How to Brew Cascara Coffee Cherry Tea: Hot & Iced

To brew Ethi CO cascara coffee cherry tea, steep one bag in 8–10 fluid ounces of hot water. Start with 5–7 minutes for Hashara or Ganda, and 7–10 minutes for spiced Harar. Enjoy warm, or chill the brewed tea and serve over ice.

Cascara is made from the dried skin and pulp of the coffee cherry—the fruit surrounding the coffee bean. Brewing brings that fruit into your cup. This guide focuses on preparing Ethi CO’s packaged blends; for the background, read What Is Cascara?

Choose your blend and steeping time

Hashara — Pure Ethiopian Cascara: one 4 g bag, 8–10 fl oz hot water, 5–7 minutes. Choose it for dried-fruit notes, honeyed sweetness and gentle tartness.
Ganda — Cascara & Chamomile: one 4 g bag, 8–10 fl oz hot water, 5–7 minutes. Choose it for a floral, lightly fruity cup.
Harar — Qishr-Inspired Spiced Cascara: one approximately 4 g bag, 8–10 fl oz hot water, 7–10 minutes. Choose it for cinnamon, ginger and clove alongside the coffee cherry.

How to make a hot cup

Put one bag in a heat-safe mug.
Add 8–10 fluid ounces of hot water.
Set a timer for your blend’s steeping range.
Remove the bag and taste. Notice the fruit first, then any floral or spice notes.
Enjoy as it is, or sweeten to taste. Harar’s product directions suggest honey or your preferred sweetener as an option.

Start at the shorter end of the range for your first cup. On the next brew, try the longer end and compare. Your preferred balance may be different for pure cascara, chamomile and spices.

How to make iced coffee cherry tea

Use the hot-brew method above, remove the bag, then cool and refrigerate the tea. Once chilled, pour it over ice in a suitable glass. This follows the hot-brew-and-chill approach in our product directions.

For a cup that holds up better as ice melts, try the smaller water volume in the recommended range: 8 fluid ounces per bag. Chill before serving to reduce immediate ice melt. Taste before adding a sweetener.

Chilled hot-brewed tea and cold brew are different preparations. This guide uses hot water for extraction, followed by chilling; it does not provide an overnight cold-brew recipe.

Adjust the strength to your taste

Too light? Try 8 rather than 10 fluid ounces of water, or the longer end of your blend’s steeping range.
Too strong? Add a little water to the finished cup. Next time, try 10 fluid ounces or a shorter steep within the recommended range.
Spices need more time? Check that you are using Harar’s 7–10 minute range.
Iced tea tastes diluted? Chill it before pouring over ice and start with less ice.

Change one thing at a time so you can tell what made the difference. These are starting points for your own tasting, not a single required way to enjoy the cup.

Brewing more than one serving

Keep the same ratio: two bags with 16–20 fluid ounces of hot water. Use your blend’s usual steeping time and a heat-safe vessel large enough for the batch. For a sampler, check which blend is in each bag before brewing.

A note on caffeine

Cascara naturally contains caffeine. Strength of flavor is not a reliable measure of the caffeine in your cup. Ethi CO does not have laboratory-tested caffeine amounts for these blends; follow your product’s directions and treat each as a caffeinated beverage.

Shop Ethiopian cascara coffee cherry teas and samplers, or return to Learn.