It's called the peace drug. It is made from a ground up root, it is not alcoholic. Its hallucinogenic properties make your mind happy and you feel clever. You love the rhythm of talk. Many people wouldn't consider a day complete without a couple of 'shells' of the stuff.
Kava has a pungent, muddy and slightly peppery taste. It looks like dirty dishwater and I'd say it doesn't taste much better. Your lips go numb, your limbs become heavy and you feel like you want to do nothing more than think about life.
A kava ceremony is held to welcome visitors, seal alliances, begin chiefly conferences, and commemorate births, deaths and marriages. For such occasions there are strict rules for preparing and drinking kava. On Tanna, for example, prepubescent boys prepare the roots by chewing them into a mush that is mixed with water and filtered through coconut fibres. First the chief drinks, followed by any honoured guests, then other men in order of precedence. Etiquette requires drinking each shell in a single gulp. Also, it is drunk in a quiet atmosphere.
Kava drinking was an exclusively male activity surrounded by all sorts of tabu. However these days all the islands have places where women are welcome. Long-term use of kava can result in liver and kidney damage, and there's little doubt that its use also causes loss of productivity!
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