Filter Coffee / South Indian Filter Coffee With Step By Step Pictures

March 6, 2025 | By
Southindian filter coffee
My mom used to make instant coffee with Bru. Its my favorite. I love it from my childhood days. I had a thought only Brahmins make filter coffee at home. So I used to call filter coffee as “ Brahmin’s coffee” / “Iyer coffee”.. But I changed my thoughts after marriage when I tasted superb filter coffee from my MIL’s hands. She use Coffee day, Indus Coffee powder & sometimes Cothas too. Everything tastes good. I should say Iam addicted to the taste & smell of it. Sometimes I feel giddy after having a strong coffee. So my husband tells me to avoid coffee/tea. He scolds me whenever he sees a cup of coffee in my hand. Though I try to refrain from drinking coffee, I cannot do it. I drink minimum of one cup per day. I know most of you love coffee like me. Do try this recipe with some tips i’ve given below. I am sure it helps. I have given “ How to make Bru instant coffee for beginners” from my mom. Please have a look at the end .. Also don’t forget to read the tips section. I’ve given the explanation for “Degree coffee “ which I got from wikipedia. Its interesting!
filter coffee

Filter coffee

Filter coffee How to make south Indian filter coffee

Cuisine: Indian Category: Beverages Yields: Serves 1-2
Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 5 Minutes Total Time: 15 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

For decoction

  • Coffee powder – 3 tbsp
  • Roasted methi seeds powder – A big pinch (optional)
  • Sugar – 1/4 tsp
  • Water – As needed

To make coffee

  • Milk – 1 cup
  • Sugar – 1.5 – 2 tsp
  • **Coffee filter picture is given at the end of this post**
HOW TO MAKE FILTER COFFEE – METHOD

  • Take the coffee filter’s percolator ( ie. the part with perforations/holes)sprinkle little sugar at the beginning before adding coffee powder.This helps for faster filtration of decoction.Add the coffee powder & roasted methi powder.

coffee step by step picture

  • Press it gently with ur fingers and then place the strainer.Add hot water till half of the filter.Tap it with the lid and close it immediately Wait for 10-30 mins for the first thick decoction.Reserve the first decoction in a tumbler.U can make coffee with the first thick decoction if u want strong coffee ( this is called first degree coffee,kumbakonam degree coffee). If u wanna light or medium strong coffee,then add little more water to the filter and wait for some more time to get the second thin decoction.Mix the first & second decoctions and add as per ur taste. My MIL says this method gives the best tasting coffee ..

coffee step by step picture

  • To make coffee for one person, boil the milk and add 1.5 – 2tsp of sugar to one cup of milk.Then add the decoction as per ur taste and swish it OR add sugar and decoction in the bottom of tumbler and add milk.It will come up with a nice color. Serve it frothy !!
  • Piping hot frothy filter coffee is ready to enjoy with ur favorite snacks !! We usually serve in traditional “Davarah- tumbler” which u can c in the picture ..

coffee step by step picture
Enjoy !

Some interesting information and my notes

  • For methi powder : In a kadai,dry roast a fistful of fenugreek seeds and powder it in mixie.Add this powder to the coffee powder while making decoction.This gives additional bitterness & flavor.Its healthy too. Diabetes patients can give this a try. But its completely optional for others…
  • I have used “Coffee day coffee powder “ with chicory.If u use INDUS or COTHAS or COFFEE DAY coffee powder without chicory add 2 tbsp instead of 1 tbsp..U can make 3 cups of coffee with the coffee powder quantity i’ve mentioned.
  • I have used small size filter/ percolator. If you use bigger ones,increase the quantity of coffee powder twice or thrice. Please don’t use the same quantity for big filters. f you have left over decoction, you can keep it in a refrigerator and use it the next day. But please avoid keeping decoction for 3-4 days. It may become a poison. 
  • If you feel the decoction is brewed very slowly, tap it once on the umbrella like strainer or show the filter over the flame for few secs before adding coffee powder. I’ve mentioned to add sugar before adding coffee powder This is also for quicker brewing..
  • A term often heard for high-quality coffee is degree coffee. Milk certified as pure with a lactometer was called degree milk owing to a mistaken association with the thermometer. Coffee prepared with degree milk became known as degree coffee..
  • Another explanation for degree coffee is that chicory beans were used to make the coffee. The South Indian pronunciation of chickory became chigory then digory and finally degree. 🙂
  • Yet another explanation is that, when coffee is decocted for the first time, it is called as the first degree or simply as the “Degree Coffee”. This has the strongest flavour and the necessary strength to mix with milk without watering down the taste. In less affluent households, in earlier days, coffee was decocted for a second or third time from the same initial load; this became the second degree coffee and naturally, is not as strong. Affluent households drank first degree or the famous “Degree Coffee” only.
  • Interestingly, there is a Kannada name for coffee “Boondh Bisneeru”. “Bisneeru” sounds a great deal like “bisi neeru,” or “hot water,” thus leading to speculation that the terms are connected. Although not used currently, this was used by ladies two generations ago. The Srilankan Tamil name for coffee is “Kottai Vadineer”.
  • For cleaning the filter , drop the bottom part in hot water for few mins. Also pierce the holes with a needle to clean it.
  • In Hotels , they used to add hot water till half of the filter and after it drips down,they again add hot water for half filter.This way helps to extract the full essence of coffee powder and also the coffee tastes great. Also they keep heating the milk using double boiling technique with which milk is heated without burnt smell. They swish the milk till frothy and make coffee. This also matters for a good coffee 🙂
    		•

