Mystic Water Kava Bar – My First Exposure to Kava
Mystic Water Kava Bar is a kava bar in Huntington Beach that primarily serves kava. No food, at least food wasn’t on the menu or offered when my friends and I went. This was the first kava experience for all 4 of us and this post is about my experience and thoughts on Mystic Water Kava Bar.
What is Kava?
Mystic Water Kava Bar’s definition of kava on their menu is, “Kava is the natural way to reduce stress, anxiety, and relax the muscles. Over 3000 years old, kava is consumed ceremonially and socially for its euphoric effects. Come drink kava and lounge under sculpted banyan trees in ancient ruins.” “Define kava” on Google gave me, “a Pacific Islands drink made from the crushed roots of a plant of the pepper family, having a mildly intoxicating or sedative effect.”
The Recommended Amount / Number of Shots
Shots here are not traditional shot glasses. They are more of teacups. Cheap quality ones in this case. The person that greeted us and helped us mentioned 4 shots minimum for first timers, so we got the $5 per shot deal (more than 12, less than 18). We were told that kava has a reverse tolerant effect so that you may need more to feel anything the first time, but it’ll supposedly take less subsequently.
Make it Yourself
We got a bowl that went over the turtle on our table and it contained the kava powder, cups, ladle, whisk, and a pitcher of water. Kava isn’t cheap, and we’re mixing it ourselves… getting an alcoholic beverage made by a bartender seemed to be a better deal at this point, but we were curious. The steps were –
- Take everything out of the bowl.
- Pour the kava powder into the bowl.
- Pour all the water into the bowl with kava powder.
- Whisk and keep whisking.
- Use ladle and pour into the teacups. One teacup is one shot.
The Looks
Yep, just as muddy water. Dark gray.
The Consistency
It’s not as thick as typical mud on the streets, but the powder does not fully dissolve. If you leave it alone for a while, there will be a layer of the stuff on the bottom and that part is much thicker. Whisk before pouring the shots. It’s more on the watery consistency though.
The Smell and Taste
Earthy. Not quite so sure how to describe it, but the smell and the taste reminded me of a tea that my dad would make and have me drink. That tea was not kava though. It was more on the transparent side. It isn’t really pleasant, but quite tolerable; however, some people got nauseated from the smell alone. A bit herbal, but more earthy as dirt.
The Ritual
Kava is a ceremonial drink, and we were told to say, “bula!” after receiving the poured kava, take the kava shot, and then clap some more (2 or 3 times?). We did that for the first shot and not the other shots.
Feeling?
My friends felt some stuff after a couple shots, but I did not, even after very many of the shots. I did get some numbing feeling on the tongue for a bit, but none of those expected relaxation, etc feelings. Some feelings others felt were –
- hot face
- numb lips/tongue
- relaxed
- easy to smile
- in the clouds
- more giggling
Short Lived
The feelings were very short lived.
Overall Experience
Glad we tried, but we aren’t itching to go back to Mystic Water Kava Bar. The interior looked very chill and had good vibes. It seemed more of a late night thing and wasn’t busy when we went around 5PM or so. Service was not really there and seemingly preoccupied. My friends and I talked quite a bit there, but also felt a bit awkward. The price was high for what it was, but we were glad to have tried kava. I would try it again elsewhere (Huntington Beach is way out of my way!) or make my own. About that… I read that filtering and kneading was necessary to make kava, so I’m unsure what kind of kava we consumed at Mystic Water Kava Bar. The powder didn’t dissolve as instant coffee does, so it might not have been instant kava, but I don’t know. Interesting stuff.
