Sip curious.
Zero proof. Full ritual.
Shop the lineupSomewhere between the third latte and the second glass of wine, people started reaching for something else.
Kava bars are filling up in beach towns and strip malls. Bartenders are building zero-proof menus on purpose, not as an afterthought. And the cans in the fridge door look a lot more interesting than plain seltzer.
These are botanical drinks made from plants people have been drinking for centuries: kava root from the South Pacific, kanna from South Africa, kratom leaf from Southeast Asia. This is our field guide to the new evening drink, and the cans we would buy first.
The cans in our fridge.
All from Botanical Brewing Co., the brand we reach for first. Prices are per pack, straight from the brewery.
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The 6pm can.
The laptop's closed. The commute is over. For a lot of people that moment used to mean a beer. Now it means cracking a can of kava: sparkling, citrusy, and made from a root South Pacific islanders have shared at the end of the day for centuries.
Orange Dream is where we tell everyone to start. Bright orange up front, kava's soft earthy note underneath, 50 calories, zero alcohol.
The dinner-party can.
Kanna is the one people bring when friends come over. It's a South African succulent, and people describe it as lighter and more social than kava: easy conversation, not a heavy body feel.
Pomegranate Fusion is pomegranate and raspberry, sparkling, and it looks good on a table next to the wine glasses nobody is filling.
The afternoon swap.
Botanical Brewing's elixirs are made with kratom leaf and come in three colors: white for daytime, green for social plans, red for the evening. People reach for them in place of the 3pm coffee or the after-work drink.
Island Breeze is the white one: mango and passion fruit, sparkling, and the brightest can in the lineup.
Still shopping around?
We compare the brands people ask about, side by side, so you can see why we keep coming back to Botanical Brewing.
Field notes
All field notes
The sober-curious starter pack: 8 drinks worth stocking
Eight drinks to stock the fridge with when you're cutting back, so the evening still feels like an evening.
Kava vs. alcohol: what's actually different
Kava fills the same slot in the evening as a beer or a glass of wine. Here's how it compares, and why so many people are switching.
Kava vs. kanna
Two plants, two continents, two very different evenings. Here's how to choose.
New cans, first.
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