How to make a cascara - a drink made from dried pulp of coffee berries

Cascara, which is Spanish for "skin", is not coffee. When preparing cascara, not grains are used, but dried peel with the pulp of the coffee tree berries. The drink is lighter in color and resembles apple juice in color, and the caffeine content in it is much lower. Cascara lovers note that the drink does not irritate the organs of the gastrointestinal tract, unlike the same coffee. Cascara and not tea - no tea leaves are used in brewing. It is more appropriate to call the cascara compote or herbal tincture. Cascara has a mild flavor and natural sweetness. The taste spectrum of cascara is rich in berry and fruit notes: from rose hips and prunes to mango and pear.

Don't confuse the rind of the coffee berry with the dried bark of the American buckthorn. The second, sold under the name "cascara sagrada", has a bitter taste and laxative properties.

The history of the drink

Despite the well-established traditions of coffee making, the first coffee drink was made precisely from the peel and pulp of berries, and different variations of cascara are popular in some countries, for example Yemen or Ethiopia. According to legend, the Ethiopian shepherd Kaldi, who is credited with the discovery of coffee, began to add the fruit of the tree to tea, and roasting the beans was invented much later.

Aida Batlle, a famous coffee farmer in the fifth generation from El Salvador, gave a new life to the cascara. It was she who revived the tradition of making a drink from the peel and pulp of coffee berries. Soon, cascara made it onto the menu and price list of coffee roasters around the world.

How to brew a cascara

For preparation, you will need: a French press, a transfusion container (to interrupt the extraction) and dried coffee berries (available from coffee shops). Professional tasters advise drinking cascara from a glass for Burgundy wines: this allows you not only to feel the taste, but also to fully experience the cocktail of aromas characteristic of the drink.

Brewing a cascara is no more difficult than making regular tea. But to obtain a drink with the most expressive taste and optimal strength, it is worth observing certain proportions and infusion time. Remember that the perfect cascara recipe for you will depend on individual preference and the berries you have.

Cooking a hot brew cascara

For the preparation of cascara, a classic French press is suitable - a teapot with a piston. The kitchen scale will help you determine the exact proportions. Place 10-15 g of berries on the bottom of a French press and pour 250-400 ml of boiling water over it. The optimal proportion of fruits and water is 1: 25. However, depending on the available berries and personal preferences, the ratio can vary from 1: 14 to 1: 30. The optimum water temperature is 95–98 ° C. You can determine the indicators by eye: just remove the kettle from the heat after boiling and wait 30 seconds. After 5 minutes, to infuse the cascara, strain and drink the drink undiluted.

Cooking a cold brew cascara

Mix 30 g of cascara and 360 ml of cold water. Let the drink sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours and strain.

In addition to deviating from the indicated proportions, you can experiment with the drink in many different ways: add grated ginger, cinnamon, cumin or nutmeg. For a coffee berry cocktail syrup, simply add cane sugar to the rich cascara and refrigerate.