Allan Biong

The Mystery Behind Bad Airplane Coffee Allan Biong There's no need to look afar for reasons why the coffee served on your Thanksgiving flight tasted awful. One might think it's with the beans but it's not. The predicament with airplane coffee roots from something else. Fliers have been cheated by airlines with mediocre coffee beans back in the day but with their taste-buds now craving for something more pleasing, the competition has gotten a lot tighter for these airlines. The coffee brands they offer with their inflight refreshments are now the selling point of their TV commercials. It's a heed to their patrons' coffee gripe. Airlines have now stepped up their coffee game. To name a few, Pacific Northwest, Delta Airlines and Alaska serve Starbucks. On the other hand, American Airlines went with Java City, a Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee. --their Hawaiian Kona Blend is something to look forward to. Flying Virgin Atlantic? A cup of Fair Trade Coffee sounds like a treat. As an honorable mention, JetBlue is offering Dunkin' Donuts. Catch is - no free donut. But the situation hasn't changed and people are still nagging about the bad coffee zing. Why? What's still wrong? It's the water. A 2012 article from the Environmental Protection Agency discovered that 12% of the water from these US commercial airlines tested positive for coliform. Should that have any impact at all with the water's taste or that of the coffee's? Not really, but having such contaminants simply means the water is just unsanitary. It turns out that one out of ten of these airlines is giving out water that is not only potentially harmful but also tastes either acidic or metallic, and that can spoil your brew's flavor. Then what's the fix? Lugging your own coffee sounds practical. But bringing your own home-brewed coffee in a thermos is now a thing of the past considering liquids are now prohibited before check-in. Not to mention the FAA having banned brewing devices since 2014 so brewing your own blend is now out of the question. That now leaves fliers with three choices. ● Get your caffeine fix at the departure area before boarding the plane. Assuming that a good coffee shop is within the vicinity, similar to the one situated in Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, passengers can revel on Arizona’s own Cartel Coffee Lab right before their trip. ● Simply drink your cup of coffee before leaving home for your flight. However, that won't cut it if you have keep awake and you'll be airborne longer than expected. ● Lastly, just blend your own cold brew on board. All you need is your own ground coffee, bottled water you can buy at the departure area, your handy Hario cold brew water bottle, and you're all set. Just in case if you're palate for caffeine is very sensitive, you can do away with any of these and even tie up with people with ‘No Airplane Coffee Policy’. By any means, you're better off if you can hold out of your coffee cravings up until you get off at the next airport.