Tea? TEA?! Yep, you read that right, but it’s made from the skins of coffee cherries, so don’t worry, this site hasn’t changed names to KC Tea Geek!
Purchase this cascara directly for $15/6oz
Other reviews in this series: Costa Rica San Antonio | Guji Ethiopia | House Blend
LONE OAK COFFEE CASCARA TEA
I was pleasantly surprised to find that Lone Oak sent me a bag of their cascara “tea” along with the coffees they wanted me to sample. I’ve had cascara a few times but just to mess around with and never write about. In the processing of some coffees (everything except naturals), the coffee cherries are run through a machine that ruptures the skins and separates the seeds inside. We call these seeds coffee “beans.” A lot of farms compost the skins and add them back to the soil, but there is also a market for them as they can be made into a “tea.” Actually, the skins of natural coffees can be made into cascara, too, as they are removed at the end of the fermentation process. Cascara is Spanish for the peel or skin of a fruit.
Here in the USA, the rare occasions I’ve seen cascara on menus it’s as a component of a drink, like a “coffee cocktail” or it’s incorporated as a syrup into a cold, fizzy soda. In other countries, it is commonly consumed because it’s cheaper than coffee, which is often being exported. In Yemen, it is called qishir and is brewed with ginger as well as sometimes incorporating cinnamon or nutmeg. In Bolivia, it’s called sultana and is often mixed with cinnamon, too. Just keep in mind that this cascara is not cascara sagrada, a powerful laxative!
I brewed my sample using a recommendation I found for 5g of cascara for every 100mL of water. I used 15g of skins for 300mL of Third Wave Water. I boiled the water, let it stop bubbling, then added it to the skins and let it steep for 4 minutes. The initial aroma struck me, hard, as canned green beans being cooked! There is a fruitier undertone to the aroma, but I couldn’t shake canned green beans. Taking a sip, this cascara is all fruit. There is a cranberry note and tartness to it with a lot of raisin-like flavors that hit the edges of my tongue. I’m still getting some of that canned green beans note in the flavor and aftertaste, too.
Cascara brews up as a beautiful red-brown color and in the right hands, I can see it being a nice ingredient in cocktails or sodas. It is bright and has that cranberry vibe without being as bracing. Even as a standalone drink it’s pleasant and, for me, doesn’t require any extra syrup or sweetener.