Do you want some more variation in your coffee drink experiences? You might want to try Coffee Cherry Tea. It is quite a new and trending drink in most coffee shop in US, Uk and Australia. But in Yemen and Ethiopia, this drink has been their favorite for centuries, maybe even before coffee bean is used for drink. And in Yemen / Ethiopia, the best known coffee cherry tea creation is Qishr / Gesher which is cheaper than a cup of coffee.
Nowadays, it becomes so popular not just because coffee cherry tea health benefits, but it also has a marvelous flavor. Most people says it tastes sweet and fruity, noted as rose hip, hibiscus, cherry, red current, mango and also tobacco. It is like herbal tea but made from coffee fruit, not leaves. Smells like tea but tastes like coffee. So, is it a tea or a coffee? People still debating on that. Well, maybe in between. You can decide it yourself when you have tried the coffee cherry tea.
Coffee cherry tea itself known as cascara. Cascara actually is taken from the skin of the coffee cherry fruit. So, after the coffee bean is collected, the skin is taken and to be dried. That is why it is called cascara because in Spanish it means “peel”, “husk” or “skin”. It is a dried coffee fruit skin. Usually in US, they only use the coffee bean and leave the skin behind and made it into compost. But now, the skin become very useful. So, it is more like a compost that is being used but it is the delicious and healthy one.
Nutritional Facts of Coffee Cherry Tea
Some people who has sweet tooth may want to add sugar or honey (read : 57 Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Honey #1 Beauty Tricks) to level up the sweetness, even though coffee cherry tea is already has its natural sugar flavor. Or you may want to add cinnamon and ginger (read : 54 Proven Benefits of Ginger For Health #1 Herbal Remedy) to your coffee cherry tea like a Yemen’s quishr and Ethiopia’s gesher.
But for those who concern more about calories you take everyday, below is the nutritional facts for cascara according to Myfitnesspal :
Servings: 1 375 ml
Calories 10
Total Fat 0 g
Saturated 0 g
Polyunsaturated 0 g
Monounsaturated 0 g
Trans 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
(Read : Foods That Lower Cholesterol Level)
Sodium 0 mg
Potassium 110 mg
Carbs 1 mg
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Sugars 0 g
Protein 1 g
Calcium 0%
Iron 0%
Vitamin A 0%
Vitamin C 0%
Read : Vitamin C Benefits
*Percent Daily Value are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Coffee Cherry Tea Health Benefits
1. Low in caffeine
Why it is healthy? Coffee cherry tea contains 111,4 mg/l caffeine. It is quite low compared to brewed coffee which is 400-800 mg/l. The caffeine level is more comparable to black tea. But because of the caffeine content, it is still an energy drink that stimulate your body to feel less tired. Let’s go through all the significant health benefits of cascara.
2. High Polyphenols
Furthermore, the most important thing is that cascara is loaded with high polyphenols. Polyphenols is believed to rejuvenate your skin (anti-aging) due to it’s antioxidants which protects you from free radicals that can cause cancer and inflammatory. Also it helps you build your immune system. Compared to green tea (read: Benefits of Green Tea), goji, or fruits like pomegranate, strawberries, blueberries, even vitamin C and E; cascara is higher in antioxidants .
3. Contains BDNF
According to extensive research for decades of FutureCeuticals, cascara also contains BDNF (Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor). BDNF is a protein essential that helps maintaining your healthy memory and cognitive function and also improve your mood and sleep.
4. Prevents Dementia, Alzheimer and Parkinson
Like regular coffee, consuming coffee cherry tea regularly is also beneficial to prevent Dementia, Alzheimer and Parkinson.
5. Protects against diabetes type 2
Because of the natural sugar content inside the no-sugar added coffee cherry tea, it is also helps to keep you away from type 2 diabetes. However, beware of those who already have diabetes, excessive intake of the tea may lower insulin sensitivity. That will significantly lower or increase your blood sugar level.
6. Maintaining liver
Moderate intake of coffee cherry tea also found to protect you from hepatitis, fatty liver, cirrhosis, and prevents liver cancer progression.
7. Good for weight-loss
Moreover, drinking coffee cherry tea will also helps with the weight-loss because it increase your metabolism that will burn calories and fat in your body. Well, maybe after a session of yoga, you can have a cup of hot brewed coffee cherry tea, then it will complement your workout session.
The list of coffee cherry tea benefits can go on and on. No kidding that coffee cherry tea can be categorized as a superfood drink.
How To Prepare Coffee Cherry Tea
In order to prepare coffee cherry tea, you may want to follow Wood and Raftery recommendations.
- To make a refreshing ice tea (cold brew), get six tablespoons of cascara powder into 12 ounces of cold water and steeped it for 12 to 16 hours.
- Then for the hot brew, simply dilute three tablespoons of cascara into 10 ounces of hot water. And wait for four minutes before you take a sip.
Cautions
It is recommended to take coffee cherry tea by healthy adults in moderation. Because, over consumption may lead to nausea, insomnia, nervousness, and increased blood pressure.
And for pregnant and breastfeeding women, it is wise to limit the consumption of cascara tea due to its caffeine content which might cause increased heart rates, indigestion, trouble sleeping, and feeling tense.
Now that you know all the coffee cherry tea benefits and how it causes curiosity, you may want to order coffee cherry tea next time you go to your favorite coffee shop. Order hot or cold as you like, take a sip, relax and enjoy the flavor and all the benefits. But if you wanted to prepare it at home, you can search for cascara online for purchase.
Many coffee roasters has made it available online. But remember not to mixed yourself up with cascara sagrada which is a different tea. Cascara sagrada is an herbal plant-based laxative made from buckthorn on North America. Happy trying!