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]

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11 January 2026

Cleared out a lot of alcohol and liqueur bottles

Thirty, to be precise! This year’s goal is to try to specialize in Indian cocktails. Which means cocktails with some Indian twist to it. So far, I have some base alcohols from India and some tropical fruit juices from there. And a myriad of Indian spices.

This will be tricky. Indian spices are so flavorful that the palate I am afraid will overwhelm the nose. Let’s see if trial and error gets me anywhere.