A ‘Proud South-Indian Bride’ even without the basic knowledge of preparation of Filter Coffee would have been only= Me= !
= After My ‘Honeymoon’ Phase=
I still remember the very first day of commencement of my family life after the most exhilarating and thrilling ‘honeymoon’. My hubby is basically a Filter Coffee Lover and would happily even spare his life for a heavenly aromatic filter-coffee. I thought of starting my first day with a ready-to-mix ‘Bru Instant Coffee’ and was dreadfully shocked when my hubby ordered a ‘Dabara’(we South-Indians prefer to start our day with a ‘Dabara full of filter-coffee’) full of filter-coffee! With a sardonic look at my so called ‘searching’ for a Coffee-Filter, he handed me a big(I mean really ‘biiiiiiiiiiiiiiig’) stainless steel Coffee Filter made of two containers. He also proudly announced that every newly married daughter-in-law of their house started their first day of married life with a preparation of Filter-Coffee in that traditional(biiiiiiiiigg.) coffee-filter only!
= My Filter-Coffee Tutor=
Little frightened, partly embarrassed, slightly ashamed & infinitely angry on my mother for not having taught me such a simple household work, I gave my hubby a blank look! Probably planning to panic me further, he urged me for the coffee as he was already in a hurry to go to his Clinic! That was the most awkward situation I had ever come across in my life and whatever he thought about me, I boldly declared that if he taught me, I would be pleased to learn to prepare coffee ……. and there it was, he was waiting for such a thing from me and with a short thump on my head, taught me easy ways to prepare filter-coffee! What a magic…. in just 2 days, I started preparing excellent filter-coffee ……. (after about a year of married life, I came to know that my sister had already informed my hubby before our wedding itself that I didn’t know to prepare coffee.!)
= Preparation=
So, here it goes…… listen carefully … procedure and special tips for the Future-Filter-Coffee-Experts……
Rinsing
Rinsing the already washed Coffee-Filter well is a must for a quick filtering
Boil Water
Boil about 1 to 1 ½ glass of water in a Container and allow it to boil at its maximum possible degree
Heating
I have the habit of showing the base-part of the upper compartment of coffee-filter in the flame so that it gets slightly heated up(this is one of the ancient secrets of our grandmas).
Set the Coffee-Filter
Now your coffee-filter is ready. Set the Filter in position with the bottom compartment and the perforated compartment on top of it. Keep the closing lid also ready to use
Put Coffee Powder
This is quite an easy step – Take about 2 tea-spoons of coffee powder and put it in the upper vessel. Now with a spoon, very very slightly press the powder. Its highly important to make sure your pressure does not literally stick the powder to the vessel
Pour Boiling Water
This is where your secret lies – While your water is boiling at its highest degree, without putting off the burner, pour water in a rotund manner on the coffee powder. Now you will be able to find bubbles frothing in the upper compartment of the Filter and it is the right moment to quickly close the Filter with the lid
Open the Filter
After about 15 minutes, open the lid and you would be able to find that the water you had poured had got completely filtered into the lower compartment, which is our coffee decoction
Preparation of Filter-Coffee
Boil milk with a lesser ratio of water. Pour the boiled hot milk upto ¾ level of your glass and pour the coffee decoction for the rest of the ¼. Add / Do not add Sugar as per your choice
Tips Of Exclusive Dos’ & DONTs’
• Adding very very minute quantity(probably ¼ of a ¼ of a tea-spoon) of sugar while putting the coffee powder in the upper perforated vessel enables quicker coffee brewing
• Always store the coffee powder in an air-tight container
• Filter Coffee-Powder is available with or without chicory. For better results, it is suggested to buy the pure powder and separately purchase a packet of chicory. For daily use, the pure filter coffee is more healthier and during party seasons where you have lot of guests waiting for your aromatic coffee, you could use 75% pure powder and 25% chicory powder to get a thicker decoction
• Closing the lid when the coffee decoction is being filtered into the lower compartment is a must in order to obtain a real South-Indian aromatic filter coffee
• Boiling the already prepared coffee is to be strictly avoided or probably never be done, ‘cause beware it wouldn’t be the real filter-coffee and all your careful procedures would go waste!
• For Kumbakonam Degree Coffee, it is required to boil milk without adding even a single drop of water
• For cold coffee, the same procedure could be followed and after a shake-shake with a shaker, or a gentle running with a hand-blender, the coffee could be refrigerated for about an hour and definitely not more than that ‘cause longer refrigeration would spoil the real aroma
You are sure to become a Filter-Coffee Expert with this procedure…….
But we South-Indians and of late, many people in general consume more than excess of Coffee being addicted to its delightful aroma! But is it good for health?
Jus’ a few observations:
• Coffee contains Caffeine, which stimulates the brain cells and gives us instant energy
• But this Caffeine contains toxic chemicals which are ultimately hazardous to health – How? Caffeine over stimulates the adrenals and weakens them progressively due to over-consumption
• It has been proven that people drinking more coffee lose sleep gradually and as days pass by, they require more sleeping pills / tranquilizers to keep them relaxed or to sleep
A piece of Advice
• As Caffeine, an ingredient of our ‘yummy’ Coffee develops lot of harmful impacts like nervous weakness, headache, irritability, depression etc. etc., limited consumption of right from chocolates, colas, soft drinks(with caffeine), coffee & tea is highly advisable!
Enjoy a healthy body & soul with just one(cup) coffee per day! Hey…. It’s 5 0’ Clock in the morning now & I need to set an alarm with my usual morning aromatic coffee to wake up my hubby………. It really works yaar…!
Cheers,
Jaya*
