The Igbo of Nigeria have a saying "He who brings kola, brings life."
The kola nut is used:
1. To ask for a girl/woman's hand in marriage. Gifts are usually taken to the male elders of the female's family comprising kola and other things depending on the tribe. These include sweets, dates, gin, schnapps, palm oil, yams, goats and bolts of cloth. In my culture, it is only kola, sweets and dates.
2. To announce the birth of a child. Usually given to anyone in the vicinity. Kind of how cigars are shared around in America to celebrate a birth.
3. At weddings. Again, freely distributed.
4. During divorce. None distributed.
5. Death, wake keeps and mourning periods. Again, none distributed.
When I was young, a favorite combination for ne'er do well men was kola and cigarettes. I think it would taste horrible.
Pregnant women chew it a lot because it helps with nausea.
Commercial drivers use it also because its caffeine helps to keep them alert. It has never worked for me. Coffee has no effect on me either.
It is one of the things that is said to keep Nigeria together because it is grown in the south but most consumed in the north.
There is a popular collection of stories in Hausa land called Magana Jari Ce written by a famous newspaper man called Abubakar Imam. The title was translated as Wisdom is an Asset for a TV production. The stories are based on The Arabian Nights but with a local flavor. In the book, kola was always eaten as some sort of delicacy. I suppose it is an acquired taste. I disagree about it being bitter because there is a better descriptor of the taste in Hausa, a word called bauri. I don't know if the word has an equivalent in English. In any case, when the taste is compared to that of the bitter kola, (botanical name Garcinia kola), then one would realize that this kola is not bitter.