<h2><em>TL;DR</em> Yes, they are edible and non-toxic to humans.</h2>

<p>Coffee cherries, as they are properly called, are a thin papery skin and attached mucilage (what we think of as the flesh of the fruit). Coffee cherries are consumed as a drink, cascara, by coffee farmers in Latin America. </p>

<p>Coffee cherries contain more caffeine than coffee, on average, as they do not go though a roasting process. Depending on the green processing / pulping / milling process the coffee went through, coffee cherries often have a bitter and gamy flavor. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-02T00:57:56.087Z
2015-02-02T00:57:56.087Z
JayCo
<p>According this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee#Legendary_accounts">legend</a>, somebody called Sheik Omar chewed on coffee berries when living in exile. It is mentioned he found them too bitter at the time. But is it <em>possible</em> to eat them?</p>

<p>Also, according <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffea#Ecology">wikipedia</a>: <em>"The caffeine in coffee "beans" is a natural plant defense against herbivory, i.e., a toxic substance that protects the seeds of the plant."</em></p>

<p>But clearly that does not poison us humans. </p>

<coffee-berries>
Are coffee tree berries edible?
Tim
# Are coffee tree berries edible?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-02-01)

According this [legend](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee#Legendary_accounts), somebody called Sheik Omar chewed on coffee berries when living in exile. It is mentioned he found them too bitter at the time. But is it *possible* to eat them?

Also, according [wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffea#Ecology): *"The caffeine in coffee "beans" is a natural plant defense against herbivory, i.e., a toxic substance that protects the seeds of the plant."*

But clearly that does not poison us humans.

**Tags:** coffee-berries


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-02-02. Score: 10 | Accepted answer

## *TL;DR* Yes, they are edible and non-toxic to humans.

Coffee cherries, as they are properly called, are a thin papery skin and attached mucilage (what we think of as the flesh of the fruit). Coffee cherries are consumed as a drink, cascara, by coffee farmers in Latin America.

Coffee cherries contain more caffeine than coffee, on average, as they do not go though a roasting process. Depending on the green processing / pulping / milling process the coffee went through, coffee cherries often have a bitter and gamy flavor.


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