The taste and aroma are pleasant, as “the resultant amber-colored liquor has a delicately caramelized, and smoky flavor. The tea has a nutty taste rather than the more grassy one of many greens. Technically, it is not a true tea since it does not come from the camellia sinsensis plant.
Coffee leaf tea has extremely high levels of mangiferin, a compound often found in (and named after) mangoes. Mangiferin is thought to be an anti-inflammatory agent, as well as a protector against diabetes. Mangiferin has been widely researched; it is an antioxidant polythenol, as is EGCG, the “magic molecule” that is the primary health facilitator of green tea.
Other secondary metabolites such as caffeoylquinic acid, caffeine, hydroxycinnamic acid, allantoic acid, allantoin, theobromine, and theophylline also have been found in leaves of some species of coffee.
To make coffee leaf tea, simple “dried leaves that are roasted on a flat pan until they acquire a dark, tarry texture, then crumbled and brewed over low heat with water, sugar, and a pinch of salt. Cooking time is about 10 minutes.
Coffee leaf tea
