Disclosure: This is a sponsored review. As always though, all opinions are 100% my own.
ALLDAE is a beverage company with a mission to “create a functional and sustainable drink that is better for your body, your brain, and the world.”1 They partner directly with the coffee farm and source their cascara from some of the highest quality coffee in the world.
ALLDAE sources all of their cascara from Panama Geisha coffee specifically working with world-renowned coffee producer, Jamison Savage, and his farm, Finca Deborah. The gesha variety in general is one of the most complex and sought-after coffee varietals. I’ve had a few of the gesha coffees Savage produces at Finca Deborah and they stand out even among other geshas.
Cascara is made from the skin of the coffee fruit. When the coffee fruit is processed, the seeds in the middle (what we know as the coffee bean) is separated from the flesh around it. This flesh, which many times is discarded, can be dried and brewed like coffee to create a light and fruity tea-like drink called cascara.
Cascara has a variety of benefits. It is low calorie, is naturally sweet and fruity, has less caffeine than coffee (about ⅓ less, so you can drink it throughout the day without the caffeine buzz) and can increase your levels of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), which is a protein that can help memory, focus and mood.
The ALLDAE Cascara Lineup
The ALLDAE product lineup features three different cascaras: the original, pineapple & ginger.
Original Cascara
The original Cascara is the foundation for each of the cascaras in the ALLDAE product lineup and consists of only brewed cascara (filtered water and cascara). It was surprisingly sweet with no added sugar and only 1 gram of natural sugar in the entire can. It tasted as if iced tea and kombucha had a baby together—sweet, slightly fruity and delightfully effervescent. I’ve had a variety of cascara-related products in the past and have always been a bit off-put by their taste. That wasn’t the case with this cascara though, which was extremely easy to drink without any lingering undesirable aftertastes.
Pineapple Cascara
The pineapple Cascara was surprisingly subtle. I was afraid it was going to be too sweet, but it wasn’t at all. It was very similar to the original with just a little subtle sweetness and pineapple taste to it. There are only 8g of sugar (6g added sugar) in it and the sweetener is simply pineapple juice and a small amount of cane sugar.
Ginger Cascara
The ginger Cascara was a bit of a stronger flavor, but again, not too sweet. The ginger notes in the cascara were much stronger than the pineapple, but balanced well with the other cascara attributes. I am not a huge ginger fan, but was surprised how much I actually enjoyed this flavor.
The Bottom Line
Overall I was very impressed with the ALLDAE cascaras. It is clear the foundation of high-quality cascara with the Savage gesha coffees made a difference and resulted in a tasty lineup of drinks.
