Colombian Cascara
Colombian cascara is the dried skin and pulp of the coffee cherry, the fruit that surrounds the bean, sourced from coffee farms in Colombia. Once treated as a milling byproduct, it is brewed and infused to make fruity, caffeinated beverages.
How colombian cascara is prepared
Brewed or steeped as an herbal infusion served hot or iced; carbonated into sodas; fermented and distilled into spirits and liqueurs; and used as a flavoring layered over fruit musts in low- and no-alcohol cuvées.
Steam Distillation
A distillation method where steam is passed through plant material to vaporize volatile aromatic compounds, which are then condensed back into liquid form.
In depth
Ancient origins around the Red Sea
Long before the brewed bean became a global drink, communities around the Red Sea were steeping the dried fruit of the coffee plant. In Yemen and Ethiopia, infusions made from the husks and pulp of the coffee cherry predate the roasted coffee familiar today, and some accounts suggest the cherry was used as a beverage even earlier than the bean. These early drinks established the basic idea that the fruit surrounding the seed could itself yield a refreshing, mildly stimulating infusion, a notion that Colombian cascara revives many centuries later.[1]
Yemeni qishr and the fruit-based tradition
In Yemen the husk-based drink crystallized into qishr, a hot beverage made from spiced coffee husks combined with ginger and sometimes cinnamon. Because it requires no roasting, qishr was often drunk in place of coffee, even within the coffee-growing heartland where, travelers noted, the bean itself was sometimes never consumed. Early accounts also describe a fermented drink made from the pulp of the coffee berry, used in religious gatherings. These customs are the cultural ancestors of how cascara from origins such as Colombia is treated today: as a fruit ingredient worthy of brewing in its own right rather than as waste.[2]
Colombian coffee and the cherry as byproduct
Colombia became one of the world's leading coffee origins, distinguished by Arabica grown at altitude and harvested across two flowerings each year, giving a main and a secondary crop. For generations the focus was entirely on the bean: cherries were picked, pulped, fermented, washed, and dried, while the fruit skins and pulp left behind were discarded as a milling byproduct. This abundant, fragrant residue is precisely the raw material that would later be reclaimed as cascara, drawing on the floral, fruity character associated with high-grown Colombian coffee terroir.[3]
The modern specialty revival as an infusion
In the mid-2000s, specialty coffee growers began deliberately drying coffee cherry skins to brew them as a tea-like infusion, marketed under the Spanish word cascara, meaning husk. Producers in coffee-growing countries, including Colombia, adopted the practice, drying the husks into flaked or raisin-like pieces that are steeped in hot water for a few minutes or in cold water for many hours. The resulting drink is fruity and floral, with notes likened to cherry, hibiscus, and dried fruits, and it carries a modest caffeine level comparable to black tea. By the late 2000s it had appeared on specialty café menus, sometimes commanding higher prices than the beans themselves.[1]
Cascara within the herbal-infusion family
As a beverage, cascara belongs squarely to the broad category of herbal infusions, or tisanes, which are made by steeping plant material other than the leaves of the tea plant. Unlike most tisanes, cascara is naturally caffeinated, placing it alongside other caffeine-bearing herbal drinks made from the coffee plant, such as coffee-leaf tea and coffee blossom tea. It may be served plain or blended with other botanicals, sweetened, or chilled, and like other fruit-based infusions it is mildly acidic. This framing situates Colombian cascara as a versatile base for both hot and cold no- and low-alcohol drinks.[4]
Carbonated, bottled, and ready-to-drink forms
Beyond the simple steeped cup, cascara is prepared and packaged in a range of forms suited to contemporary beverage culture. The infusion is served iced, carbonated into a soda, and bottled for ready-to-drink sale by various producers. Its bright, fruity profile and natural caffeine make it well suited to sparkling and chilled formats that appeal to drinkers seeking flavorful alternatives to soft drinks. Colombian cascara, with its distinctive cherry and hibiscus character, slots naturally into this expanding category of fruit-forward, lightly stimulating refreshments.[1]
Fermented and distilled expressions
Cascara has also moved into fermented and distilled drinks. The fruit has been turned into beer, a liqueur, and a flavored spirit, echoing the very old Yemeni practice of fermenting coffee-berry pulp into a wine-like drink. In the no- and low-alcohol space, a cascara distillate can be layered over a red-grape must, as in a Cuvée Rouge style, contributing its fruity, cherry-and-hibiscus notes to a wine-inspired blend. A liqueur, by definition, marries a base spirit with flavorings and sweetening, and cascara serves as just such a flavoring agent, while its distillate can lend aromatic depth to layered or composed drinks. These uses show how Colombian cascara bridges infused, fermented, and distilled traditions.[5]
Part of Cascara
References
- [1]EncyclopediaCoffee cherry tea — Wikipedia↑§1↑§4↑§6
- [2]EncyclopediaQishr — Wikipedia↑§2
- [3]EncyclopediaCoffee production — Wikipedia↑§3
- [4]EncyclopediaHerbal tea — Wikipedia↑§5
- [5]EncyclopediaLiqueur — Wikipedia↑§7