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Light-brown kava tea swirled around the inside of a coconut shell as kava bar owner Judd Rench explained how to drink the tea in the traditional Hawaiian fashion.
“If you’re with a group, you clap once together in unison once before drinking,” he said, prior to demonstrating. “Then you drink the whole thing at once — though there’s no pressure to finish it all — and when you’re done, clap twice.”
Rench opened Bula Kava House, 610 Main St., on Aug. 9, marking the first appearance of a kava bar in Vancouver. Considering the novelty of kava, Rench and his employees make an effort to educate everyone who comes in about the tradition surrounding the tea.
“You’ll often hear people yelling ‘Wait, wait, wait’ so a group will hold and they can all drink together,” Rench said. “We’ve been joking we’re going to make shirts that say ‘Wait, wait, wait.’”
Kava is a shrub grown in Oceania. Its roots are ground and squeezed to make tea, part of a cultural and social tradition in the Pacific Islands like Vanuatu dating back over 3,000 years. The active ingredients include kavalactones, lactone compounds that affect the central nervous system. These compounds are believed to cause muscle relaxation, decreased anxiety and euphoric sensations that vary depending on the type of kava.
Bula Kava House
Where: 610 Main St., Vancouver
Hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. weekdays; 11 a.m.-midnight Saturdays and Sundays; closed on Labor Day
Owner: Judd Rench
Employees: Three
Information: 503-477-7823 or info@bulakavahouse.com
Despite its earthy flavor, kava tea has grown in popularity, spanning across cultures in which it is used for parties, anxiety treatment and socializing, or as a replacement for alcohol.
The Vancouver bar marks the second time Rench has introduced a city to the drink. In 2011, he opened Portland’s first kava bar on Southeast Division Street. At the time, he said, it took about two years to build a lively community around the place because of a lack of knowledge about the plant.
At the new Vancouver location, business has started to gain traction, Rench said. Around 10 patrons he regularly sees at the Portland bar live in Vancouver.
“They’re spreading the word,” he said. “So I do feel like this place will kind of get the community vibe a little bit quicker.”
Rench originally planned to open the Vancouver kava bar in April, but due to backups in construction and supply shortages, he postponed a soft opening to early August.
“When I walked in, I was like, ‘This was a really good environment,’” Nava said. “The first time I tried kava was right after my interview, which I had about a half shell of and I didn’t really like. Now I really enjoy it.”
Rench’s vision for the Vancouver kava bar is a communal space built on open-mindedness — something the kava helps initiate, he said. “I’ve had people say we’ve saved their marriage,” he said. “It’s a really cool thing.”
People can come anytime throughout the day and work, Rench said, pointing to outlets strategically placed under the bar top and surrounding wood tables.
Despite the business’ current low numbers, Rench said he looks forward to growing the kava community in Vancouver.
“Kava is something that there’s a lot of education in getting people familiar with it,” he said. “It does take a while to build that community.”
Bula Kava House is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and from 11 a.m. to midnight Saturdays and Sundays. It will be closed on Labor Day.
