Airplane coffee has a pretty bad reputation, and it's deserved. That first sip is usually bitter, weak and nowhere near as tasty as what you'd make in your own kitchen. A different airline, a different plane, a different day - it doesn't seem to matter much. The coffee still ends up tasting pretty disappointing every time you give it another shot.
Most passengers think that the beans are cheap or that the crew just doesn't know how to brew it right. The problem runs much deeper than that. The altitude messes with your taste buds, the water quality on most planes is questionable at best, and the brewing machines just aren't designed to make decent coffee. All three of these factors work against even the highest quality beans. Quality coffee still ends up tasting like a $4 mistake by the time it makes it to your tray table.
Anyone who orders coffee on a plane knows the experience all too well - it tastes pretty terrible. Airlines serve millions of cups of coffee each year, and most of them are just plain bad. Some passengers have given up on it completely, and others continue to drink it and can't help but ask themselves why airlines haven't figured this out yet. The science behind airplane coffee explains why it tastes so bad - and even better, it shows us what needs to change to actually fix it!
Here are some of the interesting reasons why your in-flight coffee never tastes quite right!
How Altitude Changes Your Taste Buds
Your taste buds work differently when you fly at a cruising altitude. The cabin pressure up there sits at roughly the same level you'd find somewhere around 6,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level. This changes how you experience food and drinks in a pretty dramatic way.
When a plane reaches its cruising altitude, you're going to lose a large part of your ability to taste sweet and salty foods. On average, your perception of these two flavors decreases by around 30% compared to what you'd experience on the ground. The reason for this has to do with your taste receptors and how they work at high altitude. Lower air pressure (like what you'd find at 30,000 feet) messes with the receptors on your tongue, and they just can't pick up on sweet and salty flavors as well anymore. Your taste buds and your smell receptors take a hit from the pressure change, and since these two systems work together to create what we actually perceive as "taste," the whole experience gets dulled down quite a bit.
The air inside a plane cabin is very dry. On most flights, humidity levels drop below 20% and make it drier than most deserts. That low humidity dries out your nasal passages pretty fast, and this matters for how the food tastes.
Flavor is mostly about the smell - around 80% of what you experience as taste actually comes from your sense of smell. When your nasal passages dry out, it gets much harder for you to smell your coffee the way you should. Even an exceptional cup of coffee is going to taste flat and boring without that smell component working for you.
Why Airplane Water Is So Terrible
Altitude is only one part of why your coffee tastes terrible on a plane. The water they use on board brings in a whole different set of problems that can ruin your cup just as fast.
Airlines have a big problem with water quality on their planes, and most passengers have no idea that it's even happening. The EPA ran tests across the industry and found that roughly 1 in 8 planes had water that didn't meet basic safety standards. With all of the flights that take off each day, that's a really large number of aircraft with questionable water quality.
Most of this depends on the way that planes actually store their water on board. Commercial planes have large tanks that get filled up before departure, and these tanks supply all of the water you'll find on the aircraft. The tanks themselves sit in different compartments throughout the plane, and they can hold hundreds of gallons at a time based on the size of the aircraft.
Water tanks on planes don't get cleaned as much as they should between flights, and that's where most of the contamination problems start. Airlines run on extremely tight turnaround schedules, so every minute counts when a plane is on the ground. A tank cleaning needs a dedicated crew, the right equipment and a decent chunk of time. Most tanks get a deep clean once every few months at best, instead of after every flight like they should.
The water that fills these tanks can change quite a bit, and it all depends on where the plane happens to refill. Every time an aircraft loads up on water, it's pulling from whatever supply the particular airport has available. Water treatment standards aren't the same everywhere in the world, and the source water quality can vary from one location to another. A plane that refills its tanks in New York is pulling in water that could have been very different from what gets pumped in at airports in Phoenix or Miami.
