We seem to find new and newer ways to enjoy coffee. We humans are diligently looking to invent or produce new things again and again. But, although going from espresso brews to hand dripped to siphon might be a pleasing growth in our array of possibilities in the coffee world, coffee has even more to offer than the modern industry is selling. There has been coffee wine and there (still) is the brewing of the coffee berry, not the toasting of the seed. In South America it is known as ‘Cáscara’, the Spanish word for peel. In Yemen, where it is an old tradition, it is known as Quishr, or Kishr. The fruit is dried without the seed and gets hot water poured over, like tea. This form of preparation and the light color seems to be the reason some like to call it tea.
Whenever I visit Blue Bottle Coffee in Chelsea, I look forward to a little glass of the brew of the coffee fruit.
Quishr or Cascara, served at the Siphon Bar from Blue Bottle Coffee, Chelsea, New York, NY / iPhone 4