Dry January 2027 · starts in 50 days
Dry January starts in 50 days. Skipping the drink doesn't mean staying home: 776 kava bars that don't list alcohol, 31 things to do at them, and what to drink instead.
Nobody needs a reason. But these are the ones we hear.
Parties, office drinks, the long weekend that lasted a week. January is a clean page, and a month is long enough to notice your habits and short enough to finish.
The same research found people who joined in with an app or emails were about twice as likely to make it through the whole month. Company helps. So does somewhere to go.[3]
No hangover, no texts to apologize for, no fog. That one's not a study, just a lot of people telling us.
Tea, coffee, mocktails and soda with lime all work. Kava is the one people say they actually feel: a relaxed body and a clear head, and no hangover to sleep off.
One for every day, all at kava bars, which open early and close late. Swap days around; they're ideas, not rules.
Tick a day once you've done it. Ticks stay in this browser.
Walk in, order one, drink it in one go, chaser after. Shells up! Bula!
+1 Passport stamp if it's a new bar
Every kava bar has a stack. Pull one off the shelf and teach someone.
32 on this weekFelt nothing the first time? Normal. Kava has reverse tolerance, so the second or third visit is often the one.
Pick a team name. Win nothing but bragging rights. Remember every answer the next morning.
73 on this weekSomeone at the bar plays every day. Ask for a game. Lose gracefully.
4 on this weekLocal bands and acoustic sets. Sit close, actually listen.
9 on this weekSome bars pour more than one kava: heady, heavier in the body, or balanced. Ask the kavatender what's on.
Loud, silly and weirdly competitive. Bring your lucky pen.
47 on this weekSign up for a slot, or just cheer loud for everyone brave enough to.
43 on this weekMost kava bars open before noon. Go at an hour you'd never be at a bar.
+1 Passport stamp if it's a new bar
Call your shots. Plenty of bars run tournaments, so ask when.
42 on this weekCricket, 301, or just aim for the board. Scorekeepers welcome.
3 on this weekConsoles, brackets and tournaments at a lot of bars. Bring your main.
5 on this weekLearn a tell. Keep a straight face. Ask about the house rules first.
31 on this weekLaptop, a tea, a quiet corner in the afternoon. Better than your kitchen table.
Go somewhere you've never been. Check in for a new stamp in your Passport.
+1 Passport stamp if it's a new bar
Kava dries you out. A big glass of water alongside, every time.
Whatever's behind the counter: cards, blocks, the weird one nobody knows the rules to.
Same team, better name. Sit closer to the host this time.
73 on this weekA third bar makes you a Bar Hopper in the app's Passport.
+1 Passport stamp if it's a new bar
Many kava bars have tea, coffee or mocktails. Order one and stay for the games.
Find out who's playing this week and bring someone.
9 on this weekSame opponent. You've been studying. They know.
4 on this weekPick the game with the most pieces. You've got all afternoon.
32 on this weekTell people about a bar you liked, in the app. Real words from real visits help the next first-timer.
You know the caller now. The caller knows you.
47 on this weekMake it their first shell, before they've had a drink, never after.
Three minutes. A song, a poem, a bit. Everyone in there is on your side.
43 on this weekFive bars makes you a Krawler. Plan a route and make an afternoon of it.
+1 Passport stamp if it's a new bar
Put your name on the board. Losing early means more time at the bar.
42 on this weekBack to your favorite. Shells up! Bula! You did the whole month.
Live from the bars' own listings in the HappyKava app, for the next seven days. A slice of what's on, not all of it.
Pick a goal for the month. Check in at the bar in the free HappyKava app, and its Passport keeps count: a stamp for every new bar, a visit for every day you go back.
First Stamp
Check in once at any kava bar. That's your first stamp, and the hardest one.
Bar Hopper
Three different bars in the month. The Passport calls you a Bar Hopper.
Krawler
Five different bars. Krawler rank, and a pretty good map of your area.
Silver stamp
Five different days at the same bar turns its stamp Silver. Hello, regular.
