South Indian filter coffee
A thick decoction from a steel filter, mixed with hot boiled milk and sugar, and frothed between a tumbler and a dabarah.
South India · South Indian filter · Hot · Medium
- Coffee
- 12 g
- Water
- 80 ml
- Milk
- 100 ml
- Ratio
- About 1 : 7
- Temperature
- Boiling
- Time
- 6 min
- Caffeine
- About 65 mg
About 1 : 7 for the decoction, then 1 part decoction to 2 parts milk. Plus 15 to 20 minutes for the decoction to drip, hands off.
Dark roast, fine grind- Froth 20 ml
- Boiled milk 85 ml
- Decoction 50 ml
Ingredients
- 12 gGround coffeefine; a dark roast, traditionally blended with 10 to 20 % chicory
- 80 mlWaterboiling
- 100 mlMilkfull-fat
- 8 gSugarto taste
Method
Put the coffee in the upper, perforated chamber of the filter, set the umbrella disc on it, and press lightly.
Pour in the boiling water, close the lid, and leave the decoction to drip into the lower chamber for 15 to 20 minutes.
Drip15:00Bring the milk to the boil in a saucepan.
Put the sugar in the tumbler, add about 50 ml of decoction, and pour in the hot milk.
Pour back and forth between the tumbler and the dabarah a few times, from a height, until it is mixed and frothy. Serve the tumbler in the dabarah.
Tips
- Use the first, thickest decoction for the best cup; a second pour of water over the same grounds gives a weaker one.
- Press the umbrella disc down only lightly; packed hard, the decoction can take well over half an hour to drip.
- Pour from 20 to 30 cm between the tumbler and the dabarah; the froth on top is part of the drink.
About this drink
Filter coffee, or kaapi, is the everyday coffee of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, made in a two-part steel filter that slowly drips a thick decoction. The decoction is mixed with hot boiled milk and sugar and poured between a steel tumbler and a wide bowl, the dabarah, to mix, cool, and froth it. It is strong, milky, and sweet, and often made with a coffee and chicory blend that adds body and a slight bitterness.
