Kava DSM

Kava DSM opened in 2021 as Des Moines' first kava bar, at 300 W Martin Luther King Jr Parkway, and it is a genuine three-way hybrid rather than a bar that also does coffee: a coffee shop, a kava bar and an eatery sharing one room. It was founded by Sarah Outlaw — a clinical herbalist and certified health coach with a nutrition background — with her husband Ben and David Tracy of Northgate Marketing, and their stated aim is to let people live their life the way they deserve to live it, to the fullest. The food side is real: paleo almond waffles from $5.50, salads from $9, gelato by the scoop, and a proper coffee programme with house coffee at $2.50 and an all-you-can-drink option at $5.50.

The alcohol-free drinks sit under a heading that says exactly what it means — Mocktails (No Alcohol) — and there are six, built on kava rather than on non-alcoholic spirits. Kavamosa, Kavajito and Kava Kolada are $9; the Kavarita, Kava on the Beach and Kava Tai are $12. The naming tells you the approach: these are kava standing in for the alcohol in a familiar drink, rather than an attempt to imitate a spirit. One limitation to note is that the venue publishes the names and prices but no ingredient lists at all for this section, so you will have to ask what is in them. Alongside them sit smoothies at $9.50 including a Kava Bula Blue of kava, coconut cream, blueberry, banana and blue spirulina, and a set of smoothie bowls at $13.50 that do carry full ingredients. On the botanical question: we checked the menu, the About page and every secondary source we could reach and found no kratom, kanna, blue lotus, THC or CBD anywhere — which is cleaner than most American kava bars. One customer account describes a mushroom cacao coffee with a choice of species, which does not appear on the published menu and may be a specials-board item. No dosage guidance, age policy or health warning is published anywhere; kava is psychoactive, so ask. The venue's own menu page also notes that its hours change seasonally, so check before you go.