I went to NYC for a long weekend to celebrate my birthday and just returned this afternoon. Figured I could write the trip off as a business expense if I also turned it into a kava bar tour, so for a couple days I took subways around Manhattan and Brooklyn to the three kava bars now located in the area. I went into each as an undercover first time kava drinker so I could ask a couple questions and get answers like a normal customer. Clearly, if they knew I owned a popular kava bar and one of the most successful online kava stores I would get different answers. I am happy to say that in general the answers and experiences were positive, and were respectful of kava, its tradition, and what it has to offer. After asking a few questions I did eventually let them all know who I was.
My first visit was to Kavasutra in Manhattan. This was the first kava bar in New York but I'm pretty sure it's only been open for a year or so. It is I believe the fourth Kavasutra in the US. The bar itself is pretty small. Basically just a bar with about ten or twelve seats. It is nicely decorated but simply due to it's size, there weren't any comfortable seats. They serve one kava, and a few kava "cocktails" and flavored shots, some of which utilize instant kava and extract. They also list K@ on the menu on the wall but it is not on the paper menus. The K@ is served already prepared in plastic bottles. The very friendly and helpful manager told me that they serve more kava than K@ (which is rare at a kava bar. Most should be called K@ bars.), and in my time there I would say that about 60% of the sales were for kava and 40% were for K@. To the manager's credit, he made it clear that heavy use of K@ causes addiction when describing it to a customer. The kava was moderately potent, probably about as potent as most kava drinkers would make at home. They were serving a kava from Vanuatu but the cultivar wasn't clear. It did not taste or feel like a tudei. A Solomon Islands kava was on the menu but I was told they were out of it. I had two $6 shells while there, probably about 6 oz. each, and left feeling very nice.
The following day I went to Brooklyn where I stopped by The House of Kava. I feel like we're trendsetters at Bula Kava House and on some level the name was a nod to us, but I might be giving myself too much credit. This place was interesting. It was in what was recently an apartment and the owners had done a bunch of work to transform the place. I was told it was a "soft opening" phase, which was evident. There was new drywall, an unfinished bar and very little seating. They definitely still had some work to do. The owners had moved to Brooklyn from Florida where they spent a lot of time at the many kava bars found there. They were awesome people and super friendly. Their kava "spiel" was appropriate and they answered the basic questions I asked correctly. They were all about community with regards to kava which I appreciated. They sell K@ in powder form which I get the feeling is going to be a bigger seller than kava for them, unfortunately. They are currently giving a free first shell of kava to new customers, and they even gave me mine for free despite finding out that it wasn't my first time. I believe the only kava they serve is a Solomon Islands brew. I don't know if it was noble, but I do know the effect was pleasant and uplifting with no nausea. It felt like a high kavain kava but it's hard to know for sure. It too was made moderately potent.
My final stop was Brooklyn Kava (These guys actually said Bula was an inspiration, which was nice to hear), just a couple blocks away from The House of Kava. Brooklyn Kava started by making bottled kava drinks that were sold at Whole Foods. The place was decorated beautifully, but definitely felt more like a coffee shop because, well, it is. The walls have a lot of white and black and not much that had a kava vibe. They have a full coffee menu and some nice kava drinks. They had the strongest traditionally prepared kava out of the three NY kava bars. They also had some kava cocktails that were actually quite good and strong. Normally I'm not a fan of mixing kava with things that taste good because I feel like it just makes the thing taste worse, and means I need to drink more liquid volume for the same effect. The drinks here were an exception though. I had about a 6-8 oz serving that mixed a more concentrated kava with muddled mint, lemon juice, and I think something sweet like sugar or honey. Honestly, I thought it was fantastic. It was potent and super tasty. I happily sipped, which I never do with kava. A friend of mine that met me there had a chocolate kava cocktail that also had rooibos. It too was good, and the flavors meshed well with the earthiness of the kava. I was so impressed I may steal at least one recipe to use at my place. They use a Fijian root that provided potent and pleasant effects. No nausea, no negative lingering effects. They do not sell K@ but may in the future because people ask for it. Management and employees were friendly and at least had the knowledge basics down. I enjoyed talking shop and hung out for a while.
In summation, my overall impressions of the kava scene in NY were positive. For the most part the establishments looked very nice (aside from The House of Kava but I'm sure it will look great when they're done). I did find it unfortunate that none of them had much for cozy seating, which I feel is a good thing to have in any kava bar. I am not anti K@, but I do wish an establishment calling itself a kava bar would be careful to serve primarily kava. My reasoning is that I feel that if pretty much every kava bar serves K@, they will be linked when they don't actually have much in common. And if they're linked, a bad rap for K@ (warranted or not) may also be a bad rap for kava, and who knows what would come of that. I also am concerned with a kava bar counting on K@ as a main or even primary source of income for their own sake. If it ever gets banned they'll have a hard time surviving. All that said, I understand why kava bars start selling K@. It's hard to make a living selling kava. It took us three years to make any significant money at the bar, and if I hadn't found such success online I'm not sure we would have been able to stay open those first couple years.
The best part of my experiences was the interaction with the bar employees. They were all friendly and helpful and their hearts seemed to be in the right place. They had a good grasp of kava basics, but with a couple of the people I wondered if the knowledge was a little limited. I won't get on them about that though because some of my newer employees can't tell you much about kava nuances.
