Costa Rica Helsar Micromill Cáscara

Costa Rica has emerged as one of the most prolific Central American coffee producers, and their coffee speaks for itself. However, they have also emerged as a major player in producing specialty cascara, which is the proper name for the dried fruit that coffee seeds are grown in.

Oftentimes cascara is seen as a castaway byproduct of coffee that ends up in compost heaps to later fertilize the same plants that they were grown on. While this is a perfect use of cascara, as it adds back crucial nutrients, sugars, and biomass back into the soil to nourish the plants for another growing cycle, it’s also a great way for producers to supplement the income they receive from selling their harvest.

This cascara was grown on Caturra, Catuai and Villelobos plants with the intention to be processed specifically for its cascara, which is rather unique because, as we all know, coffee agriculture typically revolves around the processed coffee seeds. Cascara has its process to undergo in the same way that coffee seeds do, though the process itself is quite different. Once the coffee seeds are depulped, cascara is sent at once to be washed, pasteurized, and dehydrated, respectively, in an environment that has been sterilized to prevent any pathogens from hitching a ride to its final destination. Since the cascara is grown and processed with such intention and care, this is perhaps some of the cleanest and superb cascara teas that we have tried to date. Traditionally, cascara can be brewed as a bright and floral tea with flavors adjacent to the coffee grown within it, though the expression varies with the origin, terroir, and cultivar, as does the coffee itself. Since we are all about coffee here at Topeca, with the onset of summer fast approaching, we figured it was time to offer this lesser known coffee product to our community.

 Give it a go, and if you're feeling adventurous, complete your pedigree as a certified coffee nerd and try it out with a dash of La Esperanza coffee blossom honey!