Cascara Tasting Instructions - Part 1: Preparation
- Feb 9
- 2 min read
For novel products, there is often no uniform approach to quality and food safety. However, cascara has been sold in Europe for years (with a brief interruption due to the EU Novel Food Regulation), and therefore clear standards are long overdue.
However, in the coffee business, and especially in the specialty coffee sector, the beans themselves remain the primary focus. We saw this again at the relevant events last year.
In November, we succeeded in giving the Swiss Coffee Festival a more pronounced cascara focus: our stand and the festival bar consistently offered products made from coffee cherries. In addition, batch brews were held (different exhibitors took turns brewing cascara infusions at a central location), and we conducted the first large cascara tasting (cupping) with a total of 21 different samples.
However, this also revealed gaps in knowledge: how should one prepare cascara for
An objective tasting? How hot should the water be? How much cascara should you use? Should you filter the cascara or not? Should you smell it?
This January we repeated the cupping at the Coffee Excellence Centre of the ZHAW in Wädenswil, where we also included fermented samples from Colombia (see cover image).
Based on this and with input from our partners, we have defined the following guidelines until further notice:
Water: fresh, neutral, conductivity of 120-150 μS, temperature of 93 degrees Celsius. This allows for clean extraction and does not distort the taste.
3% cascara concentration (e.g., 6g for 200ml cups). Cascara can vary greatly in intensity. This is a kind of middle ground for standardization.
Glass or white teacups, not black coffee cupping cups, so that the color can be recognized.
Fill at least 2 glasses or cups with raw cascara, if possible in a sieve (as is done, for example, in tea tastings).
Pour at least one glass or cup of water over it and let it steep for 4 minutes.
Remove the cascara and place it wet on a plate for display.
Tasting
An alternative without a sophisticated setup: French Press!
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