The trinity of aguas frescas, Mexican “fresh waters,” typically involves horchata, tamarindo and jamaica. At Verve Coffee in the downtown L.A. Fashion District, business partners Colby Barr and Ryan O’Donovan have carved out a progressive niche for themselves downtown. They’ve joined forces with Juice Served Here and experimented with probiotic beverages like Dr. Kefir, which flows from their taps. Now, Verve serves jamaica, but they don’t stop with the standard dried hibiscus flowers, water and sweetener. Instead, they’ve combined bold flavor with consideration for sustainability and caffeine to deliver Cascara Jamaica ($4).

Verve’s version of jamaica is purple, just like the classic iteration, but in this case, they’ve taken dried hibiscus flowers, honey and water to another level with cascara. These dried coffee cherries, which are typically discarded after coffee processing, have found a second life. Now cascara is becoming compost, nutrient-rich powders, and Cherry Hero snack bars. Coffee cherries, which deliver sweet tart, cherry-like flavor, are also high in antioxidants and contribute a caffeine equivalent to green tea, which registers at about a quarter of coffee. So go ahead and drink Cascara Jamaica to get your morning jolt while feeling eco-righteous.