Lava Cola -officially Lava Cola - Vanuatu Kava Cola- is a cola drink

Cola

Cola is a carbonated beverage that was typically flavored by the kola nut as well as vanilla and other flavorings, however, some colas are now flavored artificially. It became popular worldwide after druggist John Pemberton invented Coca-Cola in 1886...

 produced in Vanuatu

Vanuatu

Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...

 by Vanuatu Beverage Ltd.. It contains a kava

Kava

Kava or kava-kava is a crop of the western Pacific....

 lactone

Lactone

In chemistry, a lactone is a cyclic ester which can be seen as the condensation product of an alcohol group -OH and a carboxylic acid group -COOH in the same molecule...

 additive - kava consumption being traditionally important

Kava culture

Kava cultures are the religious and cultural traditions of western Oceania which consume kava. There are similarities in the use of kava between the different cultures, but each one also has its own traditions.-Hawaii:...

 in western Pacific nations

Oceania

Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...

.

Lava Cola has been described as an "anti-energy beverage". Australian media have noted that it "produces the calming effect of kava without the muddy taste" - adding that, while kava itself is an acquired taste

Acquired taste

An acquired taste often refers to an appreciation for a food or beverage that is unlikely to be enjoyed by a person who has not had substantial exposure to it, usually because of some unfamiliar aspect of the food or beverage, including a strong or strange odor An acquired taste often refers to an...

, Lava Cola may well be suitable for export.

The Cola began as a syrupy "water-based kava extract" developed by Australian-born James Armitage in 2009. He then successfully approached Vanuatu Beverage to suggest blending it with cola. The watery kava syrup is "added to cola in a proportion of 15 millilitres to a bottle of 330ml". The drink is now produced in a factory on the outskirts of Port Vila

Port Vila

Port Vila is the capital and largest city of Vanuatu. Situated on the south coast of the island of Efate, in Shefa Province, the city population at last was 29,356, an increase of 55% on the previous census result . This suggests a 2007 population of about 40,000 or around 65% of the province's...

, the country's capital. It went into production for the domestic market in October 2009.

Lava Cola uses kava produced on the island of Maewo

Maewo

Maewo is an island in Vanuatu in Penama province, 105 km to the east of Espiritu Santo. It is 47 km long, and 6 km wide, with an area of 269 km². Its highest point is 795 m above sea level...

, which has generated an increase in revenues for local producers.

Vanuatu Beverage hopes to export the drink first to Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

 and New Caledonia

New Caledonia

New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...

, then to a wider market.