Cascara Tea

Botanical: Coffea arabica

Origin: Ethipopia

Health Benefits: The list of health attributes are long and well publicised. Surprisingly Cascara has 75% less caffeine than brewed coffee beans, it is high in antioxidants known to help prevent some cancers. It is great for the plumbing; it will help keep you regular. It has good levels of vitamin C and E that will help keep your skin smooth and supple. It may also make you smarter. A recent study has shown cascara can help your brain produce higher amounts of proteins that stimulate neuron growth. The word ‘cascara’ is Spanish for ‘husk’ or ‘shell’. Coffee was once grown only in Ethiopia and in Yemen. The crop was a closely guarded secret of the great Arab traders, where the term Arabica coffee takes its name. Coffee now grows throughout the tropics along what is referred to as the Coffee Belt. Cascara is a by-product of the coffee bean extraction process. Coffee cherries are pulped and the beans are washed from the resulting mucilage. When the skins and pulp (minus the coffee beans) are dried, we have Cascara, a wonderfully fruity herbal tea. Surprisingly it does not taste like coffee but has beautiful honey and floral notes. Your first sip will reveal an unexpected and refreshing cherry like sweetness.

Brewing Cascara Herbal Tea  To appreciate the cherry sweetness of Cascara Tea, add 1 teaspoon of Yahava Cascara tea leaves to brew in a 220ml cup at 93°c for about 4 minutes. You can also add a little ginger or a squeeze in a slice of lemon.

The Blue Clipper Butterfly

Parthenos sylvia lilacinus

Blue Clippers appear like turquoise jewels, sparkling above Southeast Asian jungles where coffee also grows. Seen in rainforest clearings, particularly along riverbeds, seeking passionflowers on which to lay their eggs. They feed on nectar from bright, multicoloured Lantana shrub flowers. Clippers are fast flyers and great gliders.