Germans love their beer; Irish, their Guinness. Spain is obsessed with gin tonic and Russians take their vodka seriously. None of these national love affair with drinks can compete against Indians obsession with milk. While this love for milk pervades the entire country, it is particularly strong in the south, peaks in the state of Tamil Nadu and is off the charts with TamBrahms (Tamil Brahmins). So much so that when the state and its capital, Chennai was reeling under the wrath of the heaviest rains in a century, milk topped the list of essential commodity the hapless Tamils wanted. Even good drinking water took a second place to milk.
To understand this intriguing phenomenon, one must look deep into how milk controls everyday life on an average Tamil. Each morning, well before dawn, fresh, refrigerated milk will make its way from Aavin (Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers Federation) warehouses to the innumerable distribution centers around the city. From there, individual vendors distribute the milk packets to homes. When people wake up at the crack of dawn and open the house door, their supply of milk will await them in the bag they had hung on the door knob the previous night.
Typically, the milk packet makes its way to the kitchen, receives a quick wash before an edge is snipped and the milk poured into a container for boiling. A packet or two is stashed away in the refrigerator for use later in the day. When the milk is getting boiled, something equally important happens in parallel. That mornings requirement of decoction is brewed afresh from the perfect degree blend of coffee the family has settled on... somewhere between 55% coffee and 45% chicory to 70% coffee and 30% chicory.
This decoction is nothing like the brewing coffee in the west. No sir! The dark black elixir is lovingly brewed with the perfect coffee grind and hot water in a coffee filter first thing in the morning and as many times as needed during the day. And that days first kaapi is readied mixing the boiled milk with the right amount of decoction to suit everyone's caffeine needs. Think 90% or more of milk and about 10% of decoction. The health conscious avoid sugar these days, but this milk-decoction combination, served in a stainless steel tumbler-dabara is something every Tamil enjoys vicariously. Staking claim for the best of the best is Kumbakonam Degree Kaapi, a trademark in its own right.
Should a visitor show up unannounced, they are offered kaapi even before they are offered a place to sit. As they nod yes to the offer, a packet of milk from the fridge goes to the kitchen and in no time, the visitor has a steaming cup of kaapi served traditionally in a tumbler-dabara!
Some families go the extra mile to procure their milk right from the source. By source, I mean a cow or a buffalo. Freshly milked milk from a cow's udder is distributed to those discerning few who are fortunate enough to get it, especially in a city. In rural places, it is easier to find the non-homogenized, un-pasteurized fresh milk than the refrigerated, homogenized, pasteurized ones from Aavin or another local milk aggregator.
No matter which milk is used, the kaapi ritual stays the same and is repeated as often as needed during the day to get everyone in the family their caffeine fix. This is a ritual that also cuts across economic and social boundaries that may otherwise divide the society.
In a typical TamBrahm family, the story has yet another twist. Boiled milk is cooled slightly and used for making fresh curd. Perhaps not as intense as kaapi, but these folks are proud of their homemade fresh curd without which any meal is considered incomplete.
Should a day start with the milk packets missing in the bag, frantic calls are made to the vendor while alternate arrangements are made to procure milk from a nearby store. Out of coffee powder? No worries! A quick walk to the neighbor with a request for some coffee powder just to tide over the morning and an unsaid IOU typically takes care of the emergency.
While it is kaapi that Tamils drink, remember, it is made with 90% milk. Every home has its stock of degree blend coffee powder, but milk... To enjoy the caffeine rich sweet elixir, fresh milk is needed every day. So that the aforementioned rituals can go on without interruption.
Beer, vodka and guinness may qualify as a national drink in their respective countries. None of them have the same involvement that each and every home has in brewing their favorite drink in Tamil Nadu.
And it is made possible by milk... it does a kaapi good!
 |
| Milk packets |
 |
| Tumbler-Dabara & filter |
Should a visitor show up unannounced, they are offered kaapi even before they are offered a place to sit. As they nod yes to the offer, a packet of milk from the fridge goes to the kitchen and in no time, the visitor has a steaming cup of kaapi served traditionally in a tumbler-dabara!
Some families go the extra mile to procure their milk right from the source. By source, I mean a cow or a buffalo. Freshly milked milk from a cow's udder is distributed to those discerning few who are fortunate enough to get it, especially in a city. In rural places, it is easier to find the non-homogenized, un-pasteurized fresh milk than the refrigerated, homogenized, pasteurized ones from Aavin or another local milk aggregator.
No matter which milk is used, the kaapi ritual stays the same and is repeated as often as needed during the day to get everyone in the family their caffeine fix. This is a ritual that also cuts across economic and social boundaries that may otherwise divide the society.
In a typical TamBrahm family, the story has yet another twist. Boiled milk is cooled slightly and used for making fresh curd. Perhaps not as intense as kaapi, but these folks are proud of their homemade fresh curd without which any meal is considered incomplete.
While it is kaapi that Tamils drink, remember, it is made with 90% milk. Every home has its stock of degree blend coffee powder, but milk... To enjoy the caffeine rich sweet elixir, fresh milk is needed every day. So that the aforementioned rituals can go on without interruption.
Beer, vodka and guinness may qualify as a national drink in their respective countries. None of them have the same involvement that each and every home has in brewing their favorite drink in Tamil Nadu.
And it is made possible by milk... it does a kaapi good!