    Here is the picture of coffee filter with its parts
    **COFFEE FILTER / PERCOLATOR

    Coffee filter and its parts

    You’ll need a traditional FILTER which is made of 4 parts.
    1. The lid that comes on top of the percolator.
    2. The percolator, you can also see the base is punched with holes
    3. Strainer, this looks like an umbrella .
    4. Collector, The fourth part forms the base which collects the strained decoction.
    HOW TO MAKE INSTANT BRU COFFEE

    My MIL says making instant coffee is also an art. She says, sugar should be just rite. Sometimes it may become too bitter or too sweet to taste. She also says my mom makes good instant coffee. So I got this ratio of sugar & coffee powder from my mom , tried it and posted for beginners.. Experts , please excuse me.
    INGREDIENTS

    • Boiled milk – 1 cup ( 200 ml )
    • Bru instant  powder – 1/2 tsp
    • Sugar – 1-1.5 tsp
    • Water – Add very little(say 1 tbsp) ( If milk is too thick. My mom said milk shouldn’t be too thick for good coffee..)

    METHOD

    • Boil the milk  adding water and take one cup of it. Add sugar, coffee powder and froth it. Check for taste and add more coffee powder for strength and color if necessary. I love coffee to be mild, so I add very less coffee powder. Please adjust as per your taste. Frothy , hot instant bru coffee is ready to enjoy !!

    ** Please don’t add more sugar for the mentioned amount of Bru because you wont get the bitter taste and sweetness would be more. For 3 people , you can add 1 tsp of coffee powder.
    bru coffee_thumb[3]

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    38 thoughts on “Filter Coffee / South Indian Filter Coffee With Step By Step Pictures”

    5. Gayathri NG

      Wow filter coffee hmm…i love it, soon wil by filter and my own coffee. My evening time never ends without coffee, ur pics make me tempting!!

      Reply
    10. Prema

      the day will not start without this for me chitra,love the clicks especially in pic college the ticaution is jumping rite…that is too gud.

      Reply
    13. Menaga Sathia

      wonderful post chitra,am very addictive to this coffee,missed it a lot…adding methi seeds is new to me!!

      Reply
    18. Sumi

      I got a cofee filter from IKEA which is kind of traditional filter that they use in europe. It gives the same taste as our filter coffee, but the difference is you need to heat the vessel in stove for 10 minutes and the decotion gets collected in the top. Lovely post Chitra :)

      Reply
    24. priya ravi

      very detailed post.. love this filter coffee.. especially the first photo is really very much tempting..

      Reply
    27. Anonymous

      hello chitra, the coffee looks wonderful and the pictures are really good.BTW all south indians love their coffee not only the "brahmins".:)

      Reply
    28. Shobha Kamath

      The coffee looks terrific ! And many thanks for those tips.
      Thanks for visiting my space. Happy to follow you.

      Reply
    29. Anonymous

      Hi dear..where do i get this filter????..cause im in malaysia!!!
      by the way the coffee looks delicious..yummy..yummy..yummy…

      Reply
    33. Unknown

      Nice blog comment chicory I like chicory this is hallty is the valuable herb which for a long time has won popularity in

      national medicine.Chicory was also often prescribed by herbalists of recent centuries to cure a whole host of ailments;

      the herbalist of the middle ages often recommended herbal remedies made from the chicory roots as tonics, as

      laxatives, and as diuretics.
      http://www.adeptimpex.com/chicory-powder.php

      Reply
    34. Unknown

      Hi Chaitria,
      Its really amazing reading your website. In recent times you have become guru for my wife. Thanks for all your passionate contribution to society. We request you to please let us know the below…
      1. What should be the chicory percentage? we saw several combinations like 60% Coffee 40% chicory etc…

      Also hoping that you will update the post of chutney for Khara bhath..:-)

      Waiting for your reply.

      Reply
      1. Chitra

        Thank you so much for your sweet words.for coffee powder, My MIL says 80,20. I will try to be more clear about this and update here. Soon I will post the chutney recipe too. Thanks for reminding me 😉

        Reply
      2. Chitra

        Yes my mil adds in 80% coffee and 20% chicory as chicory is not good for health. In shops they add 60, 40 as told by you. Finally its based on our liking.

        Reply
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