At the end of the day, I recommend all three bars if you're in the area. Their kava is appropriately strong and gave nice effects, and the general vibe at each bar was solid. Much of that was due to the people behind the bar.
*A note to moderators. I obviously used the K word a lot because I know certain members are interested. Feel free to edit it out if you feel that it's necessary.
My first visit was to Kavasutra in Manhattan. This was the first kava bar in New York but I'm pretty sure it's only been open for a year or so. It is I believe the fourth Kavasutra in the US. The bar itself is pretty small. Basically just a bar with about ten or twelve seats. It is nicely decorated but simply due to it's size, there weren't any comfortable seats. They serve one kava, and a few kava "cocktails" and flavored shots, some of which utilize instant kava and extract. They also list K@ on the menu on the wall but it is not on the paper menus. The K@ is served already prepared in plastic bottles. The very friendly and helpful manager told me that they serve more kava than K@ (which is rare at a kava bar. Most should be called K@ bars.), and in my time there I would say that about 60% of the sales were for kava and 40% were for K@. To the manager's credit, he made it clear that heavy use of K@ causes addiction when describing it to a customer. The kava was moderately potent, probably about as potent as most kava drinkers would make at home. They were serving a kava from Vanuatu but the cultivar wasn't clear. It did not taste or feel like a tudei. A Solomon Islands kava was on the menu but I was told they were out of it. I had two $6 shells while there, probably about 6 oz. each, and left feeling very nice.
The following day I went to Brooklyn where I stopped by The House of Kava. I feel like we're trendsetters at Bula Kava House and on some level the name was a nod to us, but I might be giving myself too much credit. This place was interesting. It was in what was recently an apartment and the owners had done a bunch of work to transform the place. I was told it was a "soft opening" phase, which was evident. There was new drywall, an unfinished bar and very little seating. They definitely still had some work to do. The owners had moved to Brooklyn from Florida where they spent a lot of time at the many kava bars found there. They were awesome people and super friendly. Their kava "spiel" was appropriate and they answered the basic questions I asked correctly. They were all about community with regards to kava which I appreciated. They sell K@ in powder form which I get the feeling is going to be a bigger seller than kava for them, unfortunately. They are currently giving a free first shell of kava to new customers, and they even gave me mine for free despite finding out that it wasn't my first time. I believe the only kava they serve is a Solomon Islands brew. I don't know if it was noble, but I do know the effect was pleasant and uplifting with no nausea. It felt like a high kavain kava but it's hard to know for sure. It too was made moderately potent.
My final stop was Brooklyn Kava (These guys actually said Bula was an inspiration, which was nice to hear), just a couple blocks away from The House of Kava. Brooklyn Kava started by making bottled kava drinks that were sold at Whole Foods. The place was decorated beautifully, but definitely felt more like a coffee shop because, well, it is. The walls have a lot of white and black and not much that had a kava vibe. They have a full coffee menu and some nice kava drinks. They had the strongest traditionally prepared kava out of the three NY kava bars. They also had some kava cocktails that were actually quite good and strong. Normally I'm not a fan of mixing kava with things that taste good because I feel like it just makes the thing taste worse, and means I need to drink more liquid volume for the same effect. The drinks here were an exception though. I had about a 6-8 oz serving that mixed a more concentrated kava with muddled mint, lemon juice, and I think something sweet like sugar or honey. Honestly, I thought it was fantastic. It was potent and super tasty. I happily sipped, which I never do with kava. A friend of mine that met me there had a chocolate kava cocktail that also had rooibos. It too was good, and the flavors meshed well with the earthiness of the kava. I was so impressed I may steal at least one recipe to use at my place. They use a Fijian root that provided potent and pleasant effects. No nausea, no negative lingering effects. They do not sell K@ but may in the future because people ask for it. Management and employees were friendly and at least had the knowledge basics down. I enjoyed talking shop and hung out for a while.
In summation, my overall impressions of the kava scene in NY were positive. For the most part the establishments looked very nice (aside from The House of Kava but I'm sure it will look great when they're done). I did find it unfortunate that none of them had much for cozy seating, which I feel is a good thing to have in any kava bar. I am not anti K@, but I do wish an establishment calling itself a kava bar would be careful to serve primarily kava. My reasoning is that I feel that if pretty much every kava bar serves K@, they will be linked when they don't actually have much in common. And if they're linked, a bad rap for K@ (warranted or not) may also be a bad rap for kava, and who knows what would come of that. I also am concerned with a kava bar counting on K@ as a main or even primary source of income for their own sake. If it ever gets banned they'll have a hard time surviving. All that said, I understand why kava bars start selling K@. It's hard to make a living selling kava. It took us three years to make any significant money at the bar, and if I hadn't found such success online I'm not sure we would have been able to stay open those first couple years.
The best part of my experiences was the interaction with the bar employees. They were all friendly and helpful and their hearts seemed to be in the right place. They had a good grasp of kava basics, but with a couple of the people I wondered if the knowledge was a little limited. I won't get on them about that though because some of my newer employees can't tell you much about kava nuances.
At the end of the day, I recommend all three bars if you're in the area. Their kava is appropriately strong and gave nice effects, and the general vibe at each bar was solid. Much of that was due to the people behind the bar.
*A note to moderators. I obviously used the K word a lot because I know certain members are interested. Feel free to edit it out if you feel that it's necessary.
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