$15.00

What is cascara?

Coffee begins its life as the seed of a small fruit that’s often called a coffee cherry. Now, normally, the peel of this fruit — referred to as cascara — is stripped away as the coffee beans go on to be cleaned. While the cascara is often discarded, it can be dried and steeped into a tea-like beverage.

This cascara is from the ripe fruit from Santa Lucia’s coffee trees, organically grown by Ricardo Perez in the West Valley of Costa Rica. Ricardo partnered with San José University to refine the processing of this cascara, which is washed with collected rainwater, steamed, and then dehydrated for 12 hours. The resulting cascara has 50% more antioxidants than cranberries, and its deep flavor is reminiscent of dried fruits and red teas. And, it’s caffeinated for a nice morning jump-start, too!

Try out our recommended brewing recipes:

If you want a HOT drink:
Heat your water to just off the boil.
For every 30 grams of water, use 1 gram of cascara.
Steep the cascara for 5-7 minutes.

If you want a COLD drink:
For every 15 grams of hot water, use 1 gram of cascara.
Steep for 10 minutes.
Pour over a full glass of ice.