Looking For The Best Kava? We Did The Research—Here Are 9 We Love

First: Who am I, and why did we write this article?

I’m John Fawkes, and I’m a NSCA-certified personal trainer. I’m also certified by Precision Nutrition to be a nutritional counselor. I have a client base in Los Angeles who I advise on fitness routines, supplement regimens, and how to eat to stay healthy. I specialize in writing about weightlifting, exercise, bodybuilding supplements, and adaptogens. 

We published this article because we noticed the growing interest in healthier alternatives to alcohol and prescription drugs that reduce stress, and the ever-growing trend of kava bars and kava Direct-To-Consumer products being sold in Instagram ads and on Amazon. We wanted to create the most comprehensive source of information online about the subject, because it also happened to be in our wheelhouse. The Unwinder strives to publish high-quality, trustworthy information about ‘new wellness’ that its readers can use as a reference for making decisions about how they can best optimize their health. 

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

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If you’re looking for a quick recommendation, here’s what to buy:

• Drink Root’s Instant Kava Connoisseur Blend is far and away our favorite kava. It’s convenient, doesn’t use harsh chemicals, and is high quality. However, since it’s a favorite among readers, it’s commonly sold out. Thankfully, you can purchase it in packet form here.
• If you’re looking for capsules instead of a drink, buy Double Wood’s Kava Kava extract here.
• If you’re specifically looking for micronized kava, Kona Kava’s kava is lab tested and available in different flavors. Buy it here.

The Best Kava: Our Recommendations At A Glance

Since there are several different kava strains, kava varieties, and kava ‘formats’, searching for the best kava to buy can be confusing and downright frustrating. Many kava products require you to learn how to properly make tea out of ground kava root and buy a special strainer and bowl for its preparation. However, most people looking to buy kava just want an unadulterated, authentic product that is easy to use and provides an enjoyable buzz—without the mess.

Following extensive research, we’ve determined that the best kava is Drink Root’s micronized kava. It doesn’t use any harsh chemicals in extraction, it’s of the noble variety (provides a pleasant high), and it’s the most convenient format by a mile. However, there are several other kava products worth considering in your search—you may prefer capsules over a drink, for example. More on those below.

In this article, we’ll explain what kava is, why you should consider drinking it instead of a good old-fashioned margarita, and how to pick the best kava products and get the most possible enjoyment out of them. This review includes our picks for the best instant kava, best micronized kava, best kava powder, best kava supplement, and more.

What Is Kava?

Kava–scientific name piper methysticum, meaning “intoxicating pepper”–is an herb native to the Pacific islands. The word kava comes from a Tongan word meaning bitter; kava is also known by other names including ‘ava, ‘awa, kava kava, or yaqona.

Kava is known for its sedating effects, as well as euphoric and analgesic properties. Traditionally in many Pacific island cultures, kava is consumed as a beverage made from the ground root of the kava plant, or a mixture of the root and bark. Sometimes kava is also chewed. 

Traditionally, in many of these cultures, kava occupies a similar role to alcohol in most societies–as the “social beverage” that people drink to loosen up and socialize, as well as for ceremonial uses such as toasting or celebration. It is also used on some islands for shamanistic purposes, or as a component in traditional medicine. Australian aboriginals also mix it with alcohol.

The active ingredient in kava is a class of chemicals called kavalactones. Raw kava root contains 3-20% kavalactones by weight, depending on the varietal. However, kava extracts (what consumers usually buy) are more concentrated and contain 30-70% kavalactones.

How To Choose A Good Kava Product And Find Reliable Kava Vendors

The effective dose of kavalactones ranges from 70-250 mg, with the higher end of that range usually being reserved for sleep induction. Lower doses can be taken several times a day.  

The first thing to look for in a kava product is the total amount of kavalactones it contains. You’ll want 70-150 mg per dose for socializing or anxiolytic purposes, or 200-250 for sedation and sleep improvement. Some supplements will list kavalactones in mg; others will list them as a percentage by weight, and you’ll have to do the math to figure out the number of milligrams per serving.  

