Can You Eat a Coffee Berry? (Solved & Explained!)

The coffee berry, skin, and pulp surrounding the coffee beans, are edible. They are sometimes called coffee fruit, or coffee cherries. The coffee fruit on its own can be bitter to the taste, however, they have hidden health benefits that make its extract popular.

Since there is not a lot of pulp inside the coffee berry, it is hard to chew. Moreover, you should not exceed the recommended dose of coffee berry consumption. According to Healthline, eating an amount of 100 to 200 grams of coffee berry extract is safe. 

In this article, we will study the benefits of coffee cherries, their popular recipes, and their uses.

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Are Coffee Plants Harmful to Humans?

Coffee plants are toxic to humans except for the fruit-bearing parts of the plant, which include coffee cherries and the seeds inside. Eating any coffee plant except the fruit parts may result in vomiting and other reactions.

The severity of the reactions depends upon the amount of the plant eaten and the person’s age. If the infected person is young, the reaction will be stronger due to less of an immune system built up. However, for an adult, the severity is significantly minor, and it has no effect in some cases. 

Which Part of the Coffee Plant is Edible?

Coffee berries – also called “Coffee cherries” and the beans inside – also called “coffee beans” are edible. The attached mucilage (the flesh of the coffee berry) and the papery skin are usually the fruity parts of the coffee berry. 

The sweet and sugary coffee berries have a unique taste with multiple flavors. The taste is similar to fruits, berries, tobacco, or even hibiscus. However, the ripped coffee cherry flavor is pleasant but slightly lingers on the tongue.

The edible parts of the coffee plants are consumed in various ways, such as to make several beverages (Cascara) and products. People aware of the health benefits of coffee fruits consume it in multiple ways, such as supplements, capsules, or even powdered forms.

Is Coffee Fruit Toxic?

The cherry of the coffee plant is not toxic to humans or animals under moderate use. The moderate use of the coffee cherry is safe and can be beneficial in some instances. It contains no harmful parts on its own, only the fruit, the bean, and the sugary covering between the bean and the fruit that is referred to as mucilage.

If you are taking coffee, or the coffee fruit, in a high amount, this can lead to complication and health problems, especially in animals.

Coffee fruit does not cause any damage to your body under the recommended range of the dose, i.e., 100 to 200 milligrams per day.

Humans are relatively safe if they consume a high amount, but animals have different metabolisms and are not able to handle large amounts of coffee fruit extract.

What Are Coffee Fruits Good For?

Coffee fruits, loaded with good stuff such as antioxidants, quinic acid, vitamin B2, magnesium, chlorogenic acid, and diterpene, offer many health benefits, such as:

1. High antioxidants levels aid in lowering the risk of cancer.
2. Coffee fruit’s nutrients boost the function of BDNF, which results in the development of excellent and extended memory, and your mind’s memory retaining capacity is also increased.
3. Chlorogenic acid assists in lowering blood pressure. Hence this maintenance of hypertension improves the well-being of the heart.
4. Magnesium in the coffee fruits helps muscle and nerve function, supports the immune system, and regulates blood pressure.
5. Vitamin B12 keeps the cells of blood and nerve cells healthy and also helps in DNA formation.
6. Diterpene show antibacterial and antifungal activities against bacterial and fungal attacks.
7. Quinic Acid in coffee fruits nutritionally supports amino acids synthesis in GIT.

What Do Coffee Fruits Look Like?

Coffee fruit also referred to as a coffee cherry, is a small, stony, berry-like, and juicy fruit containing two beans of coffee inside. The fruit grows in bunches and is of the size of a grape. It has a thick outer skin that protects the pulp and seeds inside.

When unripe, the color of the fruit is green. The color turns bright red, yellowish-red, reddish-purple as the fruit ripes. 

Can You Eat Raw Coffee Fruit?

You can certainly eat raw coffee fruit. Unlike most fruits with thick pulp and juice inside, coffee fruits have a very wide thin inner layer of pulp and two big beans inside, so you will find a hard time chewing these stony berries.

However, you may find the taste of raw coffee berries a little sweet and slightly mild in flavor giving you “dried-fruit” vibes.

What are Some Useful Coffee Berry Recipes and Edibles?

Coffee berry is often made into a tea with the berry in its dried form (Cascara), only using the skin of the berry.

To use the coffee berries as Cascara, the inner sides of the coffee fruit are removed, and the remaining part of the fruit (its husk or skin) is set in the sun to dry. After some time, it is ready to be used as tea. This particular kind of tea is becoming more trendy in the coffee community.

The coffee fruit is also used in the form of supplements, powdered form, liquid extract, capsular tablet, and even dried coffee fruit ground up in the form of a coffee flower due to its health benefits and unique taste. Coffee berries can be added to smoothies, yogurt, and even backups to give some unique flavors to the recipes.  

Another popular infusion of the coffee berry is a coffee berry green tea blend, with cinnamon sticks, orange zest, and a spoon of honey.

Do Coffee Berries Taste Good?

Coffee fruits have a sugary and sweet taste with multiple flavors that are similar to berries, fruits (such as cranberry, cherry, raspberry, red mulberry, currant, raisin), hibiscus, or even tobacco.