Running Update: To keep up with my training for the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC I had to run 13 miles through partial rain and dodging puddles the entire way. Running with squishy shoes for a couple of hours is not fun! I made it around in horrible time and sore hamstrings.
This year its the hamstrings and lung capacity which have been slowing me. Appears my lungs have NOT fully recovered from the bronchitis I got earlier in the Spring and kept me from the Boston Marathon. For the first four miles, I find myself gasping and unable to pick my pace. My doctor is not surprised and mentions that after bronchitis, lungs need 6-8 months to recover vital capacity. While I don’t notice a deficit in most activities, running long distances needs my entire lung capacity, which is still compromised. But I plod on! Have no hopes for breaking 4 hours, but it would be good to FINISH a marathon this year!
How do I pick myself up after a lousy run on a wet weekend? A nice cup of piping hot, South Indian style kaapi! The perfect antidote for a washed out weekend.
Several years ago I gave up morning coffee for Almond Pista Milk, but around mid-day, I prefer kaapi. Not sure why, but kaapi is NOT acidic (like those from american coffee makers) and does not aggravate my running-induced acidity. Perhaps its the admixed chicory.
We have a couple of these traditional south indian coffee makers (see pic above). The lower container is a simple cup, the upper has a sieved bottom into which you place the coffee grounds: Indian BRU coffee powder, with its blend of chicory, and available in Indian grocery stores. Then cover the powder with the perforated ‘stay.’
Separately boil water in a kettle and pour in upper container. Close the lid, let the hot water percolate through the grounds and the ‘decoction’ collects in the bottom container. Takes ~ 10-15 minutes.
Heat (microwave) milk in a cup, pour the desired amount of decoction, add (brown) sugar and stir. It’s important to aerate the coffee by pouring it from one cup into another. M is good! This homogenizes the milk and coffee, and tops with a nice froth. This essential step infuses life-giving prana into the coffee.
See traditional coffee served at the Shanbhag Fastfood in Hospet.
Sip Slowly. Watch Grass Grow. Run Fast. Enjoy Life.
Wonderful post from Ganga, at A Life (Time) of Cooking, on her experience with South Indian Coffee.
Marathoner, Professor, Author, Citizen Journalist, Fitness Nut, Foodie, Meera's father, Hindu, Scientist, Photographer.
Oh yes, had to share this, I finally got my coffee maker in May, directly from Chennai. & as per the research cited by Dr. Oz, it is chicory that has all the benefits, but has a bitter taste. So coffee is mixed in to make chicori more palatable. The coffee by itself does not help with thw calcium absorption. It is the chicory that does it. I looked at various coffee brands from India that are available here, & BRU has the highest chicory component, as claimed on its lable. It claims to have 53% coffee & 47% chicory.
Thank you for the update.
Was traveling in south india and drinking lotsa kaapi, but did not have access to the internet.
Best Wishes
Arun
Alaso, check if you have pushed the stay too hard, packing the coffee too firmly. That too will prevent the water from dripping down. How I solve the problem when it happns? I just use a spoon to move the stay a tad bit to break the “vaccuum” that has formed. That does the trick.
Is it stainer(stay) over coffee powder or first stay and then coffee powder over it. Recently I’ve noticed that whenever I make coffee decoction, the water stays stagnant in the upper container and refuses to drip down. Any solutions…
Thanks
Hi Tushar, Its the coffee powder and the stay (to hold to powder down).
I too have occasionally encountered this pb of slow drip. I recommend three things:
1. Make sure the holes on the upper container are not plugged by older grounds – I scrub carefully.
2. Check that the water is Hot, and
3. It might be related to the fineness of the coffee grounds. I found that the super fine powderes meant for espresson coffee tends to clogs the pores.
Give these a try. Enjoy Kaapi
Arun
Got the water to right through this time…and a wonderful kaapi decoction.
Awesome! Glad it worked out well.
Enjoy Kaapi!
Arun
PS. And now I know why I don’t have brittle bones inspite of dreinking a lot of coffee.
I may need to do a scientific review of Chicory.
Arun
Thanks for the addendum. I have now switched 100% from local coffee to the coffee-chicory blend now that is available here easily. HA…HA…HA…I alwys have believed that the modern western science has yet to come up with something that Indians (I mean the Bharteeyas of Bharat that the foreigners have been trying to destroy & own for >1000 years) did not already know. & I hope that we Hindus & Bharteeys realize that Vedas are not “scriptures”, They are the books of knowledge, sort of like the instruction manual for all humanity.
