Coffee Filter

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The Sanctum Sanctorum of the Indian household

Coffee Filter

The Madras filter coffee is nearly an institution - one that most South Indians cannot do without. The wafting aroma of freshly brewed filter coffee heralds the new day in most South Indian homes. The coffee filter can be found in most South Indian kitchens, occupying a place of pride. This creates a thick coffee decoction, which when mixed with the right amount of hot milk and sugar produces the divine taste! South Indian Coffee, also known as ‘Filter kapi’ is a sweet milky coffee made from dark roasted coffee beans (70%-80%) and chicory(20%-30%), especially popular in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The most commonly used coffee beans are Arabica and Robusta grown in the hills of Karnataka (Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru and Hassan), Kerala (Malabar region) and Tamil Nadu (Nilgiris District, Yercaud and Kodaikanal). Traditionally, the coffee bean varieties Plantation A or Pea berry are used to make Filter Coffee, with Plantation A being considered slightly inferior.
The secret to creating the decoction of the right consistency lays in the quality of the ground filter coffee powder as well as the boiling hot water that is added to it. Boiling hot water allows the rich flavor of the coffee powder to be released into a thick decoction.

The picture shows what a south Indian coffee filter typically looks like. A lower chamber that catches the filtered coffee, the upper chamber where the coffee powder/ grounds are spooned into and boiling water is poured, the plunger which is put into the upper portion after the coffee but before the water is poured in, and the lid.

The filter has an upper chamber with a perforated bottom. The coffee powder is put in this, covered with the plunger and enough boiling water is poured in the upper chamber and then closed with the lid. The coffee decoction drips and collects in the lower chamber. This takes a little time (about an hour). This is the first decoction and very thick and strong. Some more boiling water is usually poured into the upper chamber a second time and collected separately and used while making the coffee.

Usually the coffee filter is set up, with coffee powder and boiling water, last thing at night, so the decoction is ready for coffee in the morning. The extra decoction can be refrigerated for the day.

There are a couple of precautions to take while making filter coffee or else the quality and taste of the coffee suffer.

- Never heat the decoction or the coffee once the decoction has been added to the milk. If you must, then place the decoction or prepared coffee in a hot water bath and warm it.
- It helps to add the decoction to the milk and not vice versa. This also helps to judge how much decoction is required.

Stainless steel coffee filter

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Aluminium coffee filter

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Making of Coffee
For the decoction:
• 3 -4 heaped tbsps coffee powder (this also depends on the brand of coffee used)
• Boiling water

Make sure the coffee filter is clean and dry. Spoon in the coffee powder. Tap slightly to allow the powder to settle but do not pack it down. Cover with plunger. Pour the boiling water till the upper chamber is full. Close with lid and allow the coffee to percolate.

Ingredients (for 1 cup):
• 2/3 cup boiled, hot milk
• About 2 -3 tbsp first expressed strong coffee decoction
• A little less than ¼ cup second expressed decoction to make up the cup of coffee
• Sugar to taste

Process
Pour the milk into a pan. Add the sugar and both decoctions. Stir and pour into another small pan. To make the coffee froth, pour it back and forth into a glass. Now pour this into the steel tumbler and place it in the Davara. The coffee is ready to be served and savoured! The Davara, Dabarah - "Dabarah" (also pronounced in some regions of South India as 'Davara') a small vessel with lipped walls and tumbler (glass) sets are made out of stainless steel. These are what are used to serve coffee traditionally.

Coffee is typically served after pouring back and forth between the Dabarah and the tumbler in huge arc-like motions of the hand which produces delicious froth on the top. This serves several purposes: mixing the ingredients (including sugar) thoroughly; cooling the hot coffee down to a sipping temperature. The distance between the pouring and receiving cup leads to the coffee's other name "Meter Coffee". It is called Meter-Kaapi in some Udupi hotels as the coffee is poured into the tumbler from a meter's height to produce maximum froth.

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If the coffee is too hot to drink, then about half the coffee is poured into the Davara and allowed to cool till the required temperature. It is also known as “one by two” kapi as it can be shared by two people; one uses the Davara and the second person the tumbler to share the quantity of coffee.

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