Coffee cherry
Also called Arabic coffe · Arabian coffeeCoffea arabica · Rubiaceae family
The familiar coffee bean begins inside a fruit. Cascara brings the surrounding tissues into view, producing an infusion whose aroma can be much closer to dried fruit or tea than to roasted coffee.
Find it near DetroitGet to know it
A coffee cherry holds the seeds that become coffee beans, but the fruit has a drink of its own. Its dried husks make cascara, a mild, fruity infusion that can suggest prunes, honey and black tea.
What it is
This is the fruit of Coffea arabica, the Arabica coffee plant. A cherry measures about 1–1.5 cm (0.4–0.6 in) across and usually turns red when ripe, though yellow-fruited types exist. Inside, two seeds sit with their flat sides facing each other. Those are the beans.
Cascara uses the dried fruit around them. Unfermented versions can have gentle prune, honey and herbal notes; fermented versions can bring stronger hints of raisin, peach, tamarind, citrus or hibiscus.
Where it comes from
Arabica comes from Ethiopia. By the 1400s, coffee was being grown in what is now Yemen, and today the plant grows throughout the tropics.
In India, Arabica grows in the Baba Budan hills of Karnataka and the Anamalai hills of Tamil Nadu. In Costa Rica’s Central Valley, Hacienda Sonora grows it at the foot of Poás volcano.
How it's eaten where it grows
In Yemen, qishr turns the dried coffee husks into a light drink closer to tea than roasted coffee. Spices such as ginger and cinnamon often go in; one Yemeni recipe also adds caraway and sugar, then boils the mixture until golden brown.
Cascara can also be steeped hot, or cold in the fridge. A more concentrated brew becomes syrup for cocktails and alcohol-free drinks.
How it's grown
Arabica is an evergreen shrub or small tree. It usually starts flowering three to four years after planting, and plantations often keep it pruned to about 1.8 m (6 ft) so the cherries are within reach. Its flowers can set fruit with their own pollen.
Pickers gather ripe cherries by hand. Removing the fruit exposes the seeds, which are dried before roasting; the separated fruit can become cascara.
When and where you'll find it
At Hacienda Sonora in Costa Rica, the Obata variety is usually harvested from December to February.
The fruit travels dried, as cascara. Hacea lists Hacienda Sonora’s cascara as a fruit tea, with the farm and its February 2024 harvest named on the label. The husks are ready to steep in hot or cold water, with no roasting or other preparation.
Sources · 9
- Ally Coffeeallycoffee.com
- Coffee Board of Indiacoffeeboard.gov.in
- DePaula and colleagues, Foods (2022)pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Hacea Coffee Sourcehaceacoffee.com
- National Coffee Associationncausa.org
- NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolboxplants.ces.ncsu.edu
- Sheba Yemeni Foodsheba.herokuapp.com
- University of Florida IFASedis.ifas.ufl.edu
- Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
Get it near Detroit
What it tastes like
Sweeter than a banana, as mild as a peach≈
More about the taste
Cascara infusions taste fruity, with notes of prune, honey, wood and herbs. Fermented versions can lean more toward citrus, raisin, peach, tamarind or hibiscus.
Cascara (dried coffee cherry) infusions taste fruity, with notes of prune, honey, wood and herbs. Fermented ones can lean toward citrus, raisin, peach, tamarind or hibiscus.
Choose, ripen, eat
1ChooseIdentified producer
Look for
- Identified producer
- Processing history
Choose cascara sold as food, with an identified producer and processing history.
2RipenCoffee cherries are picked ripe
Coffee cherries are picked ripe; cascara processing happens afterward as a separate step.
3EatCascara
Eat
CascaraCascara is made from the fruit tissue surrounding the coffee seeds. The roasted seeds themselves make the conventional coffee beverage — a separate food form from the fruit infusion.
Detroit, Michigan
When it’s good hereUsual monthsJust arrivedAt their bestLast chanceAll yearWhere it is in its usual monthsToday, Oct 22Grown hereIn season in your stateShips fromIn season where it grows
17 growing areas, 9 countriesUsual monthsOur estimated monthsToday, Oct 22
- Analanjirofo
- Bahia
- California
- Chiapas
- El Oro
- Espírito Santo
- Florida
- Hawaii
- Kilimanjaro
- La Libertad
- Makueni
- Penang
- São Paulo
- You
1 of 1 areas · October
Growing areas by country
- Brazil5
- Peru3
- United States3
- Ecuador1
- Kenya1
- Madagascar1
- Mexico1
- Malaysia1
and 4 more countriesand 1 more country
Cascara comes from Brazil, Bolivia, El Salvador and Nicaragua, with fermentation and drying methods that vary by producer.
34 names in 15 languages
- cascararoot
- กาแฟอะแรบิกาThai
Cook it
2 coffee cherry festivalsUsual monthToday, Oct 22
Strange but trueHistoryA myth, and the truthScienceNatureWhere the name came fromCustoms and cultureFood and drink
If you like Coffee cherry
Tastes alike
Same plant family
Sources
Sources
Coffee cherry · Fruitopia · checked Sep 22, 2026