Popularity Of Nature’s Version Of Red Bull Is Growing

About ten years ago, a coffee grower in El Salvador stumbled upon a new use for the cherry, or pulp, left over from recently milled coffee. Dubbed “cascara” – from the Spanish for fruit peel – the tea-like beverage is showing up in cafes everywhere. It has a fruity flavor and lots of caffeine. According to one café owner in Portland, Ore., "It's not tea, it's 100 percent coffee. But it smells like herbal tea." Cascara is also being adapted to other types of beverages. Available in various places are cascara-infused vodka, a hot cascara toddy, and beer (from Colorado's New Belgium Brewing Company).