The buzz on kava

What's the buzz?

By Tracy Chan
Metromix

Kava is a drink that looks kind of like muddy dishwater. And for some first-time drinkers, it tastes like it too, until your tongue goes numb and your throat starts burning. So why are more and more people drinking it? Is it for the effects, which users describe as eliciting a calm and sense of well being? Or is it just the novelty of a new fad?

Diamond Head Cove Health Bar is a tiny eatery and juice bar on Monsarrat Avenue. It's become known around the island as one of the coolest places to hang out and drink kava. All kinds of people come to this local haven, from the big names in local music like Kupa'aina, John Cruz and The Girlas to Japanese tourists, to skater kids, surfers and college students. To get the buzz on kava, we stopped by this popular beverage bar, and we also attended last weekend's kava festival at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. So here's what we learned...