This is one of my favorite herbs, also called Kava Kava. I have been taking it for many years and now it has become popular. It used to be much more potent than what you can buy today. It takes about 3-4 years to become fully mature. In the pacific areas it has long been used as a sacred and ceremonial drink. First they chew the root to a pulp, they mix it all together with water. Then strain it through a cloth in a bowl. The traditional way to drink it is in a coconut bowl(half a coconut). The effect is calming, even slight intoxicating if you drink too much. Another side effect of too much is red eyes and scaly skin. Lovely!
The way I like to use it is just chew the roots when Im having a long walk. Chewing releases substances in it that produce a serene frame of mind. I find that it helps my concentration, stops my mind from its incessant thinking and relaxes my whole body. I would not say it is mind altering like a drug or chemical, as you can fully function and theres no loss of alertness. Rather, it makes what I would call an increased awareness. Polynesians say its best to chew or drink it at dusk when the ancestral spirits start to manifest. So I always be sure to acknowledge our ancestors while I chew it.
Awa has also traditionally been used as an offering to the gods, along with red fish, black pigs, bark coth and such.
Its now very expensive to buy in the store. In Hawaii there is a revival of growers of it, as with alot of abandoned traditional foods and medicines. I get mine from a friends friends friend that grows it. They just give me a big root with lots of little tiny roots off of it and it lasts me cause I do not want to get red eyes and scaly skin from overdoing it. Maybe its not for everybody but I enjoy it very much.