How does the coffee process turn pulp into cascara tea?

Cascara is a tea made from dried coffee pulp, the fruit layer left after the beans are removed from the coffee cherry. It sits between coffee and tea in character, with flavors often described as rosehip, hibiscus, and cherry, and it contains far less caffeine than a cup of coffee. In Spanish, cascara means peel, husk, or skin.

The pulp is sun-dried before packing and shipping, so it looks coarser than tea leaves, with a woody, leathery texture similar to raisins or nut shells. Long treated as a byproduct and either discarded or composted, coffee pulp is now reused as a drink, an environmental gain for the coffee process and an added income stream for farms.

As the specialty coffee and tea beverage markets continue to evolve, an exotic drink called Cascara has gradually entered the public eye—it is precisely a cascara tea made from dried coffee pulp. This beverage sits between coffee and tea, offering unique flavors of rosehip, hibiscus, and cherry, while containing caffeine far lower than coffee. This article will comprehensively analyze the reuse value of coffee pulp from the definition, processing methods, flavor characteristics, caffeine data, historical origins to brewing recipes of Cascara, and introduce Front Street Coffee's recommendations and product information for this category, helping coffee enthusiasts and shop owners understand this eco-friendly and novel beverage option.

In recent years, the popularity of pour-over coffee and freshly ground coffee, coupled with the continuous growth of tea consumption, has brought significant changes to both the specialty coffee industry and the tea beverage sector. Against this backdrop, an exotic beverage—Cascara, also known as coffee pulp tea—has begun to enter people's field of view. Although many coffee shops worldwide have successively added this drink to their menus, it is still not easy to buy as an ingredient. Therefore, those unfamiliar with it can't help but wonder: what does this beverage look like, and what does it taste like?

In Spanish, Cascara means peel, husk, or skin, referring to the sun-dried coffee pulp. This pulp is the part left after the internal seeds (i.e., coffee beans) are removed from the coffee fruit, and it is sun-dried before packaging and transportation. The dried pulp is not as finely broken as tea bags; its form looks slightly larger than tea leaves, and its texture and appearance have a woody and leathery character similar to raisins or nut shells.

The processing advantages of coffee pulp are reflected not only in its utilization value during cultivation but also in its great environmental significance. For a long time, coffee pulp was regarded as a byproduct of coffee processing, either discarded directly or used for composting. Today, this pulp is being reused to create a distinctive beverage.

Is it coffee, tea, or both? The answer lies between coffee and tea. Although the raw material comes from the Coffea plant, its taste is completely different from coffee. Those who have tried Cascara often describe it this way: noticeably sweet, with flavors of rosehip, hibiscus, cherry, red currant, mango, and even tobacco. (The translator finds it has aromas of longan and fruit tea, with a sweet and sour taste.)

Similarly, the caffeine content of tea and coffee is not the same. In the article "Cascara and Caffeine" on the Square Mile blog, it was written: "The brewing ratio of Cascara to water affects the caffeine content of the beverage, but the steeping time only makes a subtle difference. To my surprise, we found that Cascara's caffeine content is very low. Even with the strongest ratio and the longest brewing time, the caffeine content per liter of Cascara is only 111.4 mg, whereas coffee contains about 400 to 800 mg of caffeine per liter."

It is neither coffee nor tea. Since Cascara comes from the Coffea plant rather than the Camellia sinensis plant, it cannot be considered true tea. Some people feel it does not belong to herbal tea either, but is more like a flavored beverage made from fruit. However, some herbal teas themselves are made from fruit, so classifying Cascara as a fruit herbal tea may be the most appropriate.

Coffee pulp tea may be a new beverage in some places, but in other regions it has long been a popular choice. According to a Melbourne coffee supplier: "For centuries, coffee farmers in Yemen and Ethiopia have dried coffee pulp and brewed it as a drink, possibly even before coffee beans were made into a beverage. These countries steep the dried pulp with spices such as ginger, nutmeg, or cinnamon. In Ethiopia it is called Hashara, and in Yemen it is called Qisher."

Today these beverages remain prevalent in these countries. In Yemen, coffee pulp even outsells coffee beans because it is cheaper than coffee beans. Although Cascara has always been utilized in Yemen and Ethiopia, coffee farmers in South America (especially El Salvador and Bolivia) have also begun to sell and export Cascara.

Similar to most herbal teas, Cascara is made by adding dried coffee pulp to hot water. Since coffee pulp tea is still novel in some countries, there is currently no generally recognized optimal brewing recipe, which allows shops to test brewing ratios and steeping times on their own. It is recommended to use about 5 to 7 grams of pulp with 240 grams of boiled water for brewing. Although Cascara itself is already sweet, some people suggest adding a little honey or sugar to enhance the flavor, or adding ginger, nutmeg, or cinnamon to taste the historically rich Qisher (Yemeni coffee pulp tea).

Cold brew extraction can also be used, presenting it as iced tea—Verve Coffee Roaster offers the following brewing method: take six tablespoons of dried pulp, add 10 ounces (300 grams) of cold water, refrigerate for 24 hours, then filter and drink. "If a coffee shop wants to skip the filtering step for hot or cold Cascara, a French press or tea infuser can be used for steeping."

Coffee pulp tea also provides coffee shop operators with a great opportunity to interact with customers. Many people drink coffee just for the caffeine boost, but rarely pay attention to the flavors they taste and what they want to add to their coffee—coffee pulp tea can precisely fill this gap. With coffee cascara, consumers can learn where coffee comes from and how it is made. This win-win situation means: coffee shops can expand their customer base by presenting coffee pulp tea, giving the public a better understanding of coffee while also giving everyone a chance to try something new.

Front Street Coffee has also paid attention to this category and recommends coffee pulp tea to coffee enthusiasts as an entry point to understanding the full picture of coffee. Front Street believes that Cascara is suitable both as a specialty beverage for shops and as a way to help customers build a complete understanding from seed to cup.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.