Cascara - Las Lajas, Costa Rica

We are very excited to announce another new item at CleverCoffee - Cascara!

Cascara is one of the residual products from coffee production. As you may know, the coffee berry looks like a cherry with shell, pulp and a core. Cascara is simply the husk of the coffee berry, which is dried. In Spanish Cascara literally means shell or rind.

Coffee farmers are largely underpaid, but cascara can be a way for farmers to add more value to their production with minimal extra effort. Depending on the processing of the coffee, cascara will either be ready immediately after dehusking or will need to be dried beforehand.

Since cascara was only recently made legal to import into Europe, we are still learning how to use it as an ingredient. Most people use it to make tea; in Yemen it is used to make the tea known as Qishr. Cascara is mixed with water, sugar, ginger, cinnamon and other spices to create a delicious, aromatic brew.

We have seen people use it to make syrup or even as an ingredient in cooking. So use your imagination - we hope you find ways to use cascara to create something new and interesting.

This cascara comes from Las Lajas in Costa Rica. Cascara is the by-product of the black- and red-honey processed coffees, which means that it has a deep and fruity flavour profile. We experience intense sweetness, delicate acidity and flavour notes of rose hip and pipe tobacco when we brew this as a tea.

• Origin: Costa Rica
• Region: Valle Central
• Producer: Chacón family iron at Finca Las Lajas
• Process: Black and Red honey process
• Altitude: 1300-1500 m.a.s.l
• Notes: Intense sweetness, delicate acidity and flavour notes of rose hip and pipe tobacco