I tried canned kava, a beverage marketed as an alcohol alternative with a calming effect. It relaxed me, but I couldn't get past the sugary taste.

• Kava is a beverage common in many Pacific island nations that can help numb and relax you.
• Small direct-to-conumer brands have started selling their own versions of the beverage.
• I tried some of them to see whether they worked and what they tasted like.

Drinks with added adaptogens or other ingredients that claim to benefit well-being are growing in popularity. But it's not always clear if they're effective.

One such category of beverages is those that include kava, a drink that is commonly consumed across the Pacific, from Hawaii to the Solomon Islands. It's made from the root of the kava plant, known by the scientific name Piper methysticum, and is supposed to help you relax and improve your mood.

It's those effects that caught the attention of some startup founders. Several brands of kava beverages have popped up over the last several years, often marketing themselves as alternatives to alcohol.

But kava has also been flagged by health authorities, including the National Institutes of Health, as having negative effects for some people, including liver damage.

Having grown up in Hawaii and been an occasional kava drinker during college, these brands caught my eye. And, knowing that mainlanders often get things wrong about food from Hawaii — and tons of other cultures, for that matter — I was curious to see whether these beverages were as effective as the kava you can find in Hawaii.

So, I decided to buy some of these canned versions of kava to try them. I picked Leilo and Mitra-9, two of the most widely-distributed kava brands that come in ready-to-drink forms. I also recruited my wife and a couple of friends, all of whom had also grown up in Hawaii and tried kava there, to provide their perspectives.

I started by looking for both brands of kava beverages at stores near me in Washington, DC. Both brands have tools that direct you to nearby stores.

But I ended up ordering them online when I found that none of the locations near me had any cans.

A few days later, the cans of kava arrived, and it was time to put them to the test.

We started with a variety pack from Leilo, which calls itself "America's #1 kava brand."

The beverages came in multiple flavors, such as raspberry, and promised "calm in a can."

There was also a "lite" sugar-free version that tasted like pineapple.

The label explained that the beverage is best served chilled. In smaller font, it also contained warnings about liver damage and not driving after drinking Leilo.

Unfazed, we poured some out to try.

At first, the beverages tasted fruity. But after a second, the familiar, earthy taste of kava hit my palate.

In the Pacific, kava isn't mixed with fruit flavors. It's consumed on its own, often out of a big bowl, and has a dirt-like flavor.

The taste isn't for everyone, especially first-time kava drinkers. That's probably why Leilo felt the need to add other flavors.

Checking the label again, I noticed that one can only had nine grams of sugar — not so bad for a 12-ounce beverage.

Another fact that stood out to me on the label: One can of Leilo contained 750 milligrams of kava extract.

While there's no agreed-upon "safe" amount of kava to consume, a single cup of kava in many Pacific nations contains far less than this — around 250 milligrams. (It's common to consume several cups in one sitting, though.)

While cases of liver damage after consuming kava have been documented in the US and Europe, surveys of aboriginal kava drinkers in Australia haven't found evidence for liver damage there, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

After about 20 minutes and consuming about a can, I started feeling the hallmark effects of kava, including numbness in my tongue and a generally relaxed attitude.

And while it was clear that Leilo was trying to sugar-coat (literally) the natural taste of kava, it wasn't obnoxious. "I'm less mad than I thought I would be," my wife said.

Given the seemingly high dosage, we took a walk before returning to break into the next variety pack, this one from Mitra-9.

This time around, the flavors' names seemed to imply that they would be much sweeter, from one called "sparkling lemonade"...

...to another called "sparkling candy."

Like Leilo's labels, Mitra's also contained warnings about potential liver damage. There was also a misspelling of "dietary."

I also didn't understand the Buddha logo on the label since kava traces its origins to the Pacific, which isn't an area with a dominant Buddhist presence.

While the colors of these drinks were cool, they tasted more sugary and artificial than Leilo's beverages. "It's like they're trying to cover up the kava taste," one of my friends said.

But the amount of sugar in each can was almost the same. There was also much less kava extract in Mitra's drinks — just 330 milligrams.

Overall, we didn't enjoy Mitra-9's flavors, though we did still get the relaxing feeling while drinking them.

But we couldn't quite bring ourselves to finish all of them.

Overall, I'm not sure these beverages are an exact substitute for alcohol. I'm also weary of beverages that pack three cups' worth of kava into a single can.

The next time I consume kava, it will probably be in Hilo, my hometown, at a bar that serves it the traditional way.