Interestingly, my view of the Vedas is similar ~ that the Vedas were the Bharateeya Wikipedia, a compilation of the knowledge at that time. See, instead of the current citations, we then referenced it by the sages, who apparently ran the leading school/ashrams/universities at that time.
Yes, Indians need to interpret indian culture, and not outsiders who are embedded in the culture.
Thank you
Recently saw Dr. Oz show on TV. He said that chicory is very good for regulating the digestive tract & preventing cancers of the GI tract. And since chicory by itself is very bitter, it is mixed with coffee to make it more palatable. It looks like the south Indians knew this all along. We don’t hear of coffee related disorders in the south Indians who take coffee as opposed to tea. If we pay attention to the details, we notice that they don’t guzzle the beverage like there’s no tomorrow, take time to sip it & relish it, & then the milk & sugar makes it nutritious & pleasurably palatable (though I take it black & no sugar). And most important of all, the biggest difference is obvious in the serving size. Can no one see the difference in sizeof the cup of south Indian “kappee” & the smallest size available in the US in mickeyd’s, webdy, BK, dinkin donuts, & yes, can’t forget the hallowed & revered starbucks. And still the brilliantly intelligent american researchers need to spend millions in finding out what in coffee causes the evil effects.
Ha ha! Agree.
Interestingly, Chicory also enhances calcium absorption in the bones. There!
Lets raise a toast, or cup, to kaapi!
Thanks for the info.
can i buy south indian coffee maker in delhi? any shop in delhi?
You should be able to. I can find it everywhere in Mumbai.
Check stores which cater to South india folks and ask for “Filter Coffee Maker.”
Best Wishes
Arun
Hi Arun,
Your Kappi blog sure caught my attention. I really missed it for 2 decades, since I didn’t know how to make it, (now i do, courtesy people like you on the internet), & more so, I don’t know where to buy the coffee maker. I have the other types (in fact of all types), but nothing even comes close.
So, where can I buy this in NJ, in the USA? You live in Boston, I believe?
Good luck with your running. & Great going.
Hi Poonam:
Thank you and sad to hear you have missed this for 2 decades!
You can buy these coffee makers in indian grocery stores, particularly the bigger ones in NJ. I did bring mine from Mumbai
btw, I found the indian Bru coffee depicted in the pic is one of the best for Kaapi.
Enjoy maadi!
Arun
Have anybody tasted the “Karuppati Kopi ” – ie with Palm Jaggery
Famous in Madurai , Thirunelveli ,Tuticorin side.
Also “Sukku Kopi “
We stayed in Madurai for several days and have tried the kaapi in the local shops – not sure what it was called. In the konkan, it is routine to have kaapi with jaggery – certainly an acquired taste, which I liked.
Doe the regular sugar cane jaggery taste much different that the palm jaggery. I don’t think I have tasted that.
Must check that out on our next visit.
Many thanks for the pointers.
Arun
This concept of coffee brewing is opposite of Western style espresso/coffees. I read that coffee is less bitter and better tasting if it is brewed quickly. Espresso makers use pressure to brew the coffee quickly and I know coffee shops dump the shot if it takes more than a few moments to brew. I also saw a machine called an aeropress that brags about the taste and benefits of brewing coffee in less than 30 seconds. Is this Kappi good/better than western/European style coffee? Is it completely different tasting?
Hi Jeff:
Sorry for the delay in replying to your query.
I am no expert, particularly when it comes to the expressos.
If you think back to the traditional expressos, they are similar to the Indian coffee canisters I have above. In the italian versions, the water boils in the lower container and bubbles ‘slowly’ through the grounds to the upper container. So it does take a long time. i really have no idea where this concept came from and if it is really true.
I think the level of roasting the beans probably makes a big difference in the bitterness (acidity) of the coffee. I find the dark roasts less acidic and more similar to the indian coffee.
And an important distinction. All indian coffee has admixed chicory, upto 20% and that gives it the ‘thickness’ and the rounded taste. Chicory prolly also buffers the acidity of the coffee. A few coffee brands in the US also offer admixed chicory – Luzianne and Cafe Du Monde from New Orleans. Again both are less acidic.
Sorry could not address your specific query.
Best Wishes
Arun