Silesse kava: A contemplative creeper from Malekula

Silesse is a single-origin noble kava from Malekula Island in Vanuatu, a slow-building creeper best for sinking into a deep, quiet, introspective calm and probably not best for getting loose with friends. Most people use it for solo nights as it can settle you all the way down as the evening rolls on.

Most kava is meant to be drunk with people like friends or loved ones. But every now and then you want a cup for an evening that is just yours, and Silesse is the one I would point you to for just that, because it does not push you out into the room as much as it pulls you inward. You may find yourself deep in thought, or contemplating the absurdities of the previous morning. Sometime's its good to just sit back and laugh at the absurdity of it all, and sometimes we just need a little kick in this direction to get the ball rolling.

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The island of seventeen grades

Malekula is one of the largest and arguably strangest islands in Vanuatu. There exists something like 28 different languages on this single small land mass, and it is home to two famous old cultures, the 'Big Nambas' and the 'Small Nambas'. Named oddly for the size of the men's penis sheaths (Hah! I'm not kidding). But the thing about Malekula that actually matters for understanding a cup like Silesse is its grade societies.

Bcoming a man of high importance and power on this island is accomplished through a long and sequenced process akin to a kind of hierarchical ladder. Here men rose through, for lack of a better term, 'grades' called the 'nimangki', where each man would earn his way up the hierarchy one rung at a time. In the south of Malekula that ladder ran seventeen grades deep, but around the South West area an aspiring high chief could face as many as 35 separate nimangki to climb to reach the top of the societies competence hierarchy. Which I must add is VERY different from a dominance hierarchy. Each 'rung' had its own rites (and rights!) as well as its own masks and obligations. The women of the island also had their own beautiful parallel system where each grade they ascended earned a spirit that, after death. From my own spiritual exploration I would argue this is a better outcome, but i digress.

So this is the island. A place that turned the whole business of becoming somebody into a slow, deliberate, lifelong ascent. And then it grows you a kava that does the exact same thing to your evening. Slow. Deliberate. Building rung by rung until you are somewhere much deeper than where you started.

If you think of the history of mankind, almost every traditional culture on earth had some version of this grading society. Sometimes this is a formal, demanding, often frightening structure for turning a boy into a man through challenge, spiritual cleansings (think misogi's), ordeals and earned responsibility. Jungian Analysts often argue these 'rites of passage' were essential to the evolution of a boy to becoming a man, which I would argue is one thing we are deeply missing in our current society. In this culture you were not just a child who ages into maturity and manhood like most western socieities believe, you were instead initiated into it in front of everyone, and afterward both you and the village knew exactly what you now were and what was now expected of you. Most of the modern world trashed these sentiments and rituals and I do not think we replaced it with anything worthy of recognizing the true transformation and adoption of responsibility. Personally I think a lot of aimless, stalled out young men are feeling the shape of that missing ladder, even if they fail to recognize it consciously. This journey to adventure is much like the beginning of the biblical stories for the Call to Abraham or Buddha's stepping outside of the walled gardens. To step out into the unknown, into the world away from safety and to make something of oneself. Malekula kept the traditions and rites of passage and I really believe this is something we can learn from them.

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What is Silesse kava?

Silesse is a single-origin noble kava grown on Malekula. Single-origin means it is one cultivar from one place, unblended, and Malekula's version has a reputation all its own. It shows up in limited batches, and the people who track these things tend to grab it when it does.

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Is Silesse heady or heavy, and how strong is it?

It is balanced, but it leans heavy and inward. Some drinkers call it heady, others call it muscle-melting. In a way both camps are right depending on the dose and the night, because this particular varietal slowly builds. I felt it when we were testing out different origins. You think you know where it is going and then twenty minutes later you end up waaaaay deeper than you expected. So make sure not to rush a second pour. It is potent.

Again, I am not a medically trained physician and I am not making any health claims here, I am just describing how the cup tends to feel to me and our team.

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What is Silesse best for?

Silesse is not really a social kava as much as it is powerfully introspective. Plenty of people mention drinking it later in the evening and drifting off easy afterward. A beautiful point because it is very clean and you may end up feeling surprisingly clear the next day.

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How to drink it

Our Silesse is traditional only right now. So make sure to have a kava bag handy when batching it. After drinking give it a real fifteen minutes before deciding on more. If you are interested in the full traditional batching ritual head on over to our blog post about first timer's guide that covers the bulk of it.

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Love Silesse? Here's where to keep that deep calm coming

Silesse is Reserve stock which means limited batches out of Malekula, so when it's gone it's gone. We don't approve every batch so if it's in stock consider yourself blessed.

If that deep, contemplative, settle-all-the-way-down feeling is what you are after, two of our everyday blends can also live right there. Connoisseur is heavy and soothing, with long, rolling waves of calm, the premium pour for nights you want to disappear into the couch on purpose. Gravis is our heaviest, most chillout blend, for maximum unwinding when that is the entire goal of the night. And if you want that depth in something a little smoother to drink, Barava is surprisingly strong for how easy it goes down. The woody fluffy essense is unique and worth exploring when you can.

And if you are brand new and not sure which heavy is your heavy yet, start with the regular Variety Pack and explore across the lineup first.

So what can you conclude about Silesse. Well I am forever learning the nuances between varietals and also between batches. This particular kava taught me that some of the best nights with kava are the ones where you do not say much at all. 5 out of 5 from me.

From our ohana to yours, mahalo nui.