Have you heard of Cascara? Neither did we until we sat down with Nescafé to talk about their new beverage, Nescafe Nativ Cascara, a new on-trend adult social beverage created from upcycled coffee berry husks.
Nestle’s Nina Cleeve-Edwards, explains, Cascara is the husk of the coffee fruit. Usually thrown away, Nescafé decided to infuse it into a beverage.
“The husk tastes different depending on the process and where it comes from,” says Edwards who has tried different husks from around the world as part of the tasting process.
“Australians love coffee, which also means a lot of cascara is wasted, so we decided to upcycle it.”
The caffeinated beverage is made with the upcycled husk after farmers separate and sun-dry the coffee berry. Usually discarded in coffee harvesting, using the cascara husk in this way not only reduces waste, but also provides growers with a new revenue stream.
Once brewed, cascara is neither a coffee nor tea, but its own unique beverage with floral and fruity notes, containing less naturally-occurring caffeine than roasted coffee, but still with a refreshing uplift.
They have also infused the cascara base with natural, Australian native botanicals, including Kakadu plum and lemon myrtle and pepperberry. The result is a refreshing, light sparkling caffeinated beverage, with a fruity hint, and lemony punch.
The new beverage is great on its own, but you can also use it as a mixer in cocktails. Add tequila to the lemon myrtle flavour and gin to the cascara classic. Sparkling wine goes well with the Kakadu plum flavour. Of course, it makes for a great non-alcoholic beverage too. ‘
The husks are sourced from Mexican and Bolivian coffee farms, and the beverage itself is made in Australia from 99% Australian ingredients. The beverages are also bottled in recyclable packaging with paper labels, keeping true to their upcycling and sustainability philosophy.
The three flavours of Nescafé Nativ Cascara are available in-store across Australia at IGA as well as online at amazon.com.au for $4.50 per bottle.
Mexican restaurant chain Mad Mex has dropped a new protein, and it’s one of the most popular street foods in Mexico.
Enter, Chicken Al Pastor. It’s traditionally made with pork and grilled on a spinning rotisserie with a pineapple sitting a top, but Mad Mex has put its own spin on it, serving chicken bathed in an Al Pastor marinade with a touch of juicy pineapple.
You can order the protein-packed filling in your favourite burrito, bowl, quesadilla, nachos, or in a taco.
As always, these things are here for a good time, not a long time. Pop into your local Mad Mex restaurant, order delivery or through the Mad Mex app today.
