Kava bars run on about a dozen words that mean nothing anywhere else. None of them are complicated, but all of them get used at speed by people who forget you have not heard them before.
Here is the whole vocabulary, a line each. The kava terms you will actually hear across our 28 bars, in the order you are likely to run into them.
The Drink and the Serving
Kava is the drink. A shell is what it comes in, and single, double and triple are how much of it you are getting.
Kava. A drink made from the root of Piper methysticum, a pepper family plant from the South Pacific. Ground root, kneaded in water, strained, served cold. No alcohol and no caffeine in it. The long version is in What Is Kava?.
Shell. The four ounce metal bowl kava is served in, and the word for a serving of kava. “A shell of Van” means one serving. Traditionally the shell is half a coconut. Ours are metal, because coconut shells are hard to clean.
Single, double, triple. The three sizes. A single shell is four ounces, a double is eight, a triple is twelve. Any kava we pour comes in any of the three.
Specialty. Any of the concentrated kava drinks rather than a plain shell. Ed Shell, Punch in the Face, Special Ed and Double Double are the specialties, in the same servings as a plain shell.
Kavalactones. The compounds in kava root that the drink is measured by. They sit in the root, which is the reason the root is the part that gets used.
The Kava We Pour
Van, Guru and Newshyt are the three kavas on the menu, all from Vanuatu, all prepared fresh in house every day.
Van. A blend of lateral kava root and chips imported from Vanuatu. The everyday pour and the one most regulars order.
Guru. A five diamond Vanuatu crop, available only part of the year. Strong, but smoother than Van. If you want to know whether it is on, ask, because the answer changes with the season.
Newshyt. A Kavasutra exclusive. Smooth and potent.
Lateral root. The branching roots of the kava plant, as opposed to the central rootstock. It is the part traditionally used for drinking kava, and it is not the cheapest part to buy.
Noble kava. Educational vocabulary for the category of kava that comes from Vanuatu. It is not a menu term, not a product name and not a modifier on a drink. It gets its own explainer.
The Concentrated Ones
Concentrated kava comes in a smaller serving than it sounds like it should, and it is usually what a first timer gets handed.
Ed Shell. Concentrated kava in a four ounce serving.
Special Ed. A shell mixed with kava isolate. A little less potent than an Ed Shell and smoother to drink.
Lix. A concentrated kava shot. Availability varies by state, and our Arizona bars do not carry it.
Kava shot. The general term for concentrated kava in a small serving. It is not the same thing as a kratom shot, and the two get confused constantly.
The Rituals
Twice a day the whole room drinks together. That is the only piece of theater in the building, and it has two names depending on what you are talking about.
Slam. Drinking a shell in one go rather than sipping it, and the word for the moment when the room does it together.
Dollar slam. The daily special built around that moment, at 1pm and 1am, with a 60 second rule on the drinking. In Arizona, slams outside those two times are priced differently, so check the bar you are in.
The ritual. The 1pm and 1am slam, which happens at every Kavasutra. The whole room drinks a shell together, in 60 seconds or less.
Malo. The cheers. It derives from the Vanuatu word for kava, and we used to say Bula until some visiting Vanuatu delegates corrected us. That story is its own post.
The People and the Other Menu
The person pouring is a Kavatender. The other menu is the tea menu, and it has its own rules.
Kavatender. Whoever is behind the bar making your drink. Not a bartender, since there is no alcohol in the building. Tell yours it is your first time and the rest of the visit gets easier.
Tea. The kratom side of the menu, served in the bar and listed separately on the tea menu. It is 21 and up in Florida and Colorado and 18 and up in Arizona, where state law sets a different age, and our Denver bar does not serve it at all.
Slinger. Another word some Kavatenders use for themselves. Same job, same person.
How It Lands
Reverse tolerance is the one piece of vocabulary that will change what you order, so it is worth knowing before your first visit rather than after.
Reverse tolerance. The commonly reported pattern where the first few shells of kava land lightest, and people notice more on a second or third visit than on a first. It is the reason Kavatenders usually start first timers on a specialty rather than a plain shell.
Chaser. Whatever is on the bar to drink straight after a shell. The taste is earthy and most people do not love it. Nobody is offended.
Numb lips. A light numbness in the lips and tongue that many people report within moments of a shell. Normal, and it fades on its own. More on what people describe is in What Does Kava Feel Like?
That is the whole vocabulary. If you want the walkthrough rather than the word list, what to expect on a first visit covers ordering, the room and what to ask for.
Frequently asked questions
What is a kava shell?
A shell is the four ounce metal bowl kava is served in, and also the word for one serving of kava. Traditionally the shell is half a coconut. The ones at Kavasutra are metal, because coconut shells are difficult to clean.
What does slam mean at a kava bar?
To slam a shell is to drink it in one go rather than sipping it. It is also the word for the twice-daily moment when the whole room drinks together, at 1pm and 1am, in 60 seconds or less.
What is a Kavatender?
A Kavatender is the person behind the bar making your drink at a Kavasutra. The word replaces bartender, since there is no alcohol in the building.
What does Malo mean?
Malo is the cheers at Kavasutra. It derives from the Vanuatu word for kava. The bars said Bula for years until visiting Vanuatu delegates corrected the usage, and the full story has its own post.
What is reverse tolerance?
Reverse tolerance is the commonly reported pattern where the first few servings of kava have the least noticeable effect, and people report more on later visits. It is why first timers are usually started on a concentrated specialty rather than a plain shell.