How to Make South Indian Filter Coffee at Home

South Indian filter coffee is one of the great coffee rituals of the world. A slow decoction from a steel filter, hot milk, and a froth raised by pouring between the tumbler and the davara. No machine, no electricity. Just the right powder and a little patience. Here is how we make it at home.

What you need

A filter. The two-part steel filter. The top cup has a perforated base and a small pressing disc, and the bottom cup collects the decoction. Any South Indian steel shop will have one.

The powder. Filter coffee is traditionally made with coffee and chicory, finely ground. Our Signature Blend is the classic 80:20: eighty percent single origin Arabica from Arehalli, twenty percent roasted chicory. (Wondering why chicory? We wrote about it here.)

Milk and sugar. Full-cream milk froths best and tastes best. Sugar is traditional, but it is up to you.

Step by step

1. Fill the filter. Add three or four heaped teaspoons of powder to the top cup. Shake it level and rest the disc lightly on top. Do not press. Pressing hard chokes the drip.

2. Add water. Pour freshly boiled water to fill the top cup, and close the lid.

3. Wait. This is the heart of it. A good decoction takes ten to fifteen minutes to drip through, sometimes longer. Do not stir it, squeeze it or hurry it. Slow is right.

4. Mix. What collects below is the decoction: dark, strong, almost syrupy. Pour some into a tumbler and add hot milk. One part decoction to three parts milk is a good place to start. Change it to suit you. Add sugar now, if you take it.

5. Froth. Pour the coffee back and forth between the tumbler and the davara, or any two cups, from a little height. Three or four pours raise the froth, melt the sugar and bring the coffee to drinking warmth. It is not just for show. It really changes the texture.

If something goes wrong

It drips too fast and tastes weak. The powder bed is too loose or too thin. Use a little more and level it well.

It barely drips. It was pressed too hard, or the powder is too fine for your filter. Fill it more loosely.

It tastes bitter and muddy. The water sat on the grounds too long, or the powder is old. Freshness matters more than most people think, which is why we roast in small batches.

There is no froth. Too few pours, or poured from too low. Lift the tumbler a little higher and pour three or four times.

It is too strong, or too milky. That is the ratio, not the coffee. Go back to one part decoction to three parts milk and adjust a little at a time.

Why chicory makes it filter coffee

Chicory is a roasted root with no caffeine. In the filter it gives the decoction a syrupy weight and a dark, glossy colour that coffee alone does not have at the same strength, so it holds up under hot milk. It also means an 80:20 cup has about a fifth less caffeine than the same cup of pure coffee. In most 80:20 powders the coffee part is inexpensive Robusta. In ours it is the same single origin Arabica from Arehalli that we sell on its own.

No steel filter?

A moka pot, or a French press left to steep a little longer, gets you close. The Signature Blend works in both. Mix with hot milk the same way. It will not be quite the same, but it will be close, and far better than instant.

One last thing. Keep the powder airtight, cool and out of the light, and never in the fridge. There is more on storing and ratios in our FAQ.

Questions we are asked

Can I use 100% Arabica instead of an 80:20 blend?
Yes. The decoction will be lighter in body and colour, because chicory is what gives filter coffee its thickness. Our Single Origin, ground is 100% Arabica from the same village.

Is the Signature Blend 100% Arabica?
No. It is 80% Arabica from Arehalli and 20% roasted chicory.

Does chicory have caffeine?
No. That is why an 80:20 cup has about a fifth less caffeine than pure coffee.

What milk ratio should I start with?
One part decoction to three parts hot milk. Stronger if you like it bold, milkier if you like it soft.