What is cascara tea?
Cascara tea (coffee cherry tea) is a fruity, sweet tea made by drying the skin and pulp (cascara) of the coffee cherry.
“Cascara” is the skin of the coffee cherry. In coffee-producing countries such as Colombia it is called cascara tea. What is sold as coffee cherry tea is the same thing.
Updated
One Tree, Two Drinks
One tree, coffee and tea
The skin left after the coffee "seed" is removed becomes tea
The seed at the center of the red fruit on a coffee tree (the coffee cherry) is the coffee bean. On the farm we pulp the harvested cherries to take out the beans, and the skin and pulp usually go back to the soil as compost. Among the world’s coffee farmers, some collected this skin, dried it and reused it as an herbal tea. That is where cascara tea came from.
Coffee versus cascara tea
| Item | Coffee | Cascara tea |
|---|---|---|
| Raw material | The seed of the coffee cherry (the coffee bean) | The skin and pulp of the coffee cherry (cascara) |
| How it is made | Beans are processed, dried and roasted, then ground and brewed | Skin and pulp are dried, then steeped in hot water |
| Taste and color | Rich aroma, fruitiness and sweetness with little bitterness (in the case of Ka'u coffee) | Fruity and sweet, with a grape-like taste. The color and tartness of hibiscus tea |
| Caffeine | Contains caffeine | Less than coffee |
| Brewing guide | See /en/how-to-brew/ | Water at 93°C, 5 to 18 g of cascara to 250 g of water, steep about 4 minutes (steps on /en/how-to-brew/) |
Cascara tea contains polyphenols. This is not a claim of any health effect.
The taste is fruity and sweet
The taste is fruity and sweet, like grapes. The color and tartness are similar to hibiscus tea. Some people mix it with orange peel and the like.
The trees of farm owner John Ah San are grown with natural farming that does not rely on chemical fertilizer, and only the red, ripe cherries are picked by hand. Because cascara tea is a tea made from the “skin,” how the fruit is grown matters.
How to brew cascara tea, on video
Miyuki Lee, representative of Kayama LLC, looked through sources in several languages and recommends this video as the easiest to follow (produced by The Roasters Pack, in English). The figures for each step are on our brewing page.
The origin: qishr from Yemen
In Yemen, a hot drink called qishr in Arabic, made from coffee husks with ginger and cinnamon, is drunk in place of coffee. At least 1,100 years ago, traders are said to have brought coffee across the Red Sea to Arabia (today’s Yemen), and the Arabs first fermented the coffee fruit to make wine. That drink was also called qishr and was used in religious ceremonies. The writer of the farm blog (Kayama LLC) notes that the part left after the coffee bean (the seed) is removed is “neither a leftover nor waste, but a proper food ingredient.” The article “Looking into the history of cascara tea” (in Japanese) has the details.
Drying trials on the farm (2020)
According to a November 2020 article, Kayama LLC, which has an exclusive contract with the farm, received a food-grade dryer from Colombia, a mid-sized prototype built to help with the drying stage of coffee. Before the machine went into operation, we had been trying three drying methods:
| Method | What we recorded |
|---|---|
| Sun-drying | Drying in sunlight, with a fine mesh net against fruit flies. Depends on the weather, but dries fast |
| Hot-air drying | A small machine works for small amounts but cannot handle volume and takes time. The mid-sized machine runs at a setting of 80 degrees with seven trays rotated every hour (whether 80 degrees is right is still being tested) |
| Fan drying | Takes time, but dries thoroughly |
Our conclusion at the time: “mixing these three drying methods to finish is probably best.” The ideal is a crisp, rustling dryness. The articles “A one-of-a-kind food dryer from Colombia for cascara tea” and “Researching better cascara tea” (both in Japanese) have the details.
Our Cascara Tea Articles (6, in Japanese)
- Truly magic! Tea from a coffee tree?How one tree gives coffee and tea, plus taste, color and safety (October 11, 2020; Japanese)
- How to brew cascara tea, and its effectsThe figures: water at 93°C, 5 to 18 g of cascara to 250 g of water, about 4 minutes (October 13, 2020; Japanese)
- How to make delicious cascara teaMiyuki's conclusion after many trials: brew it a little strong, and let it rest about 5 minutes after pouring, or simmer it (October 28, 2020; Japanese)
- Looking into the history of cascara teaQishr from Yemen, and the wine made from coffee fruit (October 30, 2020; Japanese)
- A one-of-a-kind food dryer from Colombia for cascara teaThe mid-sized food dryer that arrived with the help of Laura, whose family runs a coffee farm in Colombia (November 23, 2020; Japanese)
- Researching better cascara teaOur record comparing sun-drying, hot-air drying and fan drying (November 26, 2020; Japanese)
See how to brew it
Cascara tea is a tea made from the skin of the coffee cherry
The seed at the center of the red fruit on a coffee tree (the coffee cherry) becomes the coffee bean. Cascara tea (coffee cherry tea) is made by drying the skin and pulp (cascara) left after the seed is removed, and steeping them in hot water. Ordinary tea is made from tea leaves; cascara tea is made from the skin of a fruit.
One tree, coffee and tea
On the farm we pulp the harvested cherries to take out the beans. The skin and pulp usually went back to the soil as compost, but among the world’s coffee farmers some collected them, dried them and drank them as an herbal tea. The seed inside becomes coffee; the skin and pulp around it become tea. One tree gives two drinks.
Fruity and sweet, with a color like hibiscus tea
The taste is fruity and sweet, like grapes, with the color and tartness of hibiscus tea. It is said to have less caffeine than coffee. As a brewing guide: water at 93°C, 5 to 18 g of cascara to 250 g of water, steep for about 4 minutes and strain. The steps are on How to Brew.
Our cascara tea starts with the skin from John’s trees
Farm owner John Ah San grows coffee with natural farming that does not rely on chemical fertilizer, and picks only the red, ripe cherries by hand. Because this is a tea you drink from the skin, how the fruit is grown is tied to its taste and peace of mind. In 2020 we recorded our drying trials on the farm (see “Drying trials on the farm (2020)” above).