The pulped skins of coffee cherries have long been used as a tea-like infusion in some coffee producing origins. This by-product of the pulping process – more commonly known by its Spanish name, cascara – can be brewed as a tea and offers a light and refreshing alternative to coffee. What’s more, cascara is believed to contain important antioxidants such as vitamin C and zinc so in addition to tasting great, it’s helping strengthen your body’s immune system too.
Why do we rarely see cascara on the menu of our favourite cafes ?
In recent years, cascara has gained noteriety in the UK and caused some confusion as it is considered a ‘novel food’ and is therefore required to undergo appropriate testing before being deemed fit to comply with UK food safety regulations. In other countries however, the categorisation of cascara is less vague making it easier to import, market and sell to consumers. One such country with an already established appetite for cascara is Japan, so we were delighted when our friends at Japanese NGO, Peace Winds (based in Timor-Leste), approached us during the 2024 harvest and asked if we would be interested in trying to process some cascara for them so as to sell in the domestic market in Timor and also to export to Japan.
How is cascara processed ?
As with coffee, high-quality cascara starts with ripe, red cherries, only in the case of cascara it’s the skins we are interested in (not the seed contained within). Simply put, the riper the cherry the more likely the skin will have retained some of the fruit’s sweetness and it is this that we are wanting to taste in the cup when drinking. As the pulped skin of the cherry is the only ingredient in cascara it is lucky for us that our processing facility has an abundance of freshly pulped, intensley red cherry skins which we would ordinarily use as an ingredient for fertiliser. It was also lucky for us that maun Simao (Karst’s ever dependable Field Manager) took the lead with the processing and taught us and our team, how this would need to be processed. Check out the following video to see what’s involved.
What does it taste like ?
Like most fruit or herbal ‘tea’ infusions, cascara has a mouth-watering aroma with a subtle sweetness in the cup. In the case of cascara, this sweetness is comparable to red date and there is also a touch of cranberry sharpness. It is delicious both hot and cold, served either as a calming alternative to coffee in the afternoon or as a refreshing chilled drink which will certainly quench your thirst on a hot summer’s day.
Why is cascara important ?
Put simply, an established market for cascara would give coffee farmers an opportunity to increase their household income. In the case of our trial lot of cascara during the 2024 harvest, we were able to increase the price we paid for cherry at farmgate (from 0.65c per kilo 0.80c per kilo) knowing that we were able to recuperate the increased cost from the sales of the cascara to the Japanese NGO we partnered with for export to Japan. To put that into context, if a farmer sold us 1,000kg of cherry at $0.80c per kilo during the 2024 harvest, he earnt $800. This is a $150 increase based on the $650 he would have earnt based on the price we originally agreed upon at the start of the harvest ($0.65c per kilo) . Not bad for a product which is essentially a byproduct.