Coffee cherry tea

Coffee beans inside the coffee fruit

Hashara and qishr are similar drinks traditional in Ethiopia and Yemen.[1] It is believed that cáscara tea was consumed in Yemen even before the form of coffee we know today.[2][3] Outside of these traditional uses, in most coffee-producing countries the coffee fruit is usually considered a wasted byproduct of the coffee-production process.[1]

Independently of this traditional beverage, Salvadoran coffee farmer Aida Batlle developed a secondary market for coffee cherry skins, which are dried to create a tea she called cascara.[4][5] Around 2005 she noticed the coffee cherry husks, which are commonly discarded in the milling process, had a floral aroma, and she decided to try brewing tea from them.[1] Cascara in Spanish means skin or peel of fruit.[1] By 2009 it was being offered as a beverage in US coffee shops.[5] Other growers also began selling their coffee cherry pulp and skins as teas.[1]

After the coffee beans are collected, the remaining fruit is sundried and brewed into coffee cherry tea.

Increasing demand for cáscara from large U.S.-based coffee chains has, in some cases, led to the dried husks fetching higher prices than the coffee beans.[6]

The husks can be dried and flaked like ground tea or dried into raisinlike pieces, both of which are prepared by steeping in hot water for a short period or cold water for a lengthy period.[1] The resulting beverage is served hot, iced, carbonated, and bottled by various producers, including as a beer.[1] Typical proportions call for steeping three tablespoons of dried flaked cascara in 10 to 12 ounces of hot water for four minutes or cold water for 12 to 16 hours.[1]

Dried coffee cherry

A study published in the Cambridge University Press showed evidence that extracts derived from coffee fruit increase BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) in healthy subjects, likely due to its high polyphenol content, thought this was a small study involving 25 subjects and the authors note larger clinical studies are needed.[7] A systemic research review demonstrated that polyphenol consumption may increase cognition both acutely and chronically, though comparisons between studies are hampered by methodological inconsistencies.[8]

Coffee fruit contains caffeine.[9][10] Caffeine has possible neuro-protective properties, including a possible prevention or reduction in rate of progression of dementia. Caffeine levels in cascara are similar to those found in black teas.[1]

It is served hot, iced, carbonated, and bottled by various producers, including in addition to a tea as a soda, a beer, a liqueur, and a flavored vodka.[5][1]

The dried whole fruit is also eaten like raisins.[5] It is also ground into a flour which can be used by those avoiding gluten.[11]

The tea is described as fruity and floral; the fruits are described as not dissimilar to other dried fruits such as apricots, cranberries, and raisins,[5] and the flour has a fruity flavor.[11]

• Coffee-leaf tea