How To Make Degree Coffee, Beginner's Guide - Raks Kitchen

Jump to Recipe Jump to Video

How to make degree coffee at home with quick video, step by step pictures, tips. Learn how to make perfect south Indian filter coffee.

Jump to:

• Routine
• Factors
• Brands
• About
• At home
• My notes
• Shelf life
• Top tip
• Maintenance
• Trouble shooting
• Related posts
• Recipe card
• How to make
• Preparation

Making a filter coffee may sound easy to many but, not any one can make a good coffee. And if any one of your family member is a coffee lover, then you have to make a perfect coffee every morning to make their day brisk…

Before marriage my mom makes coffee only for my grand parents and herself. My father having seen my grandparents addicted to coffee, never allowed us to drink coffee anytime.

So both me and my brother are not used to drink coffee/tea. I have also seen many coffee drinkers, who miss to take coffee at their usual time, develop headache.

But after marriage, my in-laws family all are hardcore filter coffee lovers and my MIL is very famous among our relatives/ friends for her degree coffee. She makes best coffee everyone says.

Routine

I am not a big fan of coffee and I never know how a coffee should be, but even I have smelt her coffee while she makes, its smells so sweet and divinely.

So I always wanted to learn from her and make coffee just like her for Vj. And having watched her for these many days, now too am very comfortable and confident to make filter coffee.

When my in-laws visited 2 months back, as a matter of hope, even my FIL certified me that my coffee is tasting great! My father in law never says that to anyone so I was so happy hearing that 🙂

But still I am not claiming I am an expert, but I can say I make a very good coffee 🙂 Because I enjoy the process and constantly look for improving, perfecting it.

Factors

And when a blog reader requested me to post, I was very happy to do this post. I have always asked for tips from both my MIL and FIL for making the best coffee.

I make filter coffee everyday morning for Vj. And I learnt there are couple of main factors for making a good coffee. Coffee powder and fresh milk are main factors.

1. The coffee ground
2. Milk

I have seen both my in laws and mom buying coffee bean and roasting and grinding freshly for each and every day coffee. But now a days, they buy coffee powder from Coffee day. Its equally good.

When I visit Chennai yearly once, I buy some half KG of coffee powder my in laws pass to me and store it in the fridge/ freezer. I take only required amount of it and use for 15 days to a month and then refill it.

Brands

My in-law's choice:

• Coffee day (No chicory)
• Mysore coffee company In Singapore, my choice :
• Narasus PB (pure coffee)
• Namma Athu coffee (Pure)
• Cothas Speciality blend - suggested by my fellow blogger friend Jeyashri.

KUMABKONAM DEGREE COFFEE BRANDS

People's choice is Mohan coffee, yet my in-laws choice is (Not sponsored)

Mysore coffee company

No: 156/1, 2, John Selvaraj Nagar Near New Bus Stand & Opp to NBS Towers, Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu 612001, India

Ph. 0435-2433021

Ratio they customize: 300 Peaberry, 200 A, 50 Robusta.

Check out my social media post about it here.

Now latest, I buy Narasus PB pure and Namma athu coffee from Sri Murugan and mix them both to make coffee. Because, Narasus gives bitter and thinner decoction but gives best flavor that makes nama athu coffee a perfect balance.

About

When we talk about degree coffee, first and foremost thing that is very very important is the decoction making, which I have explained in the post.

Since the post is about this, let me first tell you what it means. A degree coffee is, making coffee with the thick and fresh milk, not diluted with water (called first degree milk) and 1st degree decoction. That is, while brewing the decoction, we have to use only the first batch of brewed 'thick' decoction.

Only right amount of water goes and not too much water to make it thick and concentrated, not thin with lots of water which makes it less strong.

In the olden days, milk that was certified as pure with a lactometer was called "degree milk", and coffee that was prepared with this milk became popular as "degree coffee". The coffee that was decocted for the first time before mixing with the milk, was known as "first degree coffee" because it was very strong and flavourful unlike "second and third degree coffee" that undergo decoction more than once.

Article with my recipe in Deccan Herald

As you know many of the house holds, including mine or at restaurants and coffee shops, they do second brewing and third too at some cases. So a big no to second brewed coffee mixed in this. 'Only' the first brew is used for making degree coffee.

At home

As in my households, my mom & MIL both also brew second time from the same coffee powder, it will be obviously less in strength and flavor.

So if you want to make first degree coffee, use only the first brewed decoction and it should be thick and strong. Hope you can see the strength of first and second degree decoction in the below picture.

The first batch will be thick and if you add hot water and again brew in the same coffee powder, it gets diluted. In my family, elders like only degree coffee.

And others don't mind or few even like only the coffee made by mixing both first and second degree(batch) decoction. They say it has a mild bitterness that they like in it. So its your preference.

My notes

• They say is the sugar quantity has to be correct and according to the individual preference. Not too sweet, not too bitter as well. So let me move on to the post.

