Boise's first and only kava bar is just one year old, yet hundreds of folks have found their way into the social space. Some arrive in hopes of finding an alternative to alcohol while others are just looking to try something new. Regardless of how or why you go there, you’ll find that Karuna Kava is a super welcoming place and that kava is a whole new experience.

First things first, what the heck is kava? Don’t worry – I didn’t know either.

Kava is a social beverage made from a tropical shrub that’s native to the South Pacific Islands. The root of the plant is ground and mixed with water. Kava is traditionally consumed in social, medicinal, spiritual, and ceremonial settings. One of the main reasons for drinking kava is to promote relaxation without causing drowsiness or impairing cognitive function. It’s become an alternative to anxiety medications that can have unwanted side effects. Kava has also been shown to have other health benefits, such as improving sleep, alleviating symptoms of menopause, chronic fatigue, headaches, and more. Kava is also used ceremoniously in Pacific Island cultures.

I’ll tell you first hand that I’ve never experienced anything like it. But before I tell you what’s like, you need to meet Ben.

Ben McQueen is the founder and owner of Karuna Kava. His journey to where he is now has not been a very glamorous one.

Ben was introduced to kava when he was a bit of a mess. He was struggling with alcohol and the depression and anxiety that rides its coattails. After years of hard drinking and being in and out of rehab, he decided to move from Florida to Colorado Springs for a fresh start.

“I moved out there and immediately drank up all my money. Then I got robbed by the guy I was living with and found out we were getting evicted. So then I was homeless,” said Ben.

It was a rough start, to say the least. Eventually Ben got into a sober living house in Colorado Springs. He stayed sober for a few months and even started working as the sober house manager, making sure his housemates were staying sober too. It was at this time that he had his first run in with kava. A new guy in the house was drinking it and Ben asked him what this “drug mud” was.

“I kind of had a fight with this kid about this kava that he was drinking,” said Ben. “And he was like, no, no, no, dude, it's like coffee but the other direction. I was like coffee…but the other direction...that's interesting.”

A couple months later, Ben relapsed again. He lived hard for a few months, then found his way back to the sober house. It was a tough time. One day he was wandering around downtown Colorado Springs, consumed with thoughts about drinking and itching in his own skin. He found himself standing in front of two buildings: on the right was Ohana Kava Bar and to the left was a gin distillery and speakeasy. There’s that kava stuff again, he thought. He decided to try it.

“I was like well, if this stuff sucks I’m just gonna go next door.”

That day would change Ben's life forever. He isn’t a real religious person, but he says he had a spiritual experience; a moment of divine intervention. As instructed, he chugged his first cup of kava and felt a change almost immediately.

“I felt comfortable in my own skin. I had this sensation of freedom of stress and anxiety, but also clarity of mind and a full grasp of my own ethical and moral code,” said Ben. While alcohol made him feel depressed, but this stuff actually made him feel alright.

“It wasn't an immediate cure for addiction, but it was like a walking stick that kept me up on the path. It gave me something to do and a community of people to hang out with because this whole kava bar was full of these people that weren't drinking. But it wasn't like rehab – it was actually fun,” said Ben.

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Ben got a job at Ohana and eventually started brewing his own kava at home, which led him to discovering traditional style kava. He started dreaming of owning his own kava bar.

“But I really liked my boss, he was a buddy of mine in Colorado Springs. And I didn't want to screw him over. So I looked for other cities that had mountains and snowboarding and didn't have a kava bar.”

Ben and his family moved to Boise in 2019 and he immediately launched his kava business. While it was an exciting time, it would prove to be another rough start.

“It was an uphill battle to get people in Boise to drink kava,” said Ben. In March of 2019, Ben started selling his kava out of mason jars at the Eagle Farmers Market.

“It was horrible – the experience, not the kava. People would try it and spit it out,” said Ben. “And I get it. I don’t get mad about it. Because from the beginning, the people that tried it and liked it, really liked it.”

Not only did the markets help Ben start to build a small but loyal customer base, he met really cool people there too. It’s where he met Sam and Eric Herrera of Erth Beverage, who loaned their brewery to Ben in the early days, giving him a place to brew kava. One day Ben was leaving Erth’s brew house in Garden City and noticed a woman moving things around in a half-empty space just a few doors down. He asked her what she was doing and she told him the brewery that had previously occupied it was trying to get out of their lease. On July 9, 2022, that space officially became Karuna Kava.

