Roots and Leaves: Peak Kava

Peak Kava, at 7576 West Jewell Avenue in Lakewood, is one of five Colorado locations of Roots & Leaves, a group that also runs bars in Fort Collins, Westminster, Loveland and Greeley plus two in New Mexico. The Lakewood room is the closest of them to central Denver and is explicit about what it is for: "Peak Kava is a non-alcoholic bar dedicated to nurturing social connections without alcohol." The group's campaign line is "join the sober shift — kava, teas & togetherness", and the fit-out follows through on the bar framing rather than a cafe one. There are two pool tables, giant Jenga, a multicade cabinet, a fireplace, plenty of lounge seating and a full-length bar with bar stools, plus free WiFi. Happy hours run 5pm to 7pm and again 10pm to midnight, the second of which tells you what kind of trade the venue is built for.

The menu is short and specific. Traditional kava is served by the shell in five, eight and eleven ounce pours; Grape Ape is kava brewed with grape juice; and Chupakava is a CO2-extracted kava preparation available in ten and seventeen ounce serves. A house ethnobotanical tea comes in red, white and green versions, all brewed with light citrus and cinnamon and marketed for relaxing, energising and euphoric effects respectively. The speciality kava list includes Kavachata, which serves CO2-extracted kava in horchata, a Rocket POP, and a Cherry Limeade; the speciality tea list runs to Frankenjuice, a citrus combination, Caribbean Crush, and The Bitch, which is apple cider-based. Shots include Chupakava, Slapshot and kanna, and Blasters pair a shot with a kava or tea chaser. Seven smoothie flavours can be built on either kava or ethnobotanical tea. Readers in recovery should note that these are active plant preparations, not soft drinks: the tea blends are listed as containing blue lotus, California poppy, cat's claw, chamomile, white willow and wild lettuce, and kava itself is a sedative-acting root. What the venue does not contain, at any point, is alcohol.