Bula Kava House News

What helps separate the exceptional kavas produced in Vanuatu from other areas of the world is the long and honored tradition kava cultivation plays in Vanuatuan culture. Often passed down from one generation to the next, Ni-Vanuatu have developed and refined growing techniques that enable farmers to produce hearty crops of potent kava year after year. Recently, Bula’s own Judd Rench had the opportunity to discuss kava cultivation with Ni-Vanuatu farmer Nickson Tosu, a 27-year-old farmer from the village of Fanafo on the island Espiritu Santo. Judd: How much land do you farm? Nickson: I farm two to three hectares...

While summer officially starts a few weeks earlier, for many people the Fourth of July marks the beginning of the season. Fireworks, festivals, and live music provide all of the motivation many people need to get out of the house, enjoy the weather, and have some much needed fun. July has the reputation as a month of celebration here in the U.S., but other countries have their own ways of celebrating the season. In Fiji, the summer season offers a few notable festivals that are local to the island nation which serve to highlight Fijian culture through the celebration of...

Kava plays such an important role in so many different cultures around the world. By drinking kava, you can experience some small part of those cultures in places far removed from where the kava originated. Yet despite whatever the distance, the effort, care, and craft that goes into cultivating kava remains. This provides kava enthusiasts with the opportunity to gain new appreciation and respect for those cultures that take such enormous pride in creating some of the world’s greatest kavas with each drink. At Bula Kava House, we love having the opportunity to present new and exciting kavas to our...

As most kava enthusiasts can attest, overcoming kava’s taste represents one of the biggest challenges facing first time drinkers. For all of the wonderful benefits drinking kava can provide, noble varieties often have a pungent flavor that can provide quite the punch to the unprepared palette. Many first time visitors to our Portland kava bar have a hard time accepting the taste of pure kava, which makes them less likely to try kava again in the future. Fortunately, many experienced kava connoisseurs have tips and tricks for making their own favorite varieties of kava a little more palatable. Most use...