Compassion & community

Karuna is the Tibetan word for compassion, and that feeling is woven into every piece of Ben’s business and bar. Compassion comes with the kava drinking experience – it’s one of the first things Ben noticed when he started drinking it. Drinking kava was fun, it made him feel good, and, most importantly, it didn’t come with public embarrassment, shame, anger or the stress that followed him when he drank alcohol. Karuna Kava exists to give other people the opportunity to discover compassion through kava.

“That's what we wanted to offer people with the space. Because modern drinking culture is super destructive and unhealthy," said Ben. "I think we all know this, but we also all kind of like to laugh about it and be like oh whatever.”

By the way, this story is not to shame anyone for drinking alcohol. I drink. But I can also be honest and admit that I’ve had multiple periods of my life where I was drinking too much, too often. I’ve done some really dumb stuff and said things I regret while I was drunk. You probably have too – it’s an unfortunate part of the alcohol experience. And sure, there are people out there who can drink in moderation and be totally fine. But there's a lot of people can’t, and it's something that is really hard to come to terms with.

“Alcohol is probably one of the more destructive social influences that we have – it definitely has been in my life. And kava is a path away from that, because it's still fun,” said Ben.

While Ben’s journey with alcohol is on the more extreme end, he wants people to know that kava is simply a fun thing to drink and a positive social experience. Kava has a sensation, and that's what sets it apart from other zero proof options. When you drink alcohol, it feels fun – there’s a physical sensation that happens to you. The same is true with kava.

“Kava has the positive qualities of alcohol: more relaxed, more socially comfortable, a little more chatty, a little more uplifted and happy. Of course, that depends on the variety of Kava too. But then you don't have the hangover. You don't have the physical inebriation, you won’t be stumbling and mumbling and making a fool of yourself,” said Ben. He also noted how kava can help pull you out of the shame cycle, where you feel bad about drinking, which makes you feel anxious, then you drink again to help deal with the anxiety.

“It's an impactful thing for people, especially when they discover it as an alternative to alcohol, you know, because it's very non destructive. It’s what I call a compassionate social beverage,” said Ben.

Tastes bad, feels rad

Honestly, kava does kinda taste bad. At least at first. I’d liken it to drinking a dandelion tea, yerba mate (the real stuff you drink out of a gourd, not the stuff in the yellow can with 60g of sugar), or beet or celery juice. It tastes earthy. It’s different.

I tried it for the first time while interviewing Ben. It’s served in a small metal bowl with a slice of pineapple on the side. We were instructed to drink the whole thing down. We cheersed with a “bula”, which means "life" in Tibetan, and then we chugged the whole thing.

My mouth went numb and tingly immediately (a first during an interview for me) and Gail, our marketing manager, got all giggly. So yeah, we can confirm, there is definitely a sensation. It’s not like being drunk or high – it’s more intense up front, followed by a slow settling in. At that moment, half of my brain was trying to focus on how I was feeling and the other half was trying to listen and act normal. But by the time we drank a second one, I was feeling gooood. I felt relaxed, happy, and clear-headed.

You can try it for yourself, and I highly recommend you do. If you don’t dig the feeling or taste of kava, no worries. Karuna Kava is also a tea lounge and serves yerba mate (again, the real stuff), organic matcha, kombucha, hop water, and a variety of organic teas. And if you end up loving kava, Ben makes kava pouches so you can take it on the go. Pretty cool, eh?

Also, you should know that Karuna Kava is an awesome place to hang out. It’s warm and welcoming, filled with plants and bright natural light. The bar is set back off of Chinden, making the patio a peaceful place to chat with friends or relax with a book. Karuna also does kava circles every Thursday evening, if you’re looking to meet some new people and learn more about kava. You can also drop by the bar anytime to try it and ask questions – Ben and his bar staff are super nice and knowledgable.

This Sunday, July 9, Karuna Kava is celebrating its one year anniversary with a party. Head down to the bar to enjoy special kava varieties, traditional Hawaiian dishes, a pig roast, yard games, giveaways and more.

You can find Karuna Kava at 5220 N Sawyer Ave, APT A, Boise, ID 83714 or online at www.karunakava.com.

Thanks for reading! Bula!

With love from Boise,

Marissa

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