There’s more to coffee than just beans. Cascara — Spanish for ‘shell’ or ‘husk’ of the coffee fruit. Coffee farmers in Ethiopia, Bolivia and Yemen have enjoyed this beverage, boiled with spices like ginger and cinnamon, as a by-product of coffee for years. But it’s only now that we’re getting a taste of what coffee enthusiasts are dubbing the next big drink. After coffee beans are removed from the fruit, the pulped husk is collected and then, sun-dried to yield ready-to-brew cascara (these look a lot like shrivelled up berries). Cascara is typically brewed by steeping in hot water, but you can also do it cold brew-style. The result is a beautiful reddish-brown drink, mildly sweet and a touch tangy. And much like coffee beans, cascara from different fruits see distinctive flavour notes. Most are herbal-like with hints of red dates or chrysanthemum, while some (like our local Liberica cascara) have a brighter, citrusy flavour.
So why try cascara at all? Coffee husks contain high antioxidants and only a fraction of the caffeine content in coffee beans, which means it’s a-okay to have more than one cup. And while you may not be convinced to replace this with your daily dose of joe just yet, the deliciously mellow drink makes a nice alternative cuppa that won’t keep you up all night. For tea-lovers who could never take to coffee’s stronger flavours, cascara’s lighter, tisane-like characteristics make it the perfect in-betweener. The rise in demand for cascara could also mean great things for coffee growers, as what used to be just another pile in the compost heap becomes profitable crop. Now that’s a drink we can enjoy AND feel good about.
Where to try cascara:
Analog KL
For a very pleasant, syrupy cuppa.
Wizards at Tribeca
For a floral, fizzy quencher.
PULP by Papa Palheta
For intensely tangy cascara cold brew.
Coffee Stain
For fruity cascara soda.
Bean Shipper
For Cloud Catcher’s Panama Geisha cascara to brew at home.
This article is inspired by a user from the Burpple community (thanks Ken Lim!). Got a food and drink trend you want us to talk about? Tell us at editorial.kl@burpple.com or drop us a line on our Facebook or Instagram!