The honest bit: the app doesn't know it's Dry January. It counts stamps and visits all year; you keep the score for the month.
Bars set their own Exclusive Deals for first-timers, in their own words. Claim one in the app at the bar. See every deal near you.
Exclusive DealFirst timeFreeKava Culture South Tampa
Free double shell (exclusions: Extracts, Specialty drinks, Other).
4820 S Himes Ave Suite 2, Tampa
Opens this deal in the free HappyKava app. No app yet? You'll get the download link.
Exclusive DealFirst timeFreeMad Hatters Kava Bar
One FREE 4oz shell of Unicorn 50/50 Kava
4685 28th St N, St. Petersburg
Opens this deal in the free HappyKava app. No app yet? You'll get the download link.
Exclusive DealFirst timeFreeKavasutra Kava Bar
One free kava shell
937 NE 62nd St, Fort Lauderdale
Opens this deal in the free HappyKava app. No app yet? You'll get the download link.
One email a week: what's on at your city's alcohol-free kava bars, the deals, and any new first-timer deals. Unsubscribe any time.
776 kava bars that don't list alcohol, in 342 cities. These have the most.
The hardest part of the month usually isn't the drink. It's the plans.
"I'm doing Dry January." It's a known thing now, so most people just nod. You don't owe anyone a longer reason.
Suggest the kava bar before anyone suggests the pub. Games, music and something in your hand, and nobody's ordering a round of shots.
Bringing a friend who drinks? Make the kava bar the plan before they've had anything. Never mix kava with alcohol, theirs included.
A shell, a tea, a mocktail, a soda with lime. Fewer people ask when you're already holding a drink.
Going to the party anyway? Decide when you're leaving before you get there, and maybe where you're going after.
Kava bars are full of people who don't drink, for every reason there is. You won't be the only one at the table.
Dry January is a challenge, not treatment. If you drink heavily every day, don't stop suddenly on your own: alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous, even life-threatening. Talk to a doctor first.[4][5]
Kava isn't alcohol. Whether kava fits your recovery is your call, and your program's. Never mix kava with alcohol.
Can't stop, or want to talk to someone? SAMHSA's National Helpline is free, confidential and open 24/7, in English and Spanish.[6]1-800-662-4357
Go somewhere that isn't built around alcohol. Kava bars are open all day, many until late, with board games, trivia, chess, bingo, live music, open mic, pool and darts. HappyKava lists 776 kava bars that don't list alcohol.
Anything without alcohol: kava, tea, coffee, mocktails, soda water with lime. Kava is the one people say they actually feel: a relaxed body and a clear head. It tastes like bitter earth, so you drink it in one go and take a chaser.
Kava isn't alcohol, so it doesn't break a Dry January. Whether it fits a recovery program is your call, and your program's. Never mix it with alcohol, and skip it if you're pregnant, nursing or have liver problems.
That's up to you. Most NA beer and wine has a trace of alcohol (up to 0.5% in the U.S.), so some people skip it and some don't. If you're in recovery, ask your program.
Get the free HappyKava app and check in when you're at a kava bar. Each new bar adds a stamp to your Passport, and each day you go back counts as a visit. Pick a goal (one bar, three, five, or five visits to one bar) and the Passport keeps count. The app doesn't know it's a challenge; it just counts.
Then it's a slip, not a failure. Pick it back up tomorrow. The point is the month, not a perfect streak.
For most people, yes. But if you drink heavily every day, stopping suddenly can cause withdrawal, which can be dangerous. Talk to a doctor first. If you can't stop, SAMHSA's National Helpline is free, confidential and open 24/7: 1-800-662-4357.
No. Dry January is run by Alcohol Change UK. We're a kava bar app with a list of places to go and things to do that month. We're not connected to them or endorsed by them.
Your first shell is the hardest stamp in the book. After that, it's just going out.
Dry January is a registered trademark of Alcohol Change UK, the charity that runs the official campaign. HappyKava isn't connected to it or endorsed by it; we use the name to describe the month.
