Cascara - Coffee Fruit is Here!

I fell in love with coffee fruit while touring the farms we buy our coffee from. The farmers would catch me munching on a coffee cherry and spitting out the seed (what we call the coffee bean) and give me the eye. Many times I asked, "Why aren't we using the fruit?" And I got lots of logical answers - it's hard to collect and handle, nobody wants it, we just use it for good compost, etc.

Well, thanks to Charbucks and a few others, coffee fruit (Cascara - meaning fruit skins) has finally made its debut in the USA in big volume, after decades and even a few centuries of being a favorite brew or "energy fruit leather" for Roman soldiers as early as the first Millenium. And we personally could not be happier. With 8X the antioxidants of blueberries and more polyphenols and healthy substances like anti-inflammatories and immune boosters than pomegranates, coffee fruit is the delicious way to get the good stuff into your body and mind.

We are not content to bring it in in just one form... we have the dried flakes, and the "simple syrup" that can be used to flavor espresso lattes and make sparkling sodas, and we have learned a dozen ways to enjoy both products. Cascara in any form has a truly unique taste that stands alone. With notes of honey, hibiscus, cherries and tamarind, it soon takes a place in the familiar lexicon of flavors that you crave. We've had to give our helpers here their own supply of cascara because they just can't get enough of it.

While it is delicious simply brewed hot as a tea or infusion, it pairs incredibly well with tart flavors like lemon, and it really kicks up any cup of coffee or espresso, which is why it's first introduction to most people was as a Cascara Espresso Latte. It is so versatile you can find many ways to brew or mix it, from Italian-style sparkling soda to iced teas, spiced teas, coffee espresso lattes, and as a flavoring for yogurt, pancakes, and a cocktail ingredient.

You will have a lot of fun with this! Look for our special "try me" prices on Cascara flakes and syrup in the next few weeks.