Drinking Kava in Tanna, Vanuatu

In some very remote regions of Vanuatu, particularly Tanna, green kava root is masticated (chewed) due to the lack of machinery or resources to grind it up. It is the duty of the virgins of the village to chew up the kava for the elders each night to make fresh kava. The kava plant or plants that have been chosen to be harvested are dug up in the morning or early afternoon by the farmer. The soil is cleaned off of the kava roots very carefully and all stones are removed. The kava is then precisely chopped into smaller pieces for easier handling and to give everyone a piece to chew. The chewer takes a big bite of the root and starts to mash the kava root into slurry with their teeth. As disgusting as it sounds it really is not that bad. The kava is kept in the cheeks of the chewers mouth and they look like hamsters storing grain for the winter. Once the kava root is sufficiently chewed it is spat out onto a leaf in a pile and set aside. Usually kava leaves are used to temporarily store the masticated kava. This process is repeated by each participating member until completion. At the end person has a few piles of masticated kava next to them. A little water is added to get every last drop of kava goodness out of the freshly masticated kava root.

Masticated kava is very strong as little water is added. Scientists believe that enzymes in the saliva of the chewers activate the kavalactones thus making the end grog stronger. The little water that is added is used to increase the hydraulic pressure on the kava root when it is squeezed. Water is an incompressible fluid and helps to force the kavalactones into solution during the pressing process.

The kava is pressed and strained using the bark of a hibiscus tree.This bark is close in resemblance to a kava making cloth with its textile-like texture. In the photo below you can see that the kava was pressed directly into a tea cup of all things. Normally the kava is pressed into a coconut shell kava bowl to drink out of. It was very funny to see this considering the remoteness of Tanna. This kava was very strong and yours truly could only consume 2 servings of it. Strangely enough, none of the natives that prepared this kava for the guests would drink the kava. They were forbidden to drink it because of their religion. Missionaries have found their way to Tanna and convinced the ni-Vanuatu natives that kava drinking is not civilized.