so cascara is the skin of the coffee cherry. when you actually look at the coffee cherry in a whole, you have the skin and then inside is the beans, which is roasted. cascara is typically discarded, it’s a byproduct. in the past, we just as coffee producers, we would use it as fertilizer. and some mills use it as fuel for their energy. so this is the first time we’re actually using it as something other than fertilizer. cascara has been seen in teas, syrups, sodas.
starbucks coffee pike place roast, beer. people have infused vodka with it. so a lot of different uses for it, for sure.
we always are looking for new ways to complement our espressos, and this just felt like a great way to bring in some subtly sweet notes and really do the whole coffee story full circle. starbucks to me has always been such a great company in the sense that the way you’ve educated the consumers and no matter where you are in an industry of coffee. i mean we owe a lot to starbucks. and then for you to do something with cascara, i mean, that’s bringing it to even more consumers and educating more consumers and getting it out there.
the fact that we’re using the resources of something that would normally be thrown away, using that to actually create this beautiful beverage with a syrup, is just very inspiring.
