Filter coffee aka filter kaapi is the integral and most indispensable part of my daily life. I just can’t begin my day without my brewfix. Filter coffee is fresh brewed coffee that fuels a BIG portion of population in Southern India. Learn the whole process to make the perfect filter coffee at home with all the tips you need to know from us.
I hail from a South Indian family and it goes without saying that filter coffee aka filter kaapi is the integral and most indispensable part of my daily life. My mom is a die-hard fan of filter coffee that she swears by. I got introduced to my first filter coffee when I was in my teens, must be 14 or 15! I still remember my first sip of this amazing drink! And did I fall in love? Oh yes, instantly. I moved to Bangalore for my work after graduation, that’s when I started trying to cook. That’s when I even attempted to make my own filter coffee. From my experience I can say making perfect decoction for a GOOD filter coffee is an art. You need to know a few tips to make that perfect decoction that yields perfect tumbler of filter coffee. A tumbler is South Indian cup make of brass of stainless steel in which coffee is served.
Why Filter Coffee?
You ask , Why?!!
Oh the aroma of fresh coffee brew, the frothy top, the sip that makes you go “ahaa!”.
Coffee is a drink, filter coffee is an emotion!
It’s really unique, you need taste that emotion.
Which Coffee Powder is BEST?
It’s very important to use the right coffee powder for filter coffee. The best premium quality of a filter coffee is the one which is made with a blend of Arabica and Robusta coffee beans. The coffee beans roasted and ground fresh. Roasting coffee beans releases 80% of the aromatics into the coffee.
A little Chicory( roasted and ground woody plant)is added to the coffee powder. This gives filter coffee it’s aroma and color.
80% coffee 20 % chicory is most preferred by many coffee connoisseurs. Some do love 100% coffee which to my taste buds are quite bitter.
How to Brew Perfect Filter Coffee Decoction
To make filter coffee you need the traditional South Indian Coffee Filter.
-Add 3 medium heaped tea spoons of freshly ground coffee powder in the top perforated container of the coffee filter and place the stemmed disc over it. My personal choice of coffee powder is 80:20 ratio, coffee, chicory ratio. This kind of coffee is quite aromatic and perfect as per my taste preference. You may use the 90:10 or 100% depending on how strong you like your coffee.
-Place the top container over the bottom. Do not press the top container fully to fit inside the bottom container, this will block the brewing. Add â…“rd cup of hot boiling water to the upper cup of filter.
Cover the lid. Leave the coffee filter undisturbed for few minutes and let the coffee slowly drip the brewed coffee into the bottom cup. This takes approximately 10-15 mins. The amount of water to coffee powder ratio is important to get thick strong decoction.
Note: DO NOT stir or shake the filter – do let it drip and please be patient till it fully filters out.
Caution: The filter will be very hot and hence you need to handle it carefully with a napkin.
Do not tighten the lid or the bottom part too much as it will be difficult to open.
The chicory holds on to the hot water a little longer, letting the water dissolve and extract more of the coffee grinds. The resulting brew is generally much stronger than Western drip/filter coffee, and often stronger than even espresso.
Make a Nice Cup of Filter Coffee
-Boil ¾ cup of milk – please ensure the milk is boiling hot.
-Pour a quarter cup of decoction we made in step 1 in a cup and add ¾ cup of hot
boiling milk to it.
(Add sugar as per your preference).
-Mix the coffee well preferably by pouring it back and forth into another cup (South
Indian Style and frothy!)..
Strict NO:
Do not heat the decoction and then add milk like in case of tea.
Once the milk is added to the decoction, the coffee should NOT be re-heated and
preferably not microwaved. It should be drunk hot – hence the milk should be really hot.
Serving Filter Coffee
Presentation matters while serving filter coffee. No cups and saucers please. You have to serve filter coffee in davara and tumbler. If you have brass tumbler-davara set, best. If not serve it in stainless steel tumbler-davara set. It’s believed that filter coffee has always been served in tumbler-davara set to retain the temperature of the coffee. It helps in keeping coffee warmer.
HOMEMADE FILTER COFFEE RECIPE VIDEO
Click play to watch video or you can scroll down to recipe card if you want written recipe.
How about some more coffee recipes?
10 Minutes Chocolate Coffee Pudding
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Filter Coffee
Ingredients
For the decoction-
- 3 heaped tsp coffee powder(80:20), ground and roasted
- ½ cup boiling water
For Filter coffee
- 5 tablespoon strong decoction
- 1 cup full cream boiling hot milk
- 3 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Add coffee powder to the coffee filter. Press powder gently using the handle lid. This ensure coffee powder is evenly distributed. Place the handle lid. Now place the top container over the bottom and then pour boiling water. Cover top lid and leave it undisturbed for 10 to 15 minutes for the coffee to brew.
- Heat milk in another pan until it starts boiling.
- Put required quantity of sugar into the tumbler. Pour the decoction collected in the bottom container. Now pour milk and adjust the quantity of milk and decoction depending on how strong you like your coffee.
- Pour coffee between tumbler and davara 2 to 3 times to frothy top coffee. Serve!
Notes
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Shruti Varma says
Hi!
My filter coffee maker doesn’t filter in 30 mins.. even after 2 hrs only abt 1/4th cup gets collected In the bottom container. The top container would still have 3/4th portion remaining. Am I doing something wrong?
Jyothi Rajesh says
Shruti, the time for filter to collect the decoction depends widely on filters. I have noticed that some filters collect fast, some take a lot of time. My mom makes decoction in the night so she has it ready in the morning as her filter takes hours to collect.
I don’t think you are doing anything wrong. I can share a simple hack, not sure if it’ll work in every filter. But I did experiment and found this to work (in some filters) –
Pour hot water into the top container and secure lid. Then gently lift the top container (note, be careful it’ll be hot, handle with care) slightly to leave a tiny little gap between top container where there is coffee powder and hot water and the bottom container where it’s collecting coffee decoction.
The air flow some how helps in speeding up the dripping process and you get coffee made faster!
Try it and let me know if it helps!
Sangeetha Chandrasekaran says
Hi all.
I am such a big fan of filter coffee. Twice a day is a must have for me. And now i am pregnant and all of friends and family are over me to stop it until needed. I checked online 200mg of caffeine a day wont do any harm. None of the website documented caffeine level in a south indian filter coffee. Now could you help me clear my queries?
Thanks in advance
Jyothi Rajesh says
Congratulation on your pregnancy Sangeetha.
I don’t think me or any of us would be the right person to answer that! Please talk to your doctor for correct information. It’s health related and you need to be guided correctly!
Preeti says
After i let the coffee rest in the filter coffee machine for half an hour and tge decoction is ready. There is quite a lot of coffee powder left in the upper container is that normal?
Jyothi Rajesh says
Yes Preeti, that is normal. Coffee decoction is what you will need for filter coffee. The left over coffee powder can be used to brew the decoction one more time along with a tablespoon of fresh coffee powder.
Chetan says
Hi
Just a basic question , I assume the portions you have mentioned in article are for making coffee for 1 person/serving, correct? So I need to increase coffee powder tea spoons and water etc in proportion thereof. Right?
Jyothi Rajesh says
That’s right Chetan
Charisma Enam says
Hello can you suggest a great brand for filter coffee?
jyothirajesh says
Bru roast and ground coffee is good. I also prefer Narsu’s coffee
Kim Quinn says
“Coffee is a drink, filter coffee is an emotion!”
I have never had it but the comment quoted above makes me long to try it! I appreciate the sense of what you say. Saving this post. Coffee done right is Bliss!?
jyothirajesh says
Thank you Kim. I really wish you could taste this, it’s really that good! 😀