Puariki kava: the elder brother from a reborn island

Puariki is a rare single-origin noble kava from Tongoa Island in Vanuatu, smooth and nutty and creamy, with a strong euphoric, blissful start that opens into deep body relaxation. Concluding with, by most accounts, a clean head the next morning. Its name actually means elder brother, which tells you how much respect this one gets back home in the villages and from the very few farms who specialize in it.

I love a kava with a name that means something, and elder brother is about as good as it gets. Words will fall short in describing this one, but I firmly believe the first time you drink a really good Puariki you will begin to understand. It seems like there is a calm authority to it, like the cup KNOWS what it is doing and you can just relax and trust the ride it sets out for you. It's also pleasant on the palate so you do not have to fight the taste the way you do with the majority of cultivars out there.

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An island that died and came back

The island of Tongoa where puariki is cultivated has one of the wildest origin stories of any island I know, mainly because Tongoa itself did not used to be its own island until recently. The island was actually part of a larger one called 'Kuwae', until somewhere around 1452 a volcano in the middle of Kuwae erupted with a force that ranks among the largest the planet has produced in seven hundred years and tore the island apart. In fact, the eruption was so enormous that researchers found the effects recorded in ice cores and old tree rings continents away, and claim it cooled the entire globe for years afterward. When the eruption was over the original island of Kuwae was gone and was replaced by two surviving fragments, Tongoa and Epi, with a sunken crater drowned in the sea between them. Aside, I would love to dive that spot and see the crater. I'm sure there's incredible life down there.

You would think the people would've rebuilt and carried on but oral tradition and the genetics both say the survivors fled, mostly south, and that Tongoa sat unchanged and emptied for generation after generation. Eventually their descendants came back to repopulate it returning with the ties and customs from the southern islands and leaving some of the old ways, like their pottery, behind in the move. So Tongoa is in the most literal sense, a sort of 'reborn' island that had died, was scattered, became forgotten, and eventually was revivified.

The name 'elder brother' is also a very heavy claim as the elder brother is one of the oldest and heaviest roles a culture can hand out. You see this reflected in every culture around the world as it is often the firstborn who inherits the land and the responsibilities for everyone in his family tree. It is the older sibling in a hundred myths who either rises to the weight of it or resents it (one can remember the maliciousness of Cain's deadly resentment). In Hawaiian cosmology, which I wrote about over in our ʻĀina is life piece, the taro plant Hāloa is literally the elder sibling of the Hawaiian people, the one who feeds the younger (Hawaiian people) and is cared for in return. And that's no joke because taro was an essential staple of the Hawaiian diet, it kept the whole civilization alive. The elder brother is the steady one, the provider, the one you lean on, also the one that teases and punks you (I had an elder brother). So a returned rebuilt island naming its best kava elder brother is a culture telling you exactly what it is expecting for the experience, something that holds the rest of you up but also makes sure you're worthy of it.

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What is Puariki kava?

Puariki is a single-origin noble kava grown on the small, fertile island of Tongoa, and it is considered one of the country's most prized cultivars. Single-origin means it is only one specific cultivar from one specific region and is unblended from other cultivars. In Bislama, the language spoken across Vanuatu, the name translates to big brother or elder brother. You will also see it spelled Pauriki or Boariki depending on who labeled the bag, which is worth knowing when you go hunting for it at the nakamals who are lucky enough to serve it.

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What does Puariki taste like?

Smooth. Genuinely smooth, which for kava is rare enough that people I know have remarked on it. Puariki has a mild, nutty flavor and a creamy texture, with a fresh, slightly zesty, sweet-and-spicy aroma. There is tiny bit of the peppery bite kava is famous for with just a touch of earthiness underneath and which quickly fades after drinking. It is one of the few single-origins I may hand to someone who swears up and down they hate the taste of kava, because more often than not they will take a gulp and glance back as me with a face sort of confused like, 'That's it?'.

While I am an avid advocate for sharing kava with your friends, especially this one, this is one of the only cultivars I recommend to make sure and keep a stash for yourself. Because this is a very rare cultivar and many people deep in the kava industry like us, do not come across it often. Think of it like the oxygen mask on an airplane. One cannot help others if they do not first help themselves. ☺️

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Is Puariki heady or heavy?

Both, sort of, and that is the fun of it. Puariki is a heady-balanced cultivar that tends to open with a clearly blissful, euphoric, slightly heady start. It is light behind the eyes, a little lift in the mood, and then it deepens into a medium to light, warm body relaxation that settles you. So you get the sociable front half and the wind-down back half in the same cup. I notice this one is great for artistic endeavors so if you're looking to open up that canvas and knock out some paintings this is one you would turn to. A lot of people mention the same thing I noticed too, which is how clean and fresh the next morning feels even after a real legit session of multiple cups. I supposed that clean morning differentiator is a big part of why the name elder brother fits. It takes care of you and it does not punish you but leads you to be prepared for the next event.

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How to drink it

Our Puariki is instant, so you skip the straining and the bag wrestling entirely. Scoop two into a glass or shaker. Add about 6oz of water and stir for fifteen seconds. Take it down, settle, and give it a real fifteen minutes before deciding on a second. If you want to learn the full traditional batching ritual one day it is worth doing, and our first timer's guide walks through it. Hopefully we can get more traditional available for you guys as I keep allocating the bulk of it for instant so we can meet minimums for the run. Mabe if the next batch is bigger

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Love Puariki? Here's where to keep that feeling

Puariki is Reserve stock, single-origin from one small island and flown on a little contracted cargo plane to santo where it will be ultimately shipped to the states. Because of limited harvests when Tongoa is done for the season we are done too. If you see it in stock, grab it. Usually our Ohana is on it with the emails so make sure to watch for the drops when they happen

If you want this exact cultivar, start with our Instant Puariki. It keeps the smooth, euphoric-then-relaxed arc of the Tongoa single-origin in an instant jar. You can grab some of the medium grind version as well if it's in stock Medium Grind Puariki. If it's out and you're looking for a core blend with the closest bright, smooth character, choose Raw Epicure, our most euphoric everyday pour.

To meet a few of the rare single-origins themselves, look at the Reserve Variety Pack but we don't currently offer puariki as one of the options in the pack. Maybe one day puariki will make it to the sample jars. Maybe. And if you are brand new and still finding your lean, start with the regular Variety Pack so you can taste across the range without committing to a full jar.

Again, I am not the all-knowing kava elder, I am still learning what each of these cultivars wants to be season to season. But Puariki is one of the ones that forced me to take a step back and just give insane gratitude to these amazing farmers. What an incredible kava.

From our ohana to yours, mahalo nui.