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Kava Culture A Visit to Squarerut Kava Bar in Austin, TX

CactusKava

CactusKava

Phoenix, AZ
Kava Vendor
Hello Everyone!

Just got back from a quick trip to Austin, and I had to drop by Squarerut to see how they do things. The bar had a really chill vibe, and had some great staff to ease people into the root.

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I went with a "Low Tide", which had 3 shells. They consisted of Borogu, some type of Tongan, and some type of Fijian "Waka". I put parenthesis around waka, because it wasn't strong like a waka should be. I finished it off with a mocktail that was made from Bumbleroot, some lemonade, mineral water, and kava extract. It was super tasty, and I'm going to be recreating it at home, for sure.

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Anyone else go to a kava bar recently? It was a bit of an eye opening experience for me, because this was my first visit to anything like this. Good stuff.

Edit: They had their kava on tap. It's a mystery to me.
 
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Ligermeat

Ligermeat

Warm and Fuzzeh!
The only kava bar near me is a place called "pacific rootz" in Orlando. Judging by the website, it looks pretty legit. Has anyone ever been here before? Do they serve krat? Do they cater to the legal high crowd?
 
T

taylor

Kava Curious
How are you going to make your kava extract at home? Im interested in that mixed drink

Sent from my SM-G925P using Tapatalk
 
Kavafied

Kavafied

Kava Vendor
Ligermeat said:
The only kava bar near me is a place called "pacific rootz" in Orlando. Judging by the website, it looks pretty legit. Has anyone ever been here before? Do they serve krat? Do they cater to the legal high crowd?
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They're legit, probably the only Kava bar in FL that doesn't sell K***** . Also one of the only Polynesian owned Kava bars in the US. They opperate differently than any Kava bar I've been to as they try their best to stick to the Kava culture they were brought up in. They have communal Kava cicles with guitar playing and singing every now and then, like you would find at traditional Kava clubs.
They're only open in the evenings as the owners all have day jobs.
 
I don't know

I don't know

Kava Enthusiast
Kavafied said:
They're legit, probably the only Kava bar in FL that doesn't sell K***** . Also one of the only Polynesian owned Kava bars in the US. They opperate differently than any Kava bar I've been to as they try their best to stick to the Kava culture they were brought up in. They have communal Kava cicles with guitar playing and singing every now and then, like you would find at traditional Kava clubs.
They're only open in the evenings as the owners all have day jobs.
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Good to know. I was curious about that place and it isn't too far from me. I may have to check them out.
 
The Kap'n

The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
@CactusKava I knew I had heard they had it on tap. They must use some sort of emulsifier and extract. Did the kava on tap have the same consistency and taste as traditionally prepped kava?
 
CactusKava

CactusKava

Phoenix, AZ
Kava Vendor
Kapmcrunk said:
@CactusKava I knew I had heard they had it on tap. They must use some sort of emulsifier and extract. Did the kava on tap have the same consistency and taste as traditionally prepped kava?
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I asked specifically about it, but the answers I got didn't seem to add up. The employee said that they have some sort of a stirring mechanism in the tanks, and "once we start spinning it, it takes care of itself". I'm almost wondering if they're using something like a magnetic lab stirring device.

The part that confused me is that later when I was asking about their brewing ratios (the kava was quite weak from what I normally brew), he mentioned that sometimes the grog comes out like a sludge. So either their stirring doesn't work as well as it should, or their grog really is just super thick on certain days. He mentioned that sometimes they let their brew sit, root and water, for "up to 72 hours". Seemed a bit long to me, for sure. A) Is that even food safe by restaurant standards? B) Would water extraction really be more potent by soaking it for periods that long?

Since I had three shells and a mocktail (which he said included 2 or 3 shells worth of extract), I assumed I would have felt a little more than I did. Not saying I didn't feel comfortable, I just didn't feel it like I do at home.
 
The Kap'n

The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
Very interesting. Thank you @CactusKava. Having a little past in the drink system industry, it really puzzles me how they do this.
 
CactusKava

CactusKava

Phoenix, AZ
Kava Vendor
Squanch72 said:
I always wonder how strong a shell is at a kava bar, one that doesn't spike it.
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If I were to get sufficiently rooted, I would have spent about $25-30 -- around 7 or 8 shells worth. If the bar was in my neck of the woods, I wouldn't mind hanging around there once a month or so.

One other thing that made me laugh is that they recommend their 3 shell deal for newcomers (including myself, even though I brought them kava from my own company, haha). I had all three in the space of 15-20 minutes or so, and the employee said other people don't really drink shells that fast. Considering what we know about how you need to have a large influx of kavalactones in the beginning to really feel much, that really surprised me. Maybe I'm more hardcore than I thought? I would love to sit at the bar and see how they react to @sɥɐʞɐs double-fisting some shells!
 
BULABUCK

BULABUCK

ROOTLYFE.
I use to go here I actually was a regular till there grog got weak . Then they stopped squeezeing. Put in a wonder bar and then I started to buy there dry root in a pinch i had to use double what I normally did so I stopped going. Kinda overpriced and the potancy was not there I really did love the rut
 
Steve Mariotti

Steve Mariotti

Kavapithecus Krunkarensis
Review Maestro
Cool thread, Cactus! There really is nothing like a kava night at a kava bar. Well, that's not true. If you were with a group of a dozen people who you knew varying amounts and they all were drinking kava, you could recreate it, I think.

Kava is meant to be consumed socially with other people. I'm convinced. When I first started drinking kava, I had NO interest in kava bars or going into public and drinking it. It was a private activity I enjoyed at home. The more I drank it, the more I craved company. After starting to make the kava bar a regular thing, I still augment at home alone, but all my big kava nights (complete with big kava fun) are out at the bar now. And this is from a pretty private person who generally goes into stealth mode in social situations.

I wonder about their mechanisms. Sad to hear they're serving underpowered kava. That won't help kava's reputation among the kids. Also sounds a little pricey.

I spend usually $25 for a night at a kava bar. That's over 5-6 hours with a 1-hour dinner break in there somewhere.
 
dino9832

dino9832

Kava Enthusiast
CactusKava said:
Hello Everyone!
Just got back from a quick trip to Austin, and I had to drop by Squarerut to see how they do things. The bar had a really chill vibe, and had some great staff to ease people into the root...
Click to expand...
That's real close to where I live. If we ever drive through Austin, I'm going to be squawking like a kid passing a McDonalds! Kava! Kava! Kava!
For $25, I better get a toy with that also!..lol.
 
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