South Indians are famous for their aromatic perfect filter coffee. I prefer to drink coffee made in my home only! Every visitor to my home would never say no to my coffee. So I always keep the decoction ready. 🙂
Coffee estates in Coorg produce some of the best coffee seeds in the world. These are roasted, powdered and sold in various outlets throughout the world. There are mainly two varieties of coffee seeds, peabery and plantation. Chicory is also added to the powder to give a good colour. But for me the best coffee is made from a powder with 50% peaberry and 50% plantation seeds. Which ever outlet I buy the coffee powder I always get it ground in this proportion. Coffee powder stored in Tupperware containers stays fresh for 15 days. It is always good to buy once in a week.
Preparing a decoction is a technique to perfected by practice. At the end of the post I will give some important tips for brewing the perfect coffee.
For making 2 cups coffee.
Ingredients
- Coffee powder – 3 level tablespoons (or 2 tablespoons heaped)
- Hot water – 3/4 cup
- Milk – 1 and 3/4 cup
- Sugar – 2 teaspoons
Method
- Fill the upper part of the filter with coffee powder. Slightly tap on the counter, a few times.
- Place the upper container over the lower one.
- Pour hot water very slowly. Close and allow the decoction to collect into the lower container.
- Heat milk till it reaches boiling point. Pour in to two cups.
- Add around 3 tablespoons decoction and 1 teaspoon sugar to each cup. Serve hot. (Increase as per taste if you prefer your coffee really dark)
Tips
Never heat the coffee after mixing with decoction.
If you use decoction stored in the fridge, heat the decoction separately by placing it in boiling water.
You can also make cold coffee using this decoction.
Some filters have bigger holes. After filling the coffee powder you can slightly press it with your fingers.
Some filters have small holes which tend to get blocked. Make sure the holes are clear.
The filter should be totally dry when you add the powder.
A cup of filter coffee in the morning
especially in winter is great.nice step
by step explanation
kamala
We grow Arabica coffee and add chicory to it when they are ground. It has unbeatable flavor. In the estates at Arvind’s home and my mom’s home, coffee and akki rotti is available 24/7!!:D
Looks great Latha, Arvind is a coffee lover but he usually buys gourmet coffee powder without chicory.
Coffee with chicory is only available from New Orleans here, have to order online, I love that kind. I have one cup in the morning and that’s it for a day!
True. 🙂
My mom does this every single day.
We have a murrah buffalo dairy farm. I love madras filter coffee. I want to setup a coffee shop to optimally use our farm milk. Your recipe was simple and very helpful. thanks
True. 🙂
My mom does this every single day.
One can never beat South Indian filter coffee.
Here at home i buy coffee beans and every morning i grind the beans ( in a small machine, not hard labour in the morning ) and make the coffee. It reallt taste delicious and the whole home smells to coffee.
But i still think one can’t beat the . Indian filter coffee.
You won’t me hearing saying no to your coffee when i come to your place 🙂 🙂 🙂
My family prefers to start every morning with a cup of filter coffee. What coffee powder do you use?
ha filter coffee..nostalgic memories..i used to wake up to the sizzing sound of boiling water being poured in to the filter and then teh wonderful aroma of the coffee permeating the air..nothing to beat our south indian and especially our amma’s coffee..right?
wonderful tutorial for filter coffee. We get different varieties of coffee in Germany and I brew using a french press but nothing to beat the morning filter coffee smell when i travel home:) but will you believe this, Lathamma… my husband (my in-laws are from thanjavur) does not drink coffee unless there’s no other choice. he always says ‘oh it’s so nice to wake up to the filter coffee smell’ when we are in India but nope he prefers to have milk instead:( your tips (as always) are to be printed and framed! amma used to put a small piece of cloth on the upper part of filter to make sure the size of ground coffee doesn’t affect the decoction:)
sorry for the long comment but your post made me remember one of appa’s athais… when we lived in madurai she was in our vicinity and she had this cute hand-operated coffee grinder in venkalam. She ground coffe herself once a week (every thursday) and i was always there after school to just keep looking at that work and be enamoured by the smell:)
The first things that came to my mind was my mom asking me to get the powder with denominatons of ‘A paathi B paathi’, I never cared to know what it really was that time! Hahaha
You always do that to me…Always make me nostalgic abt my mom! I remember her coffee..something always seems missing in mine..something to do with her touch may be..anyways my hubby is a tea lover..so no coffee 😦 Since my in-laws are here I sneak up a few sips from them during afternoons when they have theirs..:)
Good write up Lathamma..as always
Oh yes!!! for me filter coffee means amma’s!! I always remember her smiling face with a cuppa as soon as i brush my teeth in the morning!!
