I couldnt drink it in one mouthful cos it tasted so strong & muddy!!! But I did manage to drink it all & passed on the cup to my friend & then his brother to drink.

Suddenly my lips felt numb - I couldnt feel them! And then my tongue felt all tingly! A few more cups later - I began to feel quite mellow & relaxed!

Much later & a beer later - my chest had the strangest feeling ever. I had to stand while the beer went down my chest past the scratchy feeling of kava in the upper chest. A nice but strange combination!

Definately drinking Kava is an acquired taste. I didnt like the Kava much but am glad to have tried it & really enjoyed the ritual that goes with it - clapping hands, saying bula to each other before drinking & passing on the cup. I think I would drink it again cos it really does give a nice mellow relaxing feeling later!

What a great way to remember my last night in Suva & my last day of university!!!