South Indian filter coffee is a beverage or drink made by mixing boiling milk with the decoction made by brewing finely ground coffee powder in a traditional Indian filter.  This drink is also referred as Madras filter coffee or Mysore filter coffee.  It is a very common and popular drink in most of the South Indian households.  South Indian filter coffee is brewed with a metal device that resembles two cylindrical cups, one of which has a pierced bottom that sits on the top of the tumbler cup, which helps to receive the brewed coffee.  The upper cup has two removable parts: a pierced pressing disc with a central stem handle and a covering lid. 

Filter coffee tastes best when prepared with whole fat milk and fresh strong decoction.  Traditionally filter coffee is served in brass tumbler and davara.  But nowadays it is served in steel tumbler and davara.  A good coffee also depends on the quality of the coffee powder used.  We generally get the coffee powder from Chennai which suits our taste well.  Nowadays,  coffee powder is easily available in almost all major cities of India or even online.

HOW TO MAKE OR PREPARE SOUTH INDIAN FILTER COFFEE RECIPE

This is the pic of the coffee filter.  It has 2 cylindrical vessels and a lid.  The top vessel has small holes in it to help the decoction get collected in the lower vessel.  The lower vessel has a plain base where the decoction is collected.

Fit the top vessel (with holes) on the lower vessel.  Add 3 tablespoons of coffee powder on the top vessel and press gently with your finger tips.

Boil  1 and 1/2 cups of water.  Let it come to a nice boil.  Switch off the flame.

Immediately pour this water in the top vessel and close the vessel with its lid.

Wait for 15-20 minutes till the coffee decoction gets collected in the lower vessel.  When the coffee is brewed, collect it in a separate small vessel for further use.

Take a tumbler or glass.  Add 1/4 cup of decoction.  Then add 1 and  1/2 cups of freshly heated hot milk and sugar.  Adjust the decoction according to the strong or light coffee required by you.  If you want piping hot coffee, just heat the coffee for a minute or two.

Now pour the coffee back and forth from the tumbler to the davara and vice versa to get that foam on the top of the coffee.  Repeat this process for 2-3 times.  The sugar also gets dissolved quickly.  Now the filter coffee is ready to be served.

Serve filter coffee as a beverage or along with snacks like idli, dosa, upma, medu vada or uthapams.

NOTES/TIPS

Always use fresh whole fat milk for  a good coffee.  Reheated milk will not give a good taste to the coffee.

Ensure that the coffee filter is dry before adding the coffee powder.

Serve filter coffee immediately once prepared.

Coffee swished a couple of times gives a delicious foam on the top.

Adjust the decoction according to the strong or mild coffee required by you.

Do not heat the decoction first.   Add milk to the decoction and then heat the coffee.

You can store the decoction in refrigerator for a day or two.