We used to share some precious times together which i still cherish till date.
She actually sent a couple to me n my friend S last year and we usually have in the weekends.
You brought back those amazing times!!! Thank you dear!!!
Me too a filter coffee fan ya.Can’t live without coffe(filter one preferrd if available) once a day.Loved the pics.
Madhavi
You said it alright! 🙂 My hubby is a big fan of coffee and brought the filter and coffee powder with him when he first came to the US. All his friends loved to visit only because they wanted filter coffee…hehe! I brought more powder when I went to India recently. Nothing beats filter coffee….really! 🙂
Ahhh.. You got me before I could post this. I have a very similar one in queue.
Lovely post ! Brings back the smells of our ancestral house… remember my grandma making this at 4.00 AM every morning without fail, so that everyone could have fresh filter coffee as soon as they woke up.. Ah, the good old times…
Yeah Latha,you are right,south indian filter coffee is the best.But, every one can not make the perfect cup of coffee.
Hi Latha! I like the smell of coffee. I do not drink coffee regularly butI love to have coffee when it is raining.
My maami is also an expert in making this filter coffee..I to have one..but use it very rarely ;D..But I have a small plate to put over the coffee powder…and then only we pour water over it..
Love your slide show demo!
I also have just one cup a day, but it is good strong filter coffee…http://chefatwork.blogspot.com/2007/07/filter-coffee.html
No chicory in mine 🙂 and I use the Preethi instant coffee maker now… no compromise on taste 🙂 thankfully
strangely, i am more of an instant coffee lover. each time i tell my mom this, she looks at me as if i am nuts and says ‘dont say this to anyone, they will find you strange!”. hehehe.. but thats the truth.
really enjoyed the kids’ pics 🙂
So true, Latha…..I too am a filter coffee lover. One glass in the morning and Iam all set for the rest of the day.
thanks a lot for sharing the recipe! i love filter coffee… but never tried making it at home. will buy a filter tomorrow and start drinking my favourite coffee at 11 am :))
lovely picsss latha yummmmmm coffee everybodys favv
I’m not a coffee lover but after reading this post, I want to try some of yours.
Dear Latha
Am visiting your blog again and cannot resist from typing my thoughts. I am much impressed by its contents. i will learn a lot from you.
Greeting comes to you all the way from Botswana from a fellow blogger and a cake lover for a happy Christmas and wonderful new 2008. Happy holidays.
Whenever you have time do visit my blog.
Thanks a lotttt!!!!, Latha Amma. Thanks for giving a step by step explantion. When you gave me the details and method of coffee making in brief i could make some coffee…but now with this step by step explanation…hurray! i made it. Thank You once again.
Am a coffee lover and love to get some coorg coffee now! 🙂
Latha,
Your filter “kaapi” looks awesome….I can taste it and smell it almost :).
I am a great fan of filter coffee. Unfortunately I have a very small coffee filter and it takes ages to brew a decotion for 2 people. I have been trying out different techniques to make filter coffee now in the US – using an automatic coffee maker (percolator)but the taste is never the same. I wonder if someone can tell me what proportions of powder and water to use?
Latha, I did your 5qs MeMe at Aroma, check it out when you can!:))
Hi latha,
Filter coffee all south Indians favourite!!! Perfect coffee.
Thanks for sharing
Sorry for my late comment!..
I can smell that wonderful filter kapi seeing your pictures,ma 🙂
I got pure coffee powder from coorg and still have the roasted nuts!..I never add milk for myself as it would suppress that real flavour…no chicory as well…just plain cofee with boiled with a lump of panai vellam to start the day 🙂
Hope you got my entry for AFAM
Aiyoh, now I MUST have a cuppa!
Care to fix me one, Latha? 🙂
I have just come back from Sth India, and had coffee made this way in the Trishul in Tirruvanamallai. It was the best coffee that I have ever had, and could not get enough of it.
Hi,
great blog. I am a fan of filter coffees. The only chance i get to drink a filter coffee is when we go to a pucca south indian veg restaurant and that is one thing that i dont forget to order. I have bought different types of coffee powders (I even have one filter) and tried it out with it, but it never turns out that good. I never got around to learning the right amount of the concossion and milk. Thanks for the post, now I can make my own filter coffee. one question I have is, does this concossion take a lot of time to percolate? My filter takes a lot of time. If i want a coffee in the morning, I put the coffee in the filter, the night before.