If the kavalactone content isn’t listed, you probably shouldn’t buy a product. If you do though, for safety’s sake you need to assume a high kavalactone content–20% for whole root or 70% for an extract–even though the opposite is probably the case.  

Second, you’ll want to look at which variety of kava is used. There are two main strains of kava–noble and tudei.  Each strain has a different mix of kavalactones. Noble kava is shorter-lasting, has fewer side effects, and tends to be mildly euphoric and anxiolytic and thus ideal for socializing. Tudei kava is more sedating, longer-lasting, and has harsher side effects including nausea and hangovers.  

Noble kava has a safer toxicity profile, both chronic and acute, and it’s the variety that is used in almost all human studies. That in turn makes it safer because it’s better studied. We recommend always choosing noble over tudei kava.  

Experienced kava users will often describe kava as “heady, heavy or balanced.”  Heady kava causes more energetic and euphoric feelings, while heavy kava causes more sedation, with balanced being a mix of both. For the most part, this corresponds to variety; noble kava tends to be heady, tudei will feel heavy, and a blend will probably feel heavy or balanced. Of course, a higher dosage will also feel more “heavy.”  

Again, given the toxicity of tudei kava, we still recommend higher-dosed noble kava over lower-dosed tudei kava for sleep induction.  

Speaking of toxins, look for powders or extracts that are made or extracted with water, rather than solvents such as ethanol. Any solvent used should be removed afterward, of course, but traces can remain. In small amounts, they’re not so much a real danger, but will contribute to hangovers.   

Finally, look for kava taken specifically from the root of the kava plant, rather than the whole plant. The root is where most of the kavalactones are; the bark and leaves don’t add much and will either dilute the kava or possibly add pesticides or other chemicals you just don’t want.

Our Recommendations For The 9 Best Kava Kava Products Including Traditional Kava Reviews And Kava Root Reviews

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FAQs About Kava

What Are The Effects Of Kava?

Kava’s known effects fall into three main categories: sedative, euphoric, and analgesic. 

Multiple studies, not to mention widespread anecdotal experience, leave no doubt that kava has sedative and anxiolytic properties.  These effects are moderately powerful–most people will find them to be quite noticeable, and kava is sedating enough that it needs to be avoided before driving or operating heavy machinery, much the same as alcohol.

Kava also moderately elevates mood and subjective well-being. This effect can be as powerful as the anxiolytic effect, but is somewhat less consistent. It appears to be secondary to the anxiolytic effect, meaning it makes you feel happier via making you feel less anxious. Thus, the more anxious you are, the more kava is likely to elevate your mood.

Analgesic effects are a bit more complicated. The topical analgesic effects of kava are not in doubt–anyone who has ever tried it can attest that it makes your mouth go numb.  

Systemic analgesic effects–as in, whether ingesting kava will make pinching your arm hurt less–are a different story. So far, they haven’t been studies in humans. In rats and mice, kava does appear to exert some systemic analgesic effect, but the mechanism of action is unclear. There’s no particular reason just yet to recommend kava for this purpose. 

There is also early evidence that kava decreases stress, blood pressure and symptoms of depression, as well as improving sleep quality. All of these effects so far appear to be minor and secondary to kava’s anti-anxiety properties.

How Long Does It Take Kava To Kick In, And How Long Does Kava Last?

The duration and half-life of kava is still somewhat unclear. One study found that effects typically peaked 1-2 hours after ingestion, with a distribution half-life of 50 minutes and an elimination half-life of 9 hours. Anecdotally, people usually feel the euphoric and anxiolytic effects of kava for 2-3 hours, with higher doses causing a sedation effect that can last longer.  

Mixing kava with alcohol causes a synergistic drunkenness effect. The danger of liver damage from kava is minimal, but mixing with alcohol raises the toxicity. Kava can also cause hangovers. All of this depends on the variety–more on that shortly.   

