I don‘t know what I expected when the brown liquid promising to take away my inhibitions slipped down my throat.

I know it kept coagulating in the plastic coconut shell in which it was served. I know it tasted like dirt, juiced and frothed into a sour milk-like substance that even the accompanying pineapple slice could not mask. I know my mouth went numb.

Kava, a Polynesian shrub whose roots create a bitter mixture when crushed and steeped in water, has been a staple elixir in South Pacific communities for at least 2,000 years. It’s said to dull the senses, evoking a calming, almost fuzzy feeling in the body that some say can soothe anxiety or insomnia. The root has grown in popularity across the United States in recent years, and is now being marketed as the next big alcohol substitute, a growing billion-dollar sector of the beverage industry.

Kyle Fox, who has spent the last year bringing Root City Kava Bar & Lounge to Mount Vernon, said he discovered the drink while navigating his own sobriety. “I realized it would be nice if there was somewhere to go out and not hang around drunk people,” he said.

Root City is designed to be a destination spot: the only bar and social lounge dedicated to kava beverages in Maryland, which does not regulate the substance. Ahead of its soft opening on May 17, one customer begged Fox online to sell her the drink “in gallons.”

Fox and his business partner, Nicholas Patrick, said they drink a version of the liquid multiple times a week, whether it’s mixed with one of their menu’s basil gimlets or classic margaritas, or steeped with oat milk for a nightcap.

The duo sank their savings into renovating the decades-old, three-floor venue at 917 Cathedral St., formerly a neighborhood bar. And while they compare the substance to a strong chamomile tea, the sale and marketing of kava as an innocuous replacement for alcohol is heavily debated.

“We’re really taking a chance on this dirty puddle water,” Patrick said.

Studies are still working to identify potential adverse reactions to kava and to what degree people can build a dependence on the plant, though the drink is not believed to be addictive or build up a tolerance in users. While Hawaii deemed it as generally safe last year, the U.S Food and Drug Administration has yet to do so.

Instead, the FDA classified the root as a dietary supplement, which has stricter labeling. The concern arises out of non-traditional methods of extracting the substance. These products often use ethanol to create a more heavily concentrated version of kava sold in bottles or cans, which can raise the risk of liver damage.

Certain states are regulating the drinks. The Virginia Department of Health sent a cease-and-desist letter last fall to the state’s only authorized kava bar out of concern it violated a consent decree barring the “psychoactive substance” from being mixed into mocktails and marketed to sober people. The bar is now limited to serving kava with water. New York health officials cracked down on kava bars last year, and California authorities sued companies for mixing the substance with kratom, another largely unregulated plant, but with known addictive properties that can produce stimulant and opioid-like effects.

At Root City, the first bowl of kava is free and — in homage to the plant’s spiritual uses — thrown back after shouting “Bula!,” a Fijian greeting meant to wish good health. But when staring down the sludge-like beverage, it can almost feel like a battle cry.

They start with a heavy-handed pour of traditionally ground kava mixed with water and an “insta kava” powder. Customers can then opt for tastier, more diluted iterations of the drink, including mocktails with Root City signature twists like the Kava Mule and the Spicy Bay, which cost about $6. The often-fruity drink bases can also be supplemented with other plants like Lion‘s Mane and Maca Root, which have not run into the same regulatory hurdles.

The cafe also serves coffee from Zeke’s on the first floor — a lighter, almost cafe-like space where Patrick hopes people will come to study or work. As you ascend the house’s levels, the decor gets darker and televisions and arcade systems become more prominent. Dumplings, shrimp and falafel bites are available on all floors.

It’s a smoother introduction to the drink than what Patrick and Fox experienced.

“It was like drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon when there‘s Budweiser,” Patrick said of his first sips at a kava bar in Florida, where the number of vendors have surged in recent years. “It’s not something that everyone on their first time is going to love,” Fox said.

I was surprised by how much of the kava I felt coursing through me in the final gulps of the drink. My head tightened as if a cloth was suddenly pressing against my temples. I could hear my body shifting into a lower gear and slowing as my stomach, disappointed by my actions, rumbled angrily — a common occurrence among people who do not eat beforehand. In certain ways I was more relaxed: less focused on my words or how I came across to others in conversation.

“It slightly changes your mood, but it can’t really alter the course of your day,” said Douglas La Rose, executive director of the Kava Coalition, a nonprofit trade association advocating for the South Pacific farmers and business owners who sell the root. “You can’t really chase a high from kava.”

Instead, the Baltimore resident said it should be thought of as an alternative to coffee or tea, not alcohol, which is easily binged or abused. La Rose still thinks there should be limits though: He emphasized that kava and alcohol should not be used together, and people under 18 should not partake at all.

He’s discouraged to see authorities attempting to ban or limit the sale of kava in its traditional form and in social spaces. Education, more than regulation, will keep the consumption of kava safe, he said.

La Rose, whose first kava drink at 19 reminded him of “dirty pond water,” is passionate about the plant and its effects. He said it provided him with a community and way of life that helped lessen his anxiety. He saw it do the same for others, especially in California, where people turned kava lounges into safe spaces to examine addiction and substance abuse.

“I really do think this can help people,” he said. “Especially in a city like Baltimore.”