Well? Have you guessed which drink it is? Right! In this blog article, everything revolves around cascara! In general, it is not a new drink. It has a long tradition . In the countries of origin, in particular, cascara is a drink that has been enjoyed for almost centuries. Therefore, it is more of a fashion trend that is currently making its way into the European and generally western coffee world. The tea also has numerous special features that make this drink a real speciality. I am delighted to introduce you to this tasty tea in detail in this blog article! Elias Fischbacher from the Wildkaffee Rösterei wishes you lots of fun discovering!
Cascara - What is it anyway?
Before we take a long historical excursion into the origins of the drink, let's first clarify what Cascara actually is . Translated from Spanish, Cascara simply means "shell". The name really says it all! In the end, it is "only" the shell that normally covers the core of the coffee cherry, the raw coffee bean . To be more precise, it is the entire flesh of the coffee cherry, which has been dried and processed into Cascara. Similar to the coffee bean, which you are more familiar with in its roasted state, the fruit also contains caffeine. This makes it a drink that has an invigorating effect . The dried fruit is brewed and drunk as a tea.
Cascara - How it is made
In order to produce particularly tasty cascara, only ripe coffee cherries are used. The ripe fruit can be recognized by its shiny bright yellow or fiery red color. Once the cherries have reached this color, they are ready for harvest. The process from blossom to finished fruit takes around 11 months . The cherries are then processed. The pulp is separated from the stone. This is how the green coffee is created and the basis for the cascara.
In order to produce real cascara, the coffee must be processed either naturally or washed . With natural processing, the cherries are dried in the sun until the stone can be easily separated from the fruit . With washed processing, the pulp is washed from the bean. To produce cascara, the pulp then only needs to be dried.
Important characteristics!
So that you can enjoy your tea made from coffee without any worries, you should make sure that the quality is right, just like with coffee! A transparent trade chain is a great help here. This way you can see exactly where your tea comes from and what variety it is, as well as how the coffee cherries were processed after harvesting.
Above all, the cultivation of the cherries according to the principles of organic farming should be the focus here. This fact guarantees that the coffee trees have not been treated with chemical pesticides, but only with biological microorganisms . This not only creates a particularly good quality of cascara and coffee , but also a unique taste. You will find out more about the taste of cascara later.
The origin of the Cascara
The first form of cascara was already being drunk when coffee was discovered in Ethiopia . In the 9th century, a goatherd named Kaldi discovered the coffee cherry. He told the local monks about his discovery. The monks tried the coffee cherry and found it not particularly tasty, so they simply threw the coffee cherries into the fire. A smell of roasted coffee spread, which the monks found tasty. They took the burnt cherries out of the fire and prepared an infusion.
This infusion was probably a mixture of roasted coffee beans and cascara . This is where the journey of both drinks, coffee and cascara, began out into the world. This tea developed into a popular drink, especially in its countries of origin. It is particularly popular in Yemen and Central America. In Yemen it is called Quishar and is mixed and enjoyed with cinnamon, cardamom, sugar, milk and ginger . In Central America, ginger and honey are added to the infusion. There it is enjoyed by the general population as an alternative to expensive coffee.
What does cascara taste like?
I already mentioned in the introduction that coffee fruit tea has very little in common with actual coffee . This fact also applies to the taste. Cascara has no similarities to coffee in terms of taste. It should be viewed as a tea and referred to as such, because both the preparation and the taste are very similar to different types of tea. The taste can be described as rather mild.
The cup profile contains subtle, sweet nuances of honey and citrus fruits . The taste is often reminiscent of iced tea. It is important to mention, however, that each Cascara can bring with it different flavors. As with coffee, tea also depends on the coffee variety, the processing and the country of origin.
How to prepare Cascara
In general, it can be prepared in two different ways . The differences are quite simple: either hot or cold!
For 500ml of tea you need 10g of coffee cherries and 500ml of water at around 96 degrees . The dry cherries can be brewed directly in the water. The brewing time is between 7 and 12 minutes , depending on how intense you prefer your experience.
The cold preparation works exactly the same. Simply place the cascara in the fridge overnight and enjoy it the next day as a sparkling iced tea alternative!
You can garnish your tea with various ingredients. Oriental spices such as cinnamon and cardamom as well as honey or milk are particularly popular. But various fruit juices or lemonades are also added to the sparkling tea drink.
How much caffeine is in it?
A question that divides opinions. Some claim it is only a fifth as strong as a cup of coffee , others say it contains up to eight times more caffeine than coffee . The difference is quite wide. But first of all, in general, Cascara contains the invigorating stimulant caffeine . The caffeine serves as protection for the coffee plant and the coffee cherries against pests.
Therefore, the caffeine content of coffee cherries also varies depending on the variety and country of origin . While a cascara from the Ethiopian highlands contains relatively little caffeine, a coffee tree that grows lower, such as in Colombia, contains slightly less caffeine. But back to the general caffeine content. The idea that cascara contains significantly more caffeine than coffee is a big myth! Depending on the variety, it contains around an eighth of the caffeine content of coffee.
Conclusion!
Cascara has nothing to do with coffee, at least in terms of taste and appearance . If you take a closer look at the history and economic importance for coffee farmers, you will quickly notice that both products have the same origin. Both have had a similar history and the same external properties in both products ensure different flavors in the cup profile. Cascara is a tasty tea alternative that actually has a higher caffeine content. This gives it an invigorating effect and can definitely be described as a bundle of power . #staywild