I am on the look out to purchasing coffee seeds for high altitude growing and would be obliged if you cud help me out as to where I cud purchase approximately 10 – 15kgs of seed coffee.
Preferences would be Catimore or Blue Mountain but any other high altitude seeds recommended would be taken.
Cud you please also let me the cost per kg
Many thanks
Lue Tripp
Hello,
We grow coffee back in India and we know our filter coffee.
I have been in the USA for five years now and my friends still believe I make the best filter coffee ever.
When ever I visit India or my parents/relatives visit me I get alomst 10 kgs of coffee. I distribute to friends and relatives to try it out. I dont know if there are enough people here for me to get a bulk of powder stock and sell it at a much cheaper price than the stores.
We process our own coffee for our use at home. So the quality should be of good standards. Percent of chicory can be customised according to your requests….
Only cost i will have to cover is the shipping cost i guess…
Its just a thought……..I am in the IT business and my dad maintains the coffee estate back in india.
Any thoughts????
[…] Yum Blog also has a post that describes this method with a wonderful slide show of the […]
[…] Coffee Decoction – 1/2 cup (coffee concentrate) […]
Hi latha, great blog.I like the smell of coffee.Iam a fan of filter coffee.lovely pictures.
hi..
i tried to make filter coffee.., but..coffee decoction is not collected on the lower part.., ..i donno wat happend..
well i hav a doubt.., should we place upper part tightly…over the lower..coz wen i place som wat loosely.., decoction is collecting..,
i think..its coz of air block(while placing tightly..)
could u just tell me how to place. i luv filter coffee very much…
and also how..long will t take to collect decoction..
ma filter has small holes..,
[…] So where was I? Yes, coffee. Here’s how it was made at home, courtesy of Latha Narasimhan at the Yum Blog. […]
[…] Indian Coffee No breakfast is complete without coffee! Indian coffee is amazing. I didn’t discover how it was made until I returned home. It requires a special kind of filter which can be purchased at local Indian grocers. I really wish I had picked one up while in India! A clear recipe for how to make it can be found The ‘Yum’ Blog. […]
Hey very nice blog!!….I’m an instant fan, I have bookmarked you and I’ll be checking back on a regular….See ya
I’m Out! 🙂
Hi, I didn’t discover how it was made until I returned home. It requires a special kind of filter which can be purchased at local Indian grocers. I really wish I had picked one up while in India! A clear recipe for how to make it can be found The ‘Yum’ Blog.
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Hi I am married to a Tamilian and am myself a Keralite. Malayalis are not much of coffee fans dat too filter coffee. So I was in for a surprise when my mom in law first taught me how to make filter coffee. And I am addicted to it. Cant afford to miss my morning shot!!!
Thank you for your sharing…..
Very simple to make a great coffee.
thanks
hepl gul and very nice
oops sorry……..it was very helpful and easy to make coffee with easiest explanation……………..thanks:)
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very nice recipe ma.which brand u r using?whats de percentage of chicory?
thank u for ur tips.it was very helpful to make good coffee.
We are newly married and my wife struggling to get it right. She referred this article and almost got it right. Thanks for the recipe.
WOW 🙂 It’s such a shame more folks don’t know about
this place, this covered just what I needed!
can anyone help me find this traditional south Indian coffee maker..i want it in brass not in stainless steel…thank you.God Bless
spunkykherbi@hotmail.com
All is coffee…..
Love is coffee…..
When
I realized that…my
Life is filled with….
COFFEE…..:))
One of my favorite coffee recipe .Best with snacks. Keep sharing.
COFFEE BEANS TURNS AS A REFRESHING DRINK!!!!!!
Coffee lovers should thank “BABA BUDAN” for giving us such a fabulous drink as he gone through some tests and recognised it as a dark colour bean and planted them in one of the place in karnataka. From there, the plantation has grown up and it has yielded with tastiest coffee with different varieties across the world. It is also a healthy drink and it got circulated with many cafe chains. And it also became a trendy drink that everyone needs it as their boost up drink in the mornings.
Hi latha,
Nice info I am a recent fan of filter coffee and had managed to get a big filter coffee maker here at my place but the problem is there is lot of decoction for one person to be used at that very instant ,I need to know how long I can store the decoction in the refrigerator.
I remember the first time I drank filter coffee at a South Indian friend’s place. Although I was never a big fan of coffee before after drinking it I fell in love. Now only for filter coffee I drink coffee now and then.
Excellent Blog! I would like to thank for the efforts you have made in writing this post.
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