Coffee cherry tea

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Hashara and qishr are similar drinks traditional in Ethiopia and Yemen.{{Cite web |last=Carpenter |first=Murray |date=1 December 2015 |title=Cascara 'Tea': A Tasty Infusion Made From Coffee Waste |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/01/456796760/cascara-tea-a-tasty-infusion-made-from-coffee-waste |website=NPR}} It is believed that cáscara tea was consumed in Yemen even before the form of coffee we know today.{{Cite book |last=Dave |first=Eggers |title=The monk of Mokha |year=2018 |isbn=978-1101947319 |edition=First |location=New York |oclc=987983540}}{{Cite web |last=Ciummo |first=Brenna |date=2014-05-20 |title=What is Cascara? An Overview of Coffee Cherry Tea |url=https://freshcup.com/what-is-cascara/ |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=Fresh Cup Magazine |language=en-US}} Outside of these traditional uses, in most coffee-producing countries the coffee fruit is usually considered a wasted byproduct of the coffee-production process.

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.{{Cite news |last=Sanneh |first=Kelefa |date=2011-11-14 |title=Sacred Grounds: Coffee-Farming in El Salvador |language=en |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/11/21/sacred-grounds |url-status=live |access-date=2019-12-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221133943/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/11/21/sacred-grounds |archive-date=2019-12-21 |issn=0028-792X}}{{Cite web |last=Clayton |first=Liz |title=What Is Cascara? |url=https://sprudge.com/what-is-cascara-187409.html |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=Sprudge |language=en-US}} 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. Cascara in Spanish means skin or peel of fruit. By 2009 it was being offered as a beverage in US coffee shops. Other growers also began selling their coffee cherry pulp and skins as teas.

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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.{{cite news |date=22 May 2018 |title=Coffee Waste Is Now Fetching a 480% Premium Over Coffee Itself |language=en-US |website=Bloomberg News |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-22/coffee-waste-is-now-fetching-a-480-premium-over-coffee-itself |access-date=2018-05-24}}

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. The resulting beverage is served hot, iced, carbonated, and bottled by various producers, including as a beer. Typical proportions call for steeping three tablespoons of dried flaked cascara in 10 to 12 ounces (300 to 350 mL) of hot water for four minutes or cold water for 12 to 16 hours.

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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, though this was a small study involving 25 subjects and the authors note larger clinical studies are needed.{{Cite journal |last1=Reyes-Izquierdo |first1=Tania |last2=Nemzer |first2=Boris |last3=Shu |first3=Cynthia |last4=Huynh |first4=Lan |last5=Argumedo |first5=Ruby |last6=Keller |first6=Robert |last7=Pietrzkowski |first7=Zb |date=August 2013 |title=Modulatory effect of coffee fruit extract on plasma levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in healthy subjects |journal=British Journal of Nutrition |language=en |volume=110 |issue=3 |pages=420–425 |doi=10.1017/S0007114512005338 |pmid=23312069 |s2cid=15478630 |issn=0007-1145|doi-access=free }} A systemic research review demonstrated that polyphenol consumption may increase cognition both acutely and chronically, though comparisons between studies are hampered by methodological inconsistencies.{{Cite journal |last1=Lamport |first1=Daniel J. |last2=Dye |first2=Louise |last3=Wightman |first3=JoLynne D. |last4=Lawton |first4=Clare L. |date=2012-01-01 |title=The effects of flavonoid and other polyphenol consumption on cognitive performance: A systematic research review of human experimental and epidemiological studies |journal=Nutrition and Aging |language=en |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=5–25 |doi=10.3233/NUA-2012-0002 |issn=1879-7717|doi-access=free }}

Coffee fruit contains caffeine.{{cite web |date=30 August 2013 |title=Cascara and caffeine |url=http://www.squaremileblog.com/2013/08/30/cascara-and-caffeine/ |publisher=}}{{cite web |date=16 November 2010 |title=Beverage derived from the extract of coffee cherry husks and coffee cherry pulp |url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US7833560B2/en |publisher=Kraft Foods R&D Inc (Munich)}} Caffeine has possible neuro-protective properties, including a possible prevention or reduction in rate of progression of dementia.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}} Caffeine levels in cascara are similar to those found in black teas.

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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.

The dried whole fruit is also eaten like raisins. It is also ground into a flour which can be used by those avoiding gluten.{{Cite web |last=Brones |first=Anna |date=2023-01-19 |title=Coffee Waste or Product Potential? |url=https://freshcup.com/coffee-waste-or-product-potential/ |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=Fresh Cup Magazine |language=en-US}}

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, and the flour has a fruity flavor.

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• Coffee-leaf tea

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Category:Coffee derivatives

Category:Herbal teas