Long before our kava reaches a cup in Auckland or Wellington, it begins its journey on the steep, volcanic soil of Kadavu, Fiji. Kadavu is where our mother's family is from, and it's the only place our kava is grown and harvested. We thought it was worth pulling back the curtain and sharing what that actually looks like, from the ground to your kitchen bench.
Early mornings in the plantation
Kava is a patient crop. The yaqona plant needs at least four to five years in the ground before its roots are mature enough to harvest, and our growers in Kadavu tend it the whole way through. A typical day starts early, while the air is still cool, checking on plants, clearing undergrowth, and deciding which mature plants are ready to come out of the ground. There's no rushing this part. A plant pulled too early simply doesn't have the depth of flavour or the character that noble kava is known for.
- Plants are selected individually, by eye and by feel, not by a schedule
- Only noble varieties are grown on the land our family works with, never tudei
- Harvesting is done by hand, root by root
From root to ready
Once harvested, the roots are washed, separated, and left to dry naturally. This drying stage matters as much as the growing does. Dried too fast, the roots can lose quality; dried properly, they settle into the rich, earthy character that makes a good bowl of kava feel worth the wait. It's slow work, and it's done the same way it has been for generations, because that's what produces a result our family is happy to put their name behind.
From there, the roots are pounded or ground and prepared for export. Every batch that becomes our signature kava has passed through hands that know exactly where it came from and how it was grown, because those hands belong to our own family.
Why sourcing this way matters
There's a big difference between buying kava on an open market and sourcing it through people you trust. Working directly with our family in Kadavu means we know the story behind every bag, from the plantation it grew in to the person who pulled it from the ground. It also means we can keep the chain short: fewer hands, fewer middlemen, and a closer link between the grower and the person drinking it on the other side of the world.
For a lot of Kiwis, kava can feel a bit abstract, a product on a shelf with no real backstory. We like sharing this side of it, because the story is the point. Kava has always been about connection, between people sharing a bowl, and between the land it comes from and the hands that tend it.
Bringing it home
By the time our kava lands in New Zealand, it has already been part of a long, careful process rooted in Kadavu soil and family knowledge. We simply carry that on, packaging and sharing it with the same care it was grown with.
If you've ever wondered what's behind the bowl, now you know a little more of the journey. Shop our kava and taste the result of that work for yourself.
From our family in Kadavu to your kitchen table, thank you for being part of the journey.