An Emirates passenger sitting in economy decided to pull out “all the gear” he needed to make “artisanal pour-over coffee” inflight. He made it for his companions, and even passed some around to those sitting nearby watching. Legend. He solved one of the great limitations of modern air travel.
As a woman who filmed this described,
how good’s his setup though? he was mile-high cooking! grinding the beans, delicately pouring the water. so cute when he was done, his friends seated all across the plane dropped in for a cuppa. even the cabin crew came flocking asking questions about the process!
Never in my life did I expect to see a setup like this 30,000 ft in the air. and the smell, wow, made the cabin smell like a coffee shop!
Airline coffee is almost universally bad, and there are three reasons why: the beans, the (tank) water, and cabin pressure.
Frankly in the air the best thing you can do with the grounds is use them to mask smells in the lavatory.
When United Airlines dropped Starbucks after the Continental merger in favor of Fresh Poo, Delta picked up Starbucks. Then when Oscar Munoz replaced CEO Jeff Smisek in a corruption scandal one of the first attempts at a rapprochement with customers was to introduce stroopwafels and Illy coffee. United is probably using the best beans of any U.S. carrier now, but it still suffers from the water they use and that they’re making it at altitude.
Meanwhile the idea that Starbucks somehow signals quality is strange. And the brand alone doesn’t matter most, when United served Starbucks it was a special light brew because too many passengers were overwhelmed by deeper flavors. They worked to serve the lowest common denominator taste.
Nonetheless I’ve certainly had some good coffee on board. ANA in particular, perhaps a dozen years ago, served an amazing variety of quality choices. I used to eschew alcohol, too excited to try the different coffees, despite wanting to get plenty of sleep on board.
I love Etihad’s coffee service – and not just for the silver trays and baklava – but because they’ve usually been willing to customize the strength of what they serve. To be sure it’s really just adjusting how strong the espresso they use is, and there’s a difference between coffee and espresso, but I get the deep rich flavor as well as caffeine I need after a long Etihad flight.
Investing in better coffee, though, actually makes good business sense for an airline.
- A major legacy airline likely spends $5 – $10 million a year on coffee.
- Improving it might double the price.
The value created for an airline far outstrips that price.
- Improved operational efficiency and reduced delays, by eliminating pilots stopping at Starbucks in the terminal on the way to the aircraft. They get better on-time performance.
- Improved employee morale, which in turn affects customer service. Better coffee is a product flight attendants can be proud of and reduces complaints they receive from customers.
- This is especially important on high yield business routes, the ‘first flight Monday morning’ consultant specials. Managed business travel is finally sort of returning, though it certainly still lags pre-pandemic levels because consultants don’t need t be in client offices all week when the clients aren’t.
An airline that created a true coffee cart inflight would win my business. In the meantime, the passenger who did it themselves? A true modern travel hero.
Gary, don’t forget the wonderful coffee service after inflight meals on Austrian Air.
So what happens when the plane hits severe turbulence? Burns from a hot coffee pot and law suits. Who is liable, the person brewing the coffee, the airline, the flight attendants who did not object? Imagine the jammed courtrooms.
As someone who very much enjoys doing my own version of this, on the ground, but I want to know is how he heated his water?
I was dumbfounded last month flying British Airways during the coffee service when after I requested some, the attendant said “that will be 3 pounds.” I was too sheepish to change my mind, so I handed over the plastic. And the terrible quality of the coffee added insult to injury. (FWIW, I can’t remember if this was on my ATL-LHR flight or the connecting service on to FCO, but either way I was shocked!).
@Will M
I just bought a collapsible silicone teakettle for travel (I’m a tea drinker and the water always tastes like coffee).
It comes in a travel pouch and it heats up pretty fast – it’s not very big so it doesn’t take long. But my husband who also does pour-over immediately bought a travel pour-over funnel so he could also make his coffee in the hotel room.
I prefer a dark roast, which is rarely served, other than at a good coffee store. So I skip coffee on airplanes.
Definately seeing a passenger making his own home-brewed coffee on a flight would of been really cool to see
The possible consequences do not outweigh the benefits.
Check out Pakistan International Airlines B-707-300 (PIA 740 Crash in Desert). When I was working as an expat pilot in Saudi Arabia this is believed to be the earlier version of a Hajj passenger making their own tea.
“The cause of the accident was an in-flight fire in the cabin area, which, through its intensity and rapid extension, eventually incapacitated the flight crew. The cause of the cabin fire was not determined. The most likely version is that there was a gas leak or kerosene from one of the pilgrims’ stoves. The fuel leakage may have been a result of the decrease in cabin pressure. A malfunction in the electrical circuits was also considered as an ignition source, but could not be confirmed because of the design of the aircraft’s electrical systems and protection devices.”
Smoking was allowed on aircraft thus the fuel and ignition sources were there. Please don’t think that brewing hot coffee on your flight utilizing your homebrew equipment is a Sterling idea . . . should you be thinking you’d die for a good cup of coffee. You just might.
My favorite was on a train, not a plane. Caltrain commuter rail allows drinking on board and had outlets at some seats. One Cinco De Mayo there was a group with a blender making some frozen margaritas. They made a lot of new friends that day!
Almost rather drink my own pee than Starbucks.
Bleh
I did this several times in the 2010s as a college aged coffee nerd, including once between Athens and Constantinople. I even brought a hand grinder on board to have the coffee freshly ground. I got some odd looks but it was fun.
Also Alaska has the best coffee, they serve Stumptown roasters (not sure if this is on all flights though)
The world would be so much better if coffee and tobacco didn’t exist.
@Chris
Austrian way underrated. Just flew on training flight from VIE-FRA. 1 hr, 15 min. On their first 787. Coffee is astounding. For white wine in biz, they had a choice of six Austrian. All on top of a full hot meal.
Try them