I’m Matty and I want to talk about my KavaLuv experience! Let’s start from the beginning when I was first introduced to botanical teas. About 5 years ago, a friend of mine told me about a plant from Southeast Asia that’s brewed into tea and gives off euphoric effects. As someone who tends to lean towards self-medication, I was totally on board to try it. During the school year, my friend and I spent our weekends learning how to make our own botanical teas. By the time the summer rolled around, we discovered that our mixology skills were not up to par, and it was simply too difficult to craft a tea that was even remotely appetizing.  

Our inexperience and lack of consistency made me want to forget about all the time and effort we spent trying to enjoy our botanical tea experiments. I believed in the product I just didn’t know how to make it. The fear of a bad drink overshadowed my enjoyment and eventually it snowballed into me completely substituting botanical teas for alcohol.

I continued to carry this fear with me until another friend of mine took me to a kava bar years later. This experience changed everything for me. From the moment I stepped foot in my first kava bar, I knew this was exactly what I was looking for. I bounced around town checking out other kava bars in the area and as soon as I stumbled across KavaLuv, I knew this was the one.

I was immediately blown away by the unique vibe KavaLuv had compared to other bars. Not only were the drinks by far and away the best I’ve ever had but everyone there was super friendly and certainly my kind of crowd. Whether I was going to study or just wanted to relax after a long day at work, KavaLuv always delivered. I always found myself having positive interactions with others. Most of my frequent interactions have blossomed into amazing relationships with other regulars. It started as a place to be productive for me, but it’s truly turned into my home.

It has been almost 2 years being a regular at KavaLuv, and in that time I have built enough memories to last a lifetime. To think of where I would be today without this bar scares me. I have to thank KavaLuv for getting me through several difficult classes and workdays. Not only is this my favorite hangout spot, but it’s practically my only hangout spot now. My botanical tea journey has been a rollercoaster of emotions over the years, and I am so incredibly grateful to be where I’m at today. Without botanical teas, I could’ve easily seen myself falling into a cycle of alcohol abuse. Over time I have really slotted into the community quite nicely. I began to understand that this isn’t just a business, and the people here aren’t just customers. This is a community, but even more importantly, this is a family. And this is my family.