The roots are dried then pounded into a powdered form that LavaKava mixes and delivers to you. This ensures a pleasurable and beneficial experience every time for the consummate kava drinker. The natives chewed or pounded the root and mixed it with water to produce a brownish, often bitter brew, which they then consumed for its psychoactive properties. Captain Cook's voyage to the Pacific in 1768-1771 may have produced the first account of white man encountering the plant and its consumption in sacred ceremonies. A number of writers and scholars have since described this plant and its properties, giving various theories of origin and explanations of use.
Many writings examine the cultural role of kava.
Questions such as how kava is affected by the introduction and use of alcohol, the commercialization and appropriation of kava and its use in foreign cultures are some issues that are of interest. Kava is so prevalent in Oceania that it can be seen as the one item in the Pacific peoples' material culture that connects them across thousands of ocean miles. It is thought to have a similar sociological role comparable to the use of peyote in many Native American tribes, the chewing of coca leaves in Peru and the use of opium in the Middle East and Asia. Although the use of kava has lessened due to missionary prohibitions and introduction of alcohol, which was non-existent in Oceania prior to first contact, kava is still consumed today, most especially in Western Polynesia in both formal and informal ceremonies. There is a growing interest in kava due to political independence and renewed concern for ethnic traditions, which had been clamped down by missionaries and colonization.