While most people in North America know about Indian chai, many have not yet heard about the popular kaapi drinking culture in South India. Madras Kaapi from Toronto is looking to change that.
Kaapi is the name for South Indian filter coffee made by mixing frothed and boiled milk and infusing ground coffee powder in a traditional Indian filter. Both Shilpa Kotamarthi and Aditya Srivathsan, who both grew up in South Indian homes, felt they needed to introduce the rich heritage and bold flavours of South Indian coffee to Toronto.
Madras Kaapi will be popping up at the Kensington Flea Market on May 29 and June 20. They will be serving their popular filter kaapi -- both hot and iced. Making kaapi is a fun process to share with everyone, and they will be demonstrating it with their long pours. Madras Kaapi sources high-grade arabica beans from a farm in Tamil Nadu in India and roasts the coffee by local roasters in Toronto and Montreal.
This team of two hopes to bring awareness to their favourite beverage while also educating their clientele about the diversity of drinks in South India. Kotamarthi, an engineer and an ex-Wall Street analyst, quit her day job to start Madras Kaapi. Currently, her day is spent building Madras Kaapi and managing projects in marketing and technology. While Srivathsan has a full-time career in fintech, he supports Kotamarthi in being the partner and advisor to build their passion project, Madras Kaapi.
Currently, they have two types of coffee on their site. The first is, kaapi with chicory blend, which has spicy, plush and bold notes with a chicory kick. Then they have their original medium roast kaapi. You can also purchase handmade heirloom brass filter sets from India to prepare your filter coffee in the authentic South Indian style. Also, in collaboration with an expert Toronto chocolatier, Cocoa 40, they offer caramel macchiato espresso beans. The beans are Madras Kaapi's espresso beans dipped in 32 per cent Dulcey Caramelized White Chocolate with caramel undertones that enhance the caramel flavour notes of the Madras Kaapi espresso beans.
Currently, Madras Kaapi has been scouting places in Toronto to eventually open up a cafe to further serve and share kaapi with the people of Toronto. For now, you can learn more about this traditional way to prepare South Indian coffee at the Kensington Flea Market on May 29 and June 20.
