Cardamom Filter Kaapi using a Traditional Coffee Filter

Instructions

• Add 3 tbsp of the coffee powder to the top compartment and press down gently with the plunger. * Note: do not press down to hard or too loose. You want the coffee to be packed in well enough for the water to permeate through it all. Too loosely packed means a diluted decoction. Too tightly packed means the water will not be able to filter through well enough, resulting in a very small quantity of decoction or none at all!).
• Place this compartment over the bottom container
• add 1/4 cup of boiling water to the top compartment, gently pouring it over the plunger. (Adding the water too quickly may result in a diluted decoction as the water may filter through the coffee very rapidly).
• Close the top lid and let the infusion percolate. The decoction should take about 15-20 mins (longer if you’ve added more coffee grounds).
• In the meantime, bring 1/4 cup of milk to a gentle boil. Set aside.
• Once all the water has dripped down into the bottom container, your decoction is ready! It should be thick in consistency.
• Pour the decoction into your coffee cup and add the hot milk over that.
• Add desired sweetener (I prefer caramelized sugar or cane sugar).
• Now take another empty cup and carefully start pouring the coffee/milk mixture back and forth from one cup to another. Aerating the hot mixture this way serves a few purposes:
  1. It helps mix the coffee, milk and sugar really well
  2. It helps to cool down the coffee to sipping temperature
  3. It aerates the coffee to develop a froth without introducing additional moisture through steam (like it would when using a steam wand etc.)
• You may need to do the back and forth pour action 4-5 times to achieve the desired effect. Once you are satisfied with the final cup, sit back and enjoy the best Kaapi you’ve ever had!