Indian Filter Coffee Is A Tradition

Indian filter coffee is a traditional drink made by mixing frothed and boiled milk with the infusion obtained by percolating finely ground coffee in a traditional Indian filter. For many Indians, there are few caffeinated beverages that are as strong and satiating as a good cup of filtered coffee. 

Brewed either black and extra strong or with lots of sweetened milk and served in steel cups that sit atop containers known as Deborah (also pronounced davarah in some areas), this local coffee has been supplying parts of southern India for centuries. 

While its popularity soared throughout the country during the 20th century, it also spread outwards to Malaysia and Singapore. Also known as Kopi Tarik, the drink was introduced to roadside stalls run by Indian migrant communities.

Many people there (in India) who are strict in their religion drink no wine at all; but they use a liquor, more wholesome than pleasant, they name coffee, made of black seed boiled in water, which turns them practically the same colour, but very little modifies the flavour of the water

Indian filter coffee was promoted by the India Coffee House operated by the Coffee Board of India from the mid-1940s. 

After the emergence of the more popular Indian coffee shops in the mid-1950s, it became a demanding drink for millions.

The most common coffee beans in India, Arabica and Robusta have been growing in India since the 1600s. These coffee beans are grown in various states of South India, 

such as the hills of Karnataka (Coorg, Chikkamagaluru and Hassan), Tamil Nadu (Nilgiris district, Yercaud and Kodaikanal), Kerala (Malabar region) and Andhra Pradesh (Araku Valley).

This happens for several reasons: thorough mixing of ingredients (including sugar); cooling hot coffee to a sipping temperature; and most importantly, aerating the mixture without adding additional water (such as using a steam nozzle used to froth a cappuccino). 

An anecdote related to the distance between pouring and receiving leads to another name for the drink, "Meter Coffee".

Indian filter coffee continues to be a regular custom and ethnic tradition both within the country and abroad for coffee lovers!