The concept of coffee is so cool these days in Mumbai. Just consider the number of Coffee houses popping up everywhere, all packed with millennials staring into laptop screens, overpaying for coffee to milk the free wifi and air conditioning. How the times have changed! Back when I was growing up in Mumbai, we had none of this. Back then, if you wanted a decent cup of coffee, that wasn't made from some instant powder, you had to go to an Udipi restaurant. Yes... the very same place where you get Idli, Vada sambar and Masala Dosa.
Most of the world thinks of chai when they think Indian hot stimulating beverage. But while that may be true in the northern parts of India, the southern states beg to differ. They much prefer a refreshing cup of Filter Kaapi; which is their mangled method of pronouncing the word 'Coffee'. In the southern Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, coffee is more than just a beverage. It's pretty much a religion.
There aren't any paper filters used in the making South Indian Filter Coffee, so don't let the name confuse you. The Filter Coffee apparatus is relatively simple; Two stainless steel containers, one fitting snugly on top of the other and a coffee tamper. The container on top contains very tiny perforations at the base, on which the ground coffee is heaped. The tamper then packs the coffee tightly into place, and boiling hot water is poured over it. The holes in the tamper regulate the flow of hot water over the coffee grounds, causing a thick syrupy decoction to form. This percolates and collects in the stainless steel chamber at the bottom, aided by nothing other than gravity and the pressure built up from the steam trapped in the upper chamber. It takes about 15 to 25 minutes for a rich, luscious and syrupy coffee decoction which, when combined with scalded milk and sugar or jaggery, yields the perfect cup that invigorates and stimulates.
Traditionally Filter coffee is served in a tall stainless steel tumbler that sits snugly in a squat wide lipped container called a Dabarah. The dual receptacles allow for pouring of coffee back and forth to cool it down before drinking. Experts are able to put a fair amount of distance between the two vessels, causing the formation of a little bit of foam on the surface. In India, we don't need fancy schmancy milk frothing equipment. We believe in the old school mechanical methods. In other words, 'cheap and best'.
Filter coffee gets its characteristic bitter flavor from the addition of dried chicory root to the blend. We can thank the French colonists for that. It is rumored that due to a coffee shortage in the 17th century, chicory was added to the coffee as a bulking agent. The bitter taste caught on, and even after the shortage had passed, the use of chicory continued. The legendary coffee at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans which used to be a French colony still serves coffee in that manner. Chicory gives the coffee a delicious edge when combined with the creaminess of the milk and the sweetener of choice, though it is considered an acquired taste.
So the next time you have a hankering for a satisfying cup of coffee, I advise you to skip the frou-frou coffee houses and their overpriced caffeinated beverages and head to your friendly neighborhood Udipi restaurant. For what you pay for one cup of coffee at your gentrified coffee house chain, you should be able to throw in an Idli, Vada and a Masala Dosa along with your coffee order, and still have some money left over at the end of it.
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