Cascara
The summer is heating up in earnest! June has been a relatively mild one so far, and a hot cup of coffee definitely helps cut the chill of a cool, misty summer morning. We are pretty sure this won't last, and before long summer will enter its dog days. We offer our coffees iced, but starting this Saturday, June 30, a new product will be available for you to try out: maple cascara!
Cascara is a product made from the dried husks ("cherries") of the coffee bean. For years, this material was treated as a waste product. What a missed opportunity! The fruit of the coffee shrub is pleasantly tart with notes of cherry. After the coffee is de-pulped (i.e. bean removed from the cherry), farmers are now beginning to dry out the husks and offer it up as a tisane.
We will be serving up some iced cascara from La Minita farm in Costa Rica. Adding a touch of Floodwood Farm maple syrup to balance the tartness of the cascara, this iced tisane has a pleasing tartness, and a caffeine boost as well. Come by the Waitsfield Farmers Market this weekend and try a sample for yourself!