Filter Coffee

Filter coffee, or filter kaapi, is ground coffee made for the traditional South Indian steel filter, a two-tier pot in which hot water drips slowly through the grounds. Most filter coffee powders are blended with chicory, which adds body, a caramel bitterness and a thick crema, and the proportion is usually printed on the pack. This belongs to our coffee range, next to instant coffee.

The decoction is mixed with boiled milk and sugar, then poured between a steel tumbler and a wide dabara bowl to cool it and raise a froth. It is the coffee served in Tamil homes, Udupi restaurants and Sri Lankan Tamil households, and the right drink with idli, dosa, pongal or a plate of murukku. Filter coffee powder also works in a cafetière or moka pot for a strong, chicory-rich cup, and for a spiced alternative try sukku malli coffee.

Add two to three tablespoons of powder to the upper chamber, press lightly with the plunger, pour in boiling water and leave it covered for fifteen minutes. The first decoction is the strongest. Keep the powder in an airtight tin away from light and use it within a few weeks of opening.