12 January 2026

My first foray into “filter kaapi”

When I first got started with cappuccino and all that, my friend Raghu from Austin had sent me this contraption to make South Indian coffee – often called “filter kaapi“. Now, this is something I grew up with during my college years since I did my engineering in Chennai.

This year, one of my goals is to learn how to make good “filter kaapi“. Today was my first attempt after looking up a few YouTube videos.

The result of the maiden venture has been distinctly un-South-Indian-like. Followed all the instructions, and then I was left with only half a tumbler of totally diluted coffee. I might have had some more coffee in the cup if only I had not spilt some in the basin while trying to do that South Indian frothing thing with some panache!

If you are not aware of what I am talking about, you have to look it up. Those guys in the coffee stalls in college would throw the milf-coffee combo from high up in the air from the tumbler into the dabarah – without spilling one little drop.

I need to call up Raghu and Prabha and get some tips on how to make the coffee thicker.

[P.S. My second attempt fixed the volume problem but not the thinness problem]



Posted January 12, 2026 by Rajib Roy in category "Coffee

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