Qishr is the Arabic word for “skin” or “peel” and is otherwise known as "cascara" in South America. Although we all know about the coffee bean, some don’t know that the coffee bean is only part of the coffee cherry. Cascara, on the other hand, is a coffee fruit tea made by drying and steeping the forgotten coffee berry husk.
Coffee farmers in Yemen and Bolivia would brew this by-product and enjoy it throughout the day and sell the coffee bean due to its higher price. In fact, this neglected part of the coffee berry is packed with more antioxidants than a cup of green tea and hosts a ton of other super health benefits and can help alleviate the environmental impacts of coffee production.
According to research, typical coffee production produces enormous amounts of waste is because the husk is considered useless and discarded into landfills. The decomposition is considered a contaminate and releases methane, a greenhouse gas whose global warming potential is 80 times that of CO2 when considering its impact over a 20-year timeframe.
Here is where Baba Seed cascara beverage comes in. Cascara production is simple. Husks simply need to be dried and can then be sold to consumers instead of the husks going into landfills. In Baba Seed’s case, we work directly with farmers to purchase husks and then prepare our recipe by brewing husks with popular flavors like ginger, coconut and mixed berries.
Cascara is high in polyphenols which are proven to have anti-ageing qualities because of the antioxidant content. Cascara has higher levels of antioxidants and vitamin C than blueberries, green tea, pomegranate, and strawberries!
Baba Seed Cascara beverages contains 30 mg caffeine around a third the caffiene found in a cup of black coffee. and the caffiene in cascara has a different effect to coffee and other energy drinks that are known for the high and low and jittery feeling some may experience. Cascara delivers a constant alertness that is not accompanied by the jittery feeling commonly associated with coffee.
Studies have shown that after consuming cascara, there is double the amount of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is a protein that protects the brain cells and spinal cord from damage. Usually, BDNF levels are raised through sleep, exercise, intermittent fasting, and implementing a ketogenic diet, but cascara is able to create this same response or more and overall improves cognitive performance.
Qishr is made using all-natural ingredients. It has a naturally sweet and floral taste as it’s a dried fruit so we don’t need to include much or any additives to make it taste great!
Baba Seed Coffee’s Cascara beverage is light, floral, and spiced that’s ideal to wake up to, great as a mid-day pick-me-up, or used as a pre-workout drink. Try the drink that’s helping alleviate the environmental impact of coffee production and making waves in the coffee industry!
