Kava Bars Setting a New ‘Sober’ Trend for Northern Colorado

Cities across Colorado, including Loveland, Fort Collins and Greeley, are being introduced to kava with several kava and teas bars opening. They're a place for adults to gather, serving non-alcoholic beverages.

What is Kava That's Popping Up Across Colorado?

I didn't really know that kava was taking off across Colorado until I saw that a former nursery in Downtown Loveland would be becoming a Roots & Leaves Kava & Teas bar. It caught my attention, so I "investigated," and found that kava is an 18+ non-alcoholic drink that's made from the root of a kava plant.

From Roots & Leaves site about the effects of kava:

In general, kava’s effects are predictable. At modest doses, kava is calming and relaxing. In larger doses, it leads to euphoria, with no hangover the next day. Served cold, it has an earthy, peppery taste and leaves the mouth feeling slightly numb.

Roots and Leaves teas come in three house strains of teas:

• Red: More relaxing of the three.
• Green: Middle ground of the three.
• White: The most stimulating of the three.

They have a wide variety of offerings based on those three teas; they also have smoothies, fresh ground coffee, and of course kava drinks. Kava drinks traditionally are served in coconut shells; Roots & Leaves uses "shell-like bowls."

READ MORE: Marijuana Dispensaries Begin Coming Back to Loveland

I stopped into the Loveland Roots & Leaves, just south of Garfield Avenue and 6th Street, soon after they opened in April of 2026. The Loveland location did not have a catchy nickname (at that time) as the other locations:

• Kavarado Station and Old Town Kava in Fort Collins.
• Stampede Kava in Greeley.
• Peak Kava in Lakewood.
• Mile High Kava in Westminster.
• Casa de Kava in Santa Fe.
• The Vibbery in Red Hook, St. Thomas.

How Will the Loveland Kava Stand Out Among the Others

As stated earlier, the Loveland location of Roots & Leaves resides where there was once a nursery, Gateway Garden Center for almost 70 years. The nursery portion of the building still remains; Roots & Leaves will use the area for patio seating and to grow plants that will become drinks.