Many people have cottoned on to the benefits of drinking kava, the herbal remedy that provides a boost to your health. It has a tradition that dates back thousands of years throughout Oceana, and it makes you feel great.
Just one problem: in its traditional form, kava tastes like muddy dishwater sprinkled with pepper. Only worse!
Is there any way that you can make it taste better? In this article, we’ll share with you how to make kava taste better to make it more enjoyable while you benefit from its amazing effects.
How To Make Kava Taste Better
So, now that you know what drinking kava can do for you, what can you do to make it taste better so you can enjoy the benefits that it offers?
1. Coconut Milk
The easiest way to improve the flavor is coconut milk! Make your kava (with an Aluball or traditional method) but substitute half of your water for coconut milk. Some people believe that the fat in the coconut milk improves the kava extraction, but mostly it makes it taste better.
Coconut milk does a nice job of masking the kava flavor.
2. Fruit Juice
You can substitute water for any sort of fruit juice, which can help hide the flavor of kava. In our experience, coconut milk works better, but fruit juice can still work.
3. Pineapple Chaser
Even now throughout Oceana, it’s not uncommon to “chase” your kava with a slice of pineapple. Drink it down, and suck on the pineapple to cleanse the palette. It’s not unlike sucking on a lime after a tequila shot.
4. Chocolate Syrup and Peppermint
It sounds weird, but chocolate syrup and peppermint work really well with kava. Kava itself is peppery-flavored, so it mixes with peppermint. And the muddy concoction gets flavored up with the addition of chocolate.
In keeping with the change of the seasons, and the cooler nights drawing in as fall approaches, you could also make a fall-inspired kava drink that will add some spice to your evenings.
5. Holiday Spice
Again, choosing your favorite milk (or a thick coconut cream), mix the kava powder with equal amounts of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cardamom powders. You can put them in an Aluball or make the traditional way, and the spices will blend in with the kava powder. Add some sugar or honey at the end for a great taste
6. Sparkline Water Chaser!
The problem with all of the above solutions is that they take a drink that’s basically zero calories and add a whole bunch of sugar and calories.
A great solution to make kava taste better is to simply chase it with sparkling water. There’s something about carbonation that overwhelms the taste buds that have just been exposed to kava. And sparkling water is zero calories, as well.
We find that this is the best solution for those who don’t want a sugar bomb.
The Kava Experience
Drinking kava has become very popular among health enthusiasts because it not only helps you to find a sense of calm and helps the body to relax, but its medicinal properties can also reduce feelings of anxiety and provide what is known as kava high, or krunk (if you drink enough!).
It’s a great alcohol alternative, and while it relaxes and chills you out, it does not cloud your mind or thinking, and typically does not produce a hangover, unlike many other popular substances.
However, in order to benefit from this euphoria in a cup, you have to get past its taste, which many find too harsh, earthy, or even revolting to drink.
Over time, most of us get used to the taste. But it takes a while!
Luckily, kava, which is made from the root of the kava plant that is native to the South Pacific, is available either pulverized or in a powdered form, and it can be mixed with other things to make the taste more palatable.
But before we share our favorite kava recipes with you, let’s take a quick look at some of the many benefits that kava drinkers are enjoying. After reading these, it may even spark you into trying it for yourself!
The Feel-Good Factor
Most people will tolerate the taste of kava, because of the way it makes them feel. Besides an overall feeling of calmness and well-being, kava also helps to relax your muscles, reduce feelings of anxiety and even depression in some, and can make you feel so drowsy that you’ll sleep just like a baby, which is great if you suffer from insomnia.
Most people will tolerate the taste of kava, because of the way it makes them feel. Besides an overall feeling of calmness and well-being, kava also helps to relax your muscles, reduce feelings of anxiety and even depression in some, and can make you feel so drowsy that you’ll sleep just like a baby, which is great if you suffer from insomnia.
Diving a bit deeper into the relaxation part, kava also relaxes muscles so much that some people use it instead of medication to provide relief. It works especially well for acute injuries related to exercise, or over-tight and spasmed muscles, which is why many athletes drink kava.
However, like any good thing, too much of it can make things turn bad. Overuse over a long period of time can cause lethargy, overall fatigue, nausea, and unhealthy weight loss. And there was a time not long ago when poor-quality kava products were sold, which lead to liver failure in some people. This is why this herb is banned in some countries.
But when used intentionally and in moderation, kava works by basically sending signals to your brain in the same way as if you were drinking alcohol, so your body relaxes and your inhibitions fly out the window, without the dreaded feeling of a hangover in the morning.
Higher doses can bring on subtle euphoric feelings, although these are accompanied by motor impairment and drowsiness. You can buy kava powder online and at most health food stores selling herbal supplements.
If you want a suggestion, you could try Royal Fiji Kava’s Fijian Gold Premium Kava Powder . This product is premium kava from Fiji that only uses the lateral root, and isn’t mixed with other parts of the kava plant, which inferior products do. Drinking inferior kava products can cause nausea.
Kava Don’ts
As mentioned above, long-term use of kava can be toxic to your system and cause severe damage to your liver, so always follow the dosage instructions on the product you buy and don’t overdo it.
You also need to make sure that you buy a kava from a reputable company. There are a lot of garbage products on Amazon, but we have a list of several good ones. Alternatively, you can go to excellent suppliers like Bula Kava House or Gourmet Hawaiian Kava for high-quality stuff.
like our recommendation above, which only contains the actual roots of the kava plant only.
Inferior products have the potential of causing you to feel nauseous instead of euphoric.
And you should never use kava in combination with either benzodiazepines or alcohol, because doing so would overload your liver, and could even impair your nervous system function.
Because you will more than likely feel some sense of drowsiness when consuming kava, it goes without saying that you shouldn’t drive, and need to stay away from operating any machinery.
Conclusion
Kava is a drink that has been used for centuries by people all over the Pacific Islands. And not all of them have enjoyed the taste that comes along with the benefits.
But now that you know how to make kava taste better, your next kava beverage will relax you while keeping your taste buds happy.
