Kumbakonam Degree Coffee - Filter Coffee - கும்பகோணம் டிகிரி காபி - step by step

          Kumbakonam is famous for its brass vessels, Music, Kadappa ,Temples and Filter coffee . My H and me are coffee lovers. We strongly believe that that one cup of coffee makes our day brighter and gives a kick start to it. During our visit to India , we tasted Kumbakonam degree coffee in one of  the shops on the highway ,between "Chengalpet" and "Tambaram".( FYI , there are so many shops named "Kumbakonam degree coffee" in that highway. But I don't think all the shops provide quality coffee. This shop in particular gave us quality coffee. Sorry I forgot the name of the shop. ) The coffee was so aromatic and flavourfull, I couldn't resist myself from asking the lady at the shop ,about the speciality. She happily showed her boilers and told the secret.

        She told me two main reasons. One is high quality coffee powder ,which is less in chicory. They said, that they mill their own coffee powder in the milling machine. Also she said that when we grind 100 gm of coffee bean, we should get atleast 80 gm coffee powder , then its the high quality coffee bean. The second main thing is the fresh milk. She was telling that they have their own cows too. They boil the milk and heat it on a double boiler ,this way the milk will remain hot and also it won't get burnt at the bottom. Also they serve "kumbakonam degree coffee" only in brass "dabara tamblar". I loved the coffee ,so made my mind to grab all the ingredients to make a post out of it. and here is the detailed post about kumbakonam degree coffee.

 

Ingredients:

1.Filter coffee powder (Narasus )  -  3 tsp

2.Hot water                                    -   3/4 cup

3.Whole milk                                 -   2 cups

4.Sugar                                           -   2 tsp or as required

 

 

Method:

* The first step involves preparing the decotion . There are several ways in preparing the decotion. We can either prepare the decotion in the early morning and use it for our morning coffee. It needs atleast half an hour for the decotion to completely collect in the cup. To make it simple, I prepared the decotion ,the night before.Because, I want my coffee in the early hours like 5.45 a.m. The coffee filter has two compartments, in the upper compartment, add the coffee powder . I always prefer Narasus coffee. But if you don't get that,you can also try good quality coffee powders ,with less chicory.

 

* Mean while ,heat a cup of water in the microwave for 2 minutes.We can also boil the water on a stove top and pour it in the coffee powder. Pour it in small quantities. I took me about 3/4 cup of water to get a thick decotion ,which can make up to 3 coffees.

* Just use a spoon to press the coffee powder,so that the hot water enters in. Close the coffee filter and keep it aside .It just need half an hour for the coffee to come out of the filter . Because the pores in the coffee filter are so minute.

* Now take a pan or bowl and add milk to it. Bring it to boil. Don't leave the milk unattended, then the milk will be  burnt at the bottom. I prefer to have whole milk for a thick coffee. But you can also use 2 % or fat free. Though you can heat the milk in microwave, but for filter coffee, I strongly suggest boil the milk on a stove top. This gives that unique taste to the coffee.

* Now take a bigger bowl of water. Place it on the stove top . Now place the milk pot inside the bowl of water .This gives a double boiler effect. From now on the milk will be heated at low ,till you are ready to make the coffee. Close the bowl with a lid. This way, the milk will not be burnt at the bottom and it still remains hot. If you want,you can can heat the coffee decotion this way. But I didn't do that .

Here is our aromatic coffee decotion ready for our coffee. Don't discard the coffee powder in the upper compartment. We can use that for brewing second  degree decotion.

* But I don't prefer using the second degree decotion for my coffee, as it won't be that thick and flavourfull. Some would prefer mixing both ,first and second degree decotion. Its upto our taste.

 

 

* Now take a dabara or a mixing bowl, add sugar according to our taste. 

 

* Pour the required amount of decotion into the dabara .I prefer to have a strong coffee ,so I have poured a bit larger quantity.

* Now , pour the boiled milk to the decotion. Froth it well .Since we have boiled the milk on a stove top,so it will not become cool, while frothing.

Now our flavourfull and aromatic Kumbakonam degree coffee is ready to be served !!! 

Notes:
* Always use first degree coffee decotion for a good coffee.
* Always use fresh milk, which is boiled well on a stove top.
* Some also heat the coffee decotion on a double boiler and pour fresh cow's milk without heating.
But I don't prefer that way, as the bacteria's in the milk has to be killed for our safety.
* If you think that the coffee decotion is too thin, then just pour the decotion back to the upper compartment for the second brewing.
* Use fresh coffee powders ,which are sealed well. If the coffee powder looses its aroma ,then our coffee will not be aromatic.

 

Sending  this to "Tamizhar Samayal Tuesday "