Sour cherries, honey, and lime in one cup—but this time without roasted coffee beans! This cascara from Costa Rica by Industra Coffee shows that coffee cherries still have plenty to offer even after the beans have been removed. The flavor profile combines juicy sour cherries, honeyed sweetness, and zesty lime, which together create a pleasantly fruity and refreshing drink. You can also discover notes of rosehip and fresh tobacco, which lend it an interesting depth. Cascara is prepared similarly to tea and tastes great both hot and chilled with ice and a slice of orange. Plus, it contains about one-third the caffeine of coffee.
Behind this cascara is the Montero family from the Tarrazú region of Costa Rica. Carlos Montero comes from a long line of coffee growers and has dedicated his entire life to growing coffee. In 2014, he founded his own processing plant, Don Eli, which he named after his father. His goal was to gain greater control over the processing of his own harvest and to establish more direct relationships with buyers. Carlos also became one of the pioneers of small processing plants in the Tarrazú region and inspired other local farmers to follow a similar path. The coffee cherries used for this cascara are of the Catuaí variety.
Cascara is made from the dried skins and pulp of coffee cherries, which are typically separated during coffee bean processing. At Don Eli, they use cherries processed using the dry (or natural) method, in which the whole cherries are dried together with the seeds. After drying, the Montero family separates the beans from the fruit residue in their own mill and thoroughly cleans the cascara using special equipment. This allows it to be transformed into a standalone beverage, providing an additional use for part of the coffee harvest. For preparation, Industra recommends 40 g of cascara per liter of water at 95 °C, steeped for 10 minutes.
- Producer: the Montero family
- Processing station: Don Eli