Kava, Fiji’s Favorite Swill

The root of the kava plant, dried and then milled to powder, is Fiji's most popular traditional drink. The powder is pressed through a silk bag, and then if you're lucky, you get to sit around the spice market at 10am with some old IndoFijian guys feeling your mouth go numb as you sip from a dirty plastic bowl with a coconut shell. The brew from the stem is less narcotic than that made with the roots. It's a traditional gift to give a bundle of roots as a thank you to the chief any village you stay in.