Just read that coffee cherries are a real fruit you can eat, not just a bean wrapper
I was watching a documentary about coffee farms in Colombia and they showed workers actually snacking on the ripe red cherries. The narrator said they taste sweet, kind of like a mild watermelon or hibiscus. I always thought they were just a useless husk you throw away. Has anyone here ever tried one, or know a farm that sells them fresh?
That bit about the mild watermelon taste is spot on. I read a blog from a roaster who visited Brazil and said the same thing. @reese_johnson69 is right about some shops getting them, but they spoil crazy fast so it's a real niche thing. Most of the fruit just gets composted after the bean is taken out, which seems like a waste. Would be cool if more places found a way to use it.
Oh wow, my buddy brought a few back from a Costa Rica trip once. He said they were weirdly juicy and the flavor totally caught him off guard. Wonder if you could grow the plant at home just for the fruit?