Filter Kaapi

Ingredients

Coffee

• 6 tablespoonscoffee, coarsely ground
• with 20 to 30 percent chicory
• 150 mlboiling water

To serve

• 400 mlwhole milk
• sugar, to taste

Equipment

• a South Indian coffee filter
• a davara and tumbler set
• or two metal cups

Directions

1. Spoon the coffee into the upper chamber. Set the pressing disc on top of it.
2. Press it down gently but firmly. Do not tamp it hard like espresso. Pour boiling water into the top chamber. Fill it to just below the rim.
3. Put the lid on and set it aside. Do not touch it or shake it at all. Let it drip for fifteen to twenty minutes. Judging the decoction takes a look.
4. Pour the milk into a small pan. Bring it right up to a full boil. Put the sugar in the tumbler first.
5. Pour in the hot coffee decoction. Stir it until the sugar dissolves. Adjust the proportion to your taste.
6. Pour the coffee from tumbler to davara. Let it fall in one long stream. Repeat it eight or ten times over. That builds a thick foam on top.
7. Pour it into the tumbler to drink. It is drunk hot and quite sweet. Make the milk fresh each time.

Technique

• Coffee is said to have reached south India through Baba Budan carrying seeds from Yemen in the seventeenth century, a story very widely told in India but traditional rather than documented; what is certain is that coffee has grown in Karnataka for centuries.
• Chicory is the roasted ground root of a plant, contains no caffeine, and gives body, colour and a slight bitterness, with blends running from ten to thirty percent.
• Pulling the coffee between tumbler and davara aerates it into a thick foam, cools it to drinking temperature and mixes the milk and decoction thoroughly.

Substitutions

• Any dark roast coffee works, with chicory added separately if the blend does not contain it.
• Two metal cups stand in for a davara and tumbler set.

Variations

• The proportion of decoction to milk varies from household to household.
• Some coffee houses use a higher chicory blend for a stronger colour.
• Instant coffee frothed the same way is called a poor relation of it.

History

Coffee reached south India through Baba Budan, who is said to have carried seeds from Yemen to Karnataka in the seventeenth century.

Frequently asked questions

What is Filter Kaapi?

Filter Kaapi is a drink from India: dark chicory-blended coffee decoction mixed with hot milk, pulled between tumblers. Coffee reached south India through Baba Budan, who is said to have carried seeds from Yemen to Karnataka in the seventeenth century.

How long does Filter Kaapi take to make?

Filter Kaapi takes 5 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 2. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Filter Kaapi?

Yes, within limits. Any dark roast coffee works, with chicory added separately if the blend does not contain it. Two metal cups stand in for a davara and tumbler set.

What is the most important thing to get right in Filter Kaapi?

Press it down gently but firmly. Do not tamp it hard like espresso. Pour boiling water into the top chamber. Fill it to just below the rim.