D E G R E E Coffee

Coffee – an obsession or an acquired taste or just an individual liking. Whatever it is, it has become an inseparable aspect of my wife. Someone said and I do not recollect who it is that behind every successful woman there is a substantial amount of coffee. Very true, because I know my wife very well! 

Her day starts with switching on her coffee percolator! If her day does not start with a good cup of coffee her entire day is ruined! According to her coffee is a beverage that puts one to sleep when not drunk!

 She may not know that she
shares this habit with George W Bush, whom she considers the stupidest president America has ever had! I remember seeing an interview of Laura Bush wherein she said that the first thing Bush does in the morning is to bring two cups of coffee, one for him and the other for Laura. (In my own interest she had better not know this!)

So, how did she develop this dependence (she will not like me using this word!) on coffee? She comes from a place in south of Tamil Nadu which is considered to be the citadel of ‘Degree coffee”, Kumbakonam.

Now what is this degree coffee? This is a term often heard for high quality 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. This is one theory.

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 flavor and the necessary strength to mix with milk without watering down the taste. (Ref: Wikipedia)

So there are different explanations why degree coffee is being called so. Whatever the explanation is degree coffee denotes very high quality coffee.

Can it be made by every one? The answer is NO. You need a particular type of coffee filter, a dabara and a tumbler to make degree coffee in addition to the high quality milk.

The decoction for degree coffee is brewed with a metal device (Filter) that resembles two cylindrical cups one over the other. The upper one has a pierced bottom that nests into the top of the lower one, leaving ample room underneath to receive the brewed coffee. The upper cup has two removable parts: a pierced pressing disc with a central stem handle, and a covering lid.

The upper cup is loaded with freshly ground coffee powder. The powder is gently compressed with the stemmed disc into a uniform layer across the cup's pierced bottom. With the press disc left in place, the upper cup is nestled into the top of the lower cup and boiling water is poured inside. It is covered with the lid on top and the device is left to slowly drip the brewed coffee into the bottom. It is generally a stronger brew compared to western "drip style" coffee.

The resulting brew is very potent, and is traditionally consumed by adding to a cup of boiling milk with the preferred amount of sugar. The coffee is drunk from the tumbler (although a word of English origin, it seems to be the most commonly used name for this vessel), but is often cooled first with a dabarah - "daBbarah" (also pronounced in some regions as 'davarah'): a wide metal cup with lipped walls.

Coffee is typically served after pouring back and forth between the dabarah and the tumbler in huge arc-like motions of the hand. This serves several purposes: mixing the ingredients (including sugar) thoroughly; cooling the hot coffee down to a sipping temperature; and most importantly, aerating the mix without introducing extra water (such as with a steam wand used for frothing cappuccinos).

Coffee is something my wife cannot do without. It has also become a cultural icon in Tamil Brahmin culture. Every day in the morning the aroma of freshly brewed coffee will herald the beginning of a new day!

Post script: All my friends love the coffee which my wife makes. Her nephew, who travels to many countries, believes that his aunt’s coffee is the best. Unfortunately I cannot comment anything on her coffee because I drink only Bournvita!!!!!!!!!!!!!