Description

Botanical name: Piper methysticum

Origin: Fiji

Kava, also called kava kava, is a plant related to black pepper that is native to the islands of the western Pacific.

Native peoples in the region have used the root of the plant to make a traditional ceremonial beverage known as the “drink of peace.” The process of preparing this beverage involves “clearing” the raw material in a ritual called milolua, a practice that began in Vanuatu more than 3,000 years ago and gradually spread to Polynesia, Fiji and, eventually, to the west.