Roots And Leaves: Mile High Kava Bar

Mile High Kava sits at 7703 West 92nd Avenue in Westminster, at the northwestern edge of the Denver metro, and is the largest and most bar-like of the Roots & Leaves group's Colorado rooms. Its own description is unambiguous about the offer: "a unique 18+ non-alcoholic tea and kava bar experience, perfect for those who prefer to socialize without alcohol", sold under the group's "join the sober shift — kava, teas & togetherness" line. The venue trades daily and on holidays, with three happy hours a day — 10am to noon, 5pm to 7pm and 10pm to midnight — and is fitted with a full-size bar with ample seating, lounge areas with couches, a stage used for open-mic nights and karaoke, two pool tables, Skee-Ball, darts and free WiFi. There is a kid-friendly area with toys, and hookah is served, which is worth knowing in advance for anyone avoiding smoke.

The drinks are the Roots & Leaves house programme. Traditional kava is poured by the shell in five, eight and eleven ounce sizes; Grape Ape brews kava with grape juice; and Chupakava is a CO2-extracted kava served in ten or seventeen ounce measures. The house ethnobotanical tea is offered in red, white and green versions, each brewed with light citrus and cinnamon. Speciality kava drinks include Kavachata, which puts CO2-extracted kava into horchata, plus a Rocket POP and a Cherry Limeade; speciality teas include Frankenjuice, Caribbean Crush and an apple cider-based drink called The Bitch. Shots run to Chupakava, Slapshot and kanna, and seven smoothie flavours can be built on either a kava or a tea base. As with the rest of the group, the honest framing matters: kava is a sedative-acting root from the South Pacific, and the house tea blends are listed as including blue lotus, California poppy, cat's claw, chamomile, white willow and wild lettuce. These are active plant preparations. The venue serves no alcohol at any point, and the 18-plus door policy and 2am close mean it functions as a direct substitute for a late-night bar rather than as a cafe.