Under the muted lights of Mai Kai Kava Bar in Gainesville, coconut cups line the countertop. A few customers pull up tall stools to the bar, unpacking their laptops as they order off the menu.
Mai Kai co-owner Erin Hart shuffles behind the counter as the music from speakers echo throughout the bar. There are no bottles of alcohol around. Mai Kai is a kava bar, and the patrons are ready for their fill as soon as the doors open.
As more Americans contemplate leaving alcohol behind, kava has become an alternative to drinking by offering similar effects without the consequences. Over 30 kava bars are scattered across Florida as it grows in popularity. While unregulated in the United States, kava bars in Florida wish to make the thousand-year-old beverage as accessible as possible…