Coffee husk

El Salvador Specialty Coffee Cáscara

What is the coffee cáscara?

While this World demands more and more coffee tea, some may have not have even heard of this yet. Coffee producers are now paying extra attention to its preparation, a coffee subproduct sourced only in coffee farms but that has won hearts locally and internationally. For some, paying attention to producing the best quality cascara, could bring coffee producers an extra lucrative monetary reward.

Coffee Cascara does not come from the Camellia Sinensis plant, therefore we cannot call it a tea. This husk or cascara peel is considered a tisane. Under our offerings this is a new type of tisane we didnt have before; Coffee Cascara is a Fruit Tisane.

What is Cascara? Cascara is the dried pulp, the red skin of the coffee fruit. When coffee cherries arrive at the wet mill, they are depulped and both cascara and coffee seed are put to dry. While coffee may or may not go through different processes there, cascara dries completely and may become a delicious drink, prepared hot, iced, as frozen, as a mocktail, the possibilities are endless.

How is Cascara processed?

At Academia Barista Pro, we have tasted for years and found that each producer has their own method to prepare it. But the big flavor contributor is definitely picking the ripest and best coffee cherries from the best coffees in the farm. The sweeter the cherries, the best cascara you will end up with. The fact that if you work hard to find only the best beans for this purpose, and clean it from impurities all the way, the results will be amazing 100% of the time. We have gotten better result with coffees above 1250 masl. We are eager to support this processes, as they may allow the coffee plant to finally be reused in a creative and eco-friendly way.

When dried, cascara has a similar appearance to leather, it is brown in color and is very aromatic. Its sweet fragrance is reminiscent to its sweet-fruity flavor also.

For the most part, cascara is not used at all. Normally, cascara is left to rot and discarded as garbage, it may be used as part of compost, or to feed livestock. We are hoping this will change in the future, as more and more producers learn how to process great cascara.

We are eager to promote cascara product from El Salvador. This is why we have tried now many new crop cascara and decided to give you the opportunity to judge for your own its potential and delicious flavors. At Academia Barista Pro we are promoting you try cascara as an infusion. It can vary drastically in flavor depending on origin, process, variety, mucilage, etc.

It is usually described with a particular sweetness such as rose hip, floral such as hibiscus flower, fruity like cherry and mango. But the palette of flavors may be extensive. Some delicious cascara may singularly taste like peach, spices and papaya.

The interesting thing is that despite the fact that a roasted coffee has a high caffeine content, Square Mile Coffee verified in the laboratory, that cascara is quite the opposite (111.4 mg / L caffeine) and is indifferent to the time it infuses in water and the amount used.

On 2021, we have partnered with two renowned producers, they have mastered the cascara preparation we sought after and prepared us our offerings this year. As we receive these, we will be sharing with you on social media and on this page all the details. The first cascara we already have in hand comes from a Pacamara from Finca Siberia, try it.

Pacamara shell

Variety: Red Pacamara⁣
Farm: SIBERIA⁣
Benefit: San Pedro⁣
Height: 1550 masl⁣
Producer: SICAFE⁣
Process: African Bed Drying in Shade⁣
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Our coffee husk was prepared by Beneficio San Pedro of SICAFE. From the moment I mentioned that I wanted to, they set up the operation to take advantage of the pulping of their Pacamara coffee from Finca Siberia and start preparing this delicious peel in limited edition. ⁣
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The process seems simple, but it is not just pulping and drying. It requires prior knowledge of preparation, selection and drying. At the end, SICAFE set up special tables to clean impurities by hand. Very grateful for the effort and it was definitely worth it! This shell is deliciously sweet, with notes of ripe red fruits, tamarind and spicy notes at the end.

Gesha shell

The Gesha variety is native to the Gesha people in Ethiopia, in an area known as Keffa province. Although its popularity does not come from its native country but rather from Panama, Gesha is known as one of the most sought-after and highest paid varieties in the world. But what is special about it? Its cup profile is synonymous with a bouquet of tropical flowers and fruits. Intense florals that can remind us of jasmine, roses, lavender and orchids. Its delicate perfume is accompanied by citrus notes of sweet lemon, lime and tropical fruits, among others. It is a captivating coffee that dazzles. The Gesha shell comes from Finca los Pirineos, plank la Cumbre at 1500 meters above sea level.
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This peel was pulped after undergoing Anaerobic fermentation, dried in African beds in the sun for several days at Beneficio Tecapa.

Rume Sudan husk

Rume Sudan is an extremely rare variety, with a unique flavor profile, very low productivity. A wild coffee originating from the RUME people, in southeastern Sudan, bordering Ethiopia. It is a natural mutation of the Bourbon family, but with a totally different and delicious cup profile of tropical fruits combined with spices, something very peculiar and unique. Imagine trying a fruit cocktail, pitahaya, peaches, pears, apples, kiwi, etc. The Rume Sudan shell comes from Finca Las Palmas. This coffee grows at 1480 meters above sea level.

This shell , was pulped after passing through Anaerobic fermentation, dried in African beds in the sun for several days at Beneficio Tecapa.⁣