How to Make South Indian Filter Coffee at Home

The Kaapiswada family · 2026-10-03

In homes across Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the day begins with the slow drip of a steel filter. Filter kaapi is not complicated, but it rewards a little patience. Here is how we make it at home.

What you need

  • A traditional South Indian coffee filter: two stacked steel cups, a pressing disc and a lid
  • Filter coffee powder (like Kaapiswada Giriswada: our 80:20 filter coffee blend made with single-estate Arabica from our own family estate in Chikmagalur). A coffee-chicory blend gives the classic thick, dark decoction
  • Freshly boiled water
  • Milk, and sugar if you like it
  • A davara and tumbler for serving

Step 1: Add the coffee powder

Put two to three heaped tablespoons of coffee powder (at home we use Kaapiswada Giriswada, our 80:20 filter coffee: 80% Arabica from our own family estate in the Mullayanagiri foothills of Chikmagalur and 20% chicory) into the top chamber of the filter. Shake it gently to level it, then place the pressing disc on top. Do not press it down hard. The water needs room to pass through slowly.

Step 2: Pour the hot water

Pour freshly boiled water into the top chamber until it is nearly full, then close the lid. Water just off the boil works best. If the water is too cool, the decoction turns weak.

Step 3: Let the decoction drip

Now wait. The decoction drips slowly into the lower chamber, usually over 15 to 20 minutes. Many families set the filter up the night before, or first thing in the morning, while the rest of the house wakes up. The first decoction is the strongest and the best.

Step 4: Heat the milk

Bring full-fat milk to a boil. Filter kaapi is mostly milk, so its quality matters as much as the coffee.

Step 5: Mix and pour

Add the decoction to your tumbler, roughly one part decoction to three parts milk, and adjust to taste. Add sugar now if you take it. Then pour the coffee back and forth between the tumbler and the davara, lifting high as you pour. This cools the kaapi to drinking temperature and builds the light froth on top.

Why chicory?

Chicory is the roasted root of a flowering plant. Blended with coffee, it gives the decoction more body and a deeper colour, so it holds its own against hot milk. Our Giriswada is an 80:20 blend: 80 parts Arabica from our own Chikmagalur estate and 20 parts chicory, made for exactly this ritual. If you prefer a cleaner cup with no chicory, try our 100% Arabica Pureswada. Not sure which suits you? We compare the two in filter coffee with or without chicory.

Good coffee is not something you simply make. It is something you grow into, season after season, cup after cup.

Quick tips

  • Use the decoction the same day. It loses its aroma by the next morning.
  • Do not press the disc down. A packed bed of coffee blocks the water.
  • If your kaapi tastes thin, add a little more powder next time rather than less milk.
  • Using pure coffee with no chicory (like Kaapiswada Pureswada: 100% single-estate Arabica from our own family estate, no chicory)? Add about half a tablespoon more powder than you would with a blend. Without chicory the decoction is lighter in body, so it needs a little more coffee to hold up against hot milk.