Cascara
Cascara is a coffee cherry herbal tea made from the dried outer skins of the coffee fruit. These pulped skins are collected after the coffee beans have been removed from the cherries and sun dried.
Cascara, from the Spanish cáscara, means “husk” “peel” or “skin”. It is different from cáscara sagrada tea, a powerful plant-based laxative derived from Rhamnus purshiana.
Cascara is a common drink in some coffee-growing nations, notably Bolivia locally called Sultana, Yemen where it is called Qishr and Ethiopia where it is called Hashara. In these countries Cascara is often steeped in hot water along with spices such as ginger, nutmeg or cinnamon.
Because Cascara is relatively new, there is no exact recipe for brewing the perfect cup. At Pogon we recommend 5 grams of Cascara per 100 ml cup.
The taste of Cascara is different from coffee. It is often described as having a sweet, fruity taste with notes of rose hip, hibiscus, cherry, red current, mango or even tobacco, surprisingly pleasant.
