Posted On: 2024-03-28 01:51 PM
The smell of brewed filter coffee hitting your nostrils must have always made you relaxed and forget all about your troubles for some time. The speciality of this variety of coffee can be attributed to the historical semblance of its richness and unique quality. Its significant uniqueness calls out the coffee for being so much of its kind, enriched in a soothing tangy odor and great flavor.
Until the foreign plantations took place, the South Indian state did not advertise it or that, not much about it was known to the world. Kumbakonam refers to the “temple town of South India”. In terms of ancient history, filter coffee originated in South India as long back as the 17th century. Baba Budan, a Sufi Saint was known to have smuggled seven coffee beans from Yemen in order to grow them at some places in South India. It can be said that it was only around the early 20th century which the concept of Kumbakonam Degree Coffee was known to almost everyone, while coffee plantation was popularized by the English settlers in colonial India. The charm of the coffee pertains to the way in which it is made, which is mostly traditional and unique to its roots.
In the procedure of making Kumbakonam Degree Coffee, which is a filter coffee, a special kind of filter is employed: a traditional South Indian filter known as the “dabara set”. The coffee beans for this special kind of coffee are potentially selected from the plantations and then roasted before they are up for brewing and ready for decoction through a special process. As decoction takes place, care is taken to gently allow the hot water to drip to the ground, producing an aromatic cup of tangy Kumbakonam Coffee. There is a secret recipe for it, and the town of Kumbakonam isn’t very keen on advertising it. The typical nature of coffee beans used is from a mixture of both Arabica and Robusta varieties. These coffee beans are mainly from regions of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
The key to making a cup of coffee retain its original taste and aromatic nature is by using pure milk. Pure milk, commercially termed degree milk, is the finest quality of milk that can make the taste of coffee natural. Since degree milk is used, Kumbakonam’s coffee is termed degree coffee. Some people are under the impression that the coinage behind the term owes to its use of chicory and its local pronunciation of “tikery”, making it a similar-sounding word to “degree”.
A special technique is employed in the preparation of the coffee powder. The purest quality of milk, devoid of any adulterants, known as degree milk, also adds to this process. A lesser quantity of chicory is used, bringing the ratio of the mixture of coffee beans and chicory to 70:20. While serving the Kumbakonam Degree Coffee, a traditional technique of the “dabara set” is employed. It is only at the very heart of the temple town, Kumbakonam, where you can relish the natural essence of degree coffee.