Kava should not be mixed with prescription anxiolytic or antidepressant drugs without consulting a doctor first.   

What Is The Best Way To Take Kava?

Kava is sold either in capsules or as a powder. Pills, of course, are straightforward enough. Powdered kava on the other hand can be taken a few different ways.

First, you can mix it with water or tea and drink it, powder and all. This will be the most potent method of consumption.  

Second, you can strain the kava. This will give you a less potent beverage, but a better-tasting one with no powder floating in it.  

Third, you can blend kava with a smoothie. This will cause you to ingest as much kavalactones as option one, but the effect will be a bit muted and spread out over a longer period of time, as the smoothie will cause the kava to be absorbed more slowly.

Fourth, there are some instant kava extracts that are meant to be mixed into beverages and dissolve completely, just like instant coffee. This won’t give you the authentic experience, but it is convenient.    

Just like alcohol, kava will hit you harder if you ingest it on an empty stomach. If using it to socialize, you may want to have a little bit on an empty stomach, followed by some food before consuming more kava. That way the first dose will hit you faster, then the kava you drink after the food will absorb more slowly, making it easier to stay in the “sweet spot” of relaxed but not sleepy.

What does Kava taste like? It’s not particularly good, so you may also want to chase it with something flavorful. Tea and spicy food are often used for this purpose; since kava numbs the mouth and tongue, it increases one’s ability to tolerate spicy flavors. Mixing kava with some caffeine may also be ideal from a socialization standpoint, though obviously it’s counterproductive if you want to sleep within the next few hours.

Regardless, kava generally kicks in within 30-60 minutes, with the effects being felt for 2-3 hours. You can therefore re-dose every 3 hours or so, and even if it doesn’t feel like it’s working, you should wait an hour before re-dosing to avoid overdosing. 

The optimal dosage will vary depending on your body weight, tolerance and anxiety levels. Generally, it’s about 70-150 mg for socializing or anxiolytic purposes, or 150-250 mg for sleep. Doses in the 200+ mg range have been used for anxiolytic purposes, but only in people suffering from clinical anxiety disorders; this dosage will generally be excessive for most people.  

Drowsiness or impaired driving are usually only seen with doses over 180 mg, though that too will depend on body weight and maybe also what variety is used.    

What Is The Best Kava Brand?

It can be quite difficult to narrow down your options when it comes to selecting the right kava product as there are several brands that check off the boxes mentioned above in respect to key features. However, there’s one brand that stands out when it comes to having the most authentic kava possible – Drink Root Kava.

Drink Root Kava is by far our favorite pick among all kava vendors for many reasons, but the most important is that it’s not actually micronized kava, rather, it’s dehydrated kava juice. Basically, the company has filtered and then dehydrated brewed kava juice which creates a very stable high kavalactone concentration of kava juice that’s free of kava root and does not contain flavokavains, which are cytotoxic chalcones that are naturally found in kava root, that are often detected in high levels in kava concentrates that are used in standard pills, tinctures, and pastes. Thus, Drink Root Kava offers the safest form of kava and is actually the first company in the US to make kava in this form. 

Another reason we prefer Drink Root Kava over other brands is that its products are sourced from an organic farm in Vanuatu and each batch of roots undergoes strict QC analysis to ensure premium kavalactone characteristics and content. Its Instant Connoisseur blend contains 10.2% kavalactones and is a dihydrokavain (DHK) heavy blend, making it ideal for those who are seeking both its euphoric and body sedation effects.

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Want to read more about kava and its uses? Check out the following articles:

• What’s The Best Kava Tea? First Decide If You Want Kava Powder, Micronized Kava, Or Kava Tea Bags
• 10+ Alcohol Alternatives If You Want To Relax Without The Hangover
• What’s The Best Kava Supplement? Here Are Our 5 Recommendations

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Editor’s note: we are regularly updating this review. If you see any problems, weird interpretations of the data, or just want to say hi, please reach out to hello@the-unwinder.com.