Shelf life

Make it fresh is best for perfect flavor and taste. But If you have any leftover decoction or you want to make it in bulk and keep, just add ¼ teaspoon sugar in it and keep covered in the fridge. This is what my MIL told me. It locks the flavor as well as someone have pointed out in comments section.

Top tip

One thing I notice people doing is take out the tamper stand (Perforated stand) and pour water directly over coffee ground.But my suggestion is leave the tamper stand over the coffee powder as such.

There is a reason for the part of filter, so let it be 😉 Let me tell you why. If you add water directly, the coffee grounds gets disturbed and it gets drained fast.

The water should slowly get brewed as coffee for best flavor and taste. So gently press the coffee powder with tamper and pour water over that.

This let water not affecting the pressed coffee powder and regulates the water. If it drains fast, the strength will not be strong (wont be thick) and lacks flavor.

This is not a pour over coffee process for you to first pour little for it to bloom and all those stuffs they follow it in that method. This is the way how it is made in our home and I can vouch, it turns out great.

Maintenance

At times, the pores in the filter gets clogged with the coffee powder, so clean with a needle point if needed. Just immerse the filter in boiling water weekly once or so to keep it clean. OR show it to direct flame to get rid of the stuck powder.

Showing in direct flame also helps descaling. Boiling in vinegar mixed in water also helps descaling the filter.

Trouble shooting

• By chance your first brewed decoction gets dripped fast and is too thin, immediately pour the collected thin decoction again in the filter and brew for the thick one. The flavor will be compromised this way. But just in case. 😉
• If by any chance your coffee decoction never collects down ,in case you pressed too hard the coffee powder, just gently tap the filter carefully on the rim. Or as such tap the filter gently few times.

Related posts

• Masala chai
• Authentic south Indian coffee
• Sukku coffee

Recipe card

Print Pin 5 from 1 vote

Degree coffee | Kumbakonam degree coffee

Learn how to make fresh brewed degree coffee famous in Kumbakonam at home with quick video, step by step pictures, tips. Course Drinks Cuisine Indian Prep Time 15 minutes minutes Cook Time 10 minutes minutes Author Raks Anand Servings 2 1x2x3x

Equipments (Amazon Affiliate links)

south Indian coffee filter Cup measurements

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon Coffee powder heaped
• ¼ cup water boiling hot

Instructions

Brewing coffee decoction

• Add 2 table spoons of coffee powder in the perforated upper part.
• Use the stand (perforated plate with stand) and gently press to level the coffee powder. *Refer notes
• Heat required water to fill the filter and let it start to boil. Add it to the filter and fill up to the rim and close immediately with the lid.
• Wait for 15 minutes - ½ hour. Collect the 1st degree decoction and keep covered. If you want you can again add hot water and brew second time.

How to make coffee

• Boil milk well and then froth the milk with sugar once by using tumbler and davarah.
• Add required amount decoction say 2 teaspoon - 1 tablespoon and froth well. Let it be hot. So don't do for long time.
• We always use "Dabara tumbler" to serve authentically 🙂 Enjoy it piping hot!

Video

Notes

• Choose correct filter size , you have to at least fill quarter and add water accordingly. If you add too much water then the strength may not be thick.
• If the coffee powder is coarse, press tightly to get thick decoction. If the coffee powder is fine ground, be gentle while pressing. Otherwise it will take too long to collect the decoction
• Never ever re-heat the coffee. It wont taste good. Worst case, do it in double boiler method. Keep inside a boiling water to re heat.
• Boil milk in stove top as it keeps hot for long time than the microwave boiled milk.
• Milk is a very important factor, so use fresh milk rather than the UHT. My MIL uses aavin light blue pack, its perfect for her coffee.

YoutubeDo you like short videos? Subscribe now! InstagramMention @rakskitchen or tag #rakskitchen if you have tried this recipe.

How to make

For making perfect decoction, choose the correct filter size. I make only for my hubby. So I have a small one. Add 2 tablespoons (levelled) of coffee powder in the perforated upper part.

Press gently with the perforated stand (tamper). I use my fingers to do this to keep the pressure we apply in my control. otherwise I sometimes press too hard, then it takes too long for brewing.

So be gentle while you press. If you press too loose, then the water gets through so fast and the decoction wont be strong(thick). It will be very diluted. So do it gently but firm.

Preparation

Heat required water to fill the filter and let it start to boil. Add it to the filter and fill up to the rim and close immediately with the lid.

Wait for 15 minutes. Collect the 1st degree decoction and keep covered. If you want you can again add hot water and brew second time.

Boil milk well, and then froth the milk with sugar once.

Add required amount decoction say 2 teaspoon - 1 tablespoon and froth well. Let it be hot. So don't do for long time.

We always use "Dabara tumbler" to serve authentically 🙂 Enjoy it piping hot!