But first… what is Cascara?
Coffee beans are the seed of a fruit referred to as a coffee cherry. This small fruit is best when perfectly ripe - often red and sometimes yellow. The skin contains caffeine and high in antioxidants.
The process of pulping removes the green coffee from its skin. Those seeds get roasted to get coffee. But what happens to the cherries that worked so hard to protect those coffee beans? Usually, the cherry is removed once it is separated and sometimes the coffee cherries can be included into a compost and used as fertilizer.
In other cases, the cherries can be dried and brewed as a “tea" - the dried coffee cherries became referred to as Cascara – or “husk” in Spanish. Although it comes from the same plant, Cascara tastes nothing like coffee. Because it’s brewed from a dried fruit, it most closely to an herbal tea or tisane. Typically, there is a naturally sweet component to the flavor profile that may be complimented by a tangy or floral component.
We are excited to develop Cascara's consumption in Texas and close the loop of coffee.
CASCARA - COFFEE CHERRY TEA
PRODUCER - Finca Idealista
COUNTRY - Nicaragua
REGIONS - Matagalpa
CULTIVAR - Pacamara
PROCESS - Washed
ELEVATION - 1400 masl
HARVEST - October - January
TASTING NOTES - strawberry, apricot, apple, honey, cinnamon