Chemistry and History

What we know about cascara is inextricable from what we know about coffee.

Every coffee plant is derived from either the arabica or robusta species, and it is the arabica that drives the specialty coffee industry and accounts for about seventy percent of coffee produced in the world. 

The coffee cherry is a wonderful microcosm of chemical compounds. The bean contains nearly a thousand of them, including alkaloids like caffeine, and also trigonelline, the decomposition of which during roasting is partly responsible for several common coffee flavors and aromas. 

The chemical makeup of the cascara is influenced by the coffee variety, along with other geographic factors like the region’s climate and latitude, but also the elevation the plant grows in, the conditions of the soil, and the history and development of the plant. Cascara is packed with phenolic compounds (phenolic acid, flavonoids and tannins, for example), which makes it a potent antioxidant. It has an abundance of fermentable sugars that can deliver a smorgasbord of flavors when brewed and many dietary fibers.

Although plenty of cafés have introduced cascara drinks in recent years, Starbucks made it more of a household name when it introduced its cascara latte in the winter of 2017. But like so many trends in the ancient world of coffee, modern takes on cascara are merely borrowing from history. Cascara has been consumed for centuries, especially by coffee farmers in Ethiopia and Yemen, where the dried fruit is commonly called is qishr, the Arabic word for “skin.”

The Raised Bed-to-Table Problem

If Starbucks can capitalize on cascara, and if the coffee meccas have been drinking it for centuries, why is it still just a novelty? 

The typical coffee producers dispose of the fruit, sometimes using it as compost, sometimes burning it, or sometimes dumping it into rivers. Yet, this already cultivated and harvested byproduct can fetch as much as fifty percent more money than coffee according to Jeff Courson, account manager at Ally Coffee, one of the top coffee importers in North America.

The problem stems from a lack of regulation and production standards, Courson says. Most cascara production involves drying the fruit on a raised bed in the sun, thus exposing it to an environment filled with bacteria and bugs that feast on sweet rotting fruit.

Cascara can easily mold. Like coffee, it is usually loaded in GrainPro bags (specialty bags for shipping dried agricultural product) and put in burlap sacks. They are heavy and sometimes handled indelicately, introducing external damage to the packaging and inviting more airborne pathogens. 

Consistent quality cascara (reddish, slightly moist, with an incredibly fruity aroma) will only come with purpose-driven practices, Courson says, adding it must be treated as a primary concern. In other words, producers need to invest in specialized equipment (dehydration, fermentation) and a customized supply ecosystem (transport, food and safety regulations, and testing). These are large, expensive barriers, especially when demand is nascent at best. 

Flavors and Applications

In spite of production challenges, cascara’s potential is intriguing. Because of its chemical makeup, cascara has the makings of a superfood. It’s also delicious. When infused, it produces naturally sweet flavors. Depending on how long you steep these dried husks, you can taste tangy, bright floral notes, or as I’ve discovered in my own brewing, notes of raisin, late-season plums, earthy cherry, and even a hint of tobacco.

Matt Miller of Blacklight Coffee Merchants, a reformed chef who sources, roasts and sells specialty coffee and high-quality exotic chocolate, has been selling cascara for nearly three years. He compares its tannins to those of a black tea or thick-skinned red grapes, like cabernet or malbec. He says the longer the Cascara steeps, the more it is able to release its own sweetness, thanks to its fermentable sugars. In fact, some people even make kombucha from cascara.

You can brew cascara hot or cold, or a little of both. You can reduce it into a syrup and use it in carbonated soda concoctions or cocktails. You can infuse vodka or gin with it. The syrup can even be put on pancakes or waffles. Some cascara producers have milled the dried fruit into a cascara flour. You can buy cascara from various cafés (in store or online), and it even comes as bottled sodas or cascara tea. Beer brewers, like Humble Sea in Santa Cruz, California, are experimenting with cascara in IPAs.

The following are a few recipes I’ve borrowed or modified. The ratio of cascara to water is something you can play around with, but in general you would use forty to forty-five grams of cascara for every liter of water. You should steep it up to twelve hours (sometimes more) cold, and up to eight minutes hot (about ninety-four degrees Celsius).