Water can pick up contaminants from the storage tanks themselves, and this happens even when your original water source is clean and meets every safety standard. Biofilm has a tendency to build up along the tank walls over time. Old mineral deposits get left behind, too, and they pile up in all of the corners and crevices inside the tank. Add it all together, and your water quality will steadily get worse in between those infrequent deep cleans.
Why Airplane Coffee Tastes So Bad
The water itself is where plenty of the problems start at altitude. Airlines are stuck with lower air pressure in the cabin, and this causes the water to boil at a much lower temperature than it would back on the ground. What this actually means for your cup of coffee is that the water never gets hot enough to extract the rich flavors locked inside the beans.
Water temperature matters a lot for how your coffee tastes, and most home brewers shoot for around 200 degrees Fahrenheit. At this temperature, water does a great job of extracting the oils and flavor compounds from your coffee grounds (and that's what gives you that full, rich taste you're after). On an airplane, though, the water boils at a much lower temperature - sometimes as low as 190 degrees or less. A 10-degree difference might not sound like much. But it has a massive effect on what ends up in your cup. Lower temperatures can't extract enough flavor from the grounds, and it doesn't matter how long you let it sit.
The coffee itself is another layer to this problem. Most airlines stock pre-ground coffee because it's much easier to store and to brew when you're working in a cramped galley. Fresh coffee loses plenty of its flavor very fast once it's been ground (we're talking in just a few minutes - not hours). Beans that were ground early in the morning will taste noticeably worse by mid-afternoon.
The pressurized cabin environment makes this whole situation worse. Cabin pressure speeds up how fast ground coffee goes stale after sitting around. Airlines store their coffee grounds in sealed containers for hours (or sometimes even days) before they brew anything with them. By the time any hot water actually hits those grounds, most of the flavor and smell have already faded away.
Even if an airline started out with great beans and great intentions, these factors are going to hurt the final result. Lower brewing temperatures paired with stale grounds mean the coffee can't extract in the way that it needs to. What you get is a cup that tastes weak and flat, when what you're actually hoping for is something strong and satisfying.
Pack Your Own Coffee for Flights
Air travel doesn't automatically mean you're stuck suffering through whatever terrible coffee the airline is serving that day. With just a couple of basic items in your carry-on bag, you can really improve your coffee experience at 30,000 feet.
Quality instant coffee packets are going to be your best bet if you want something that actually tastes decent. Starbucks VIA and Folgers Singles are solid options that dissolve fast, and they taste miles better than the coffee that's been in that airplane pot all day. Just ask your flight attendant for a cup of hot water and stir your packet into it - it's as easy as that. Flight attendants already have hot water ready for tea service, so a cup for your instant coffee is never hard to get.
A portable coffee press or travel brewer will get you a whole lot closer to what a real brewed cup should taste like, and these are usually worth the extra space they take up in your bag. They work really well on longer flights where you have enough room to actually set them up and use them right. Just pack your ground coffee in a sealed container before your flight, then ask the crew for some hot water whenever you want to brew a fresh cup.
Once you control what goes into your cup, it can matter quite a bit. With your own coffee, you're not stuck with stale grounds or water that's been running through the plane's system for hours on end. You also don't have to settle for whatever weak brew that they made before takeoff - you can make it just as strong as you want it.
This whole way works because you're finally in control of the factors that actually matter. Your coffee stays fresh and intact rather than pre-ground and already oxidized. You choose how much goes into your cup. And yes, you're still relying on whatever hot water the airline gives you. But everything else that's in that cup will be leagues better compared to whatever's been in their pot since the last service.
Airlines That Actually Make Good Coffee
Airlines have started to pay a lot more attention to the quality of their in-flight coffee. Passengers get that same familiar taste they know from their local Starbucks shop. Delta partnered with Starbucks to serve its coffee on all flights. It's the same and predictable every time. American Airlines took a different strategy and decided to work with local roasters from different regions around the country. Each roaster brings their own style and flavor profile, and it can make for a more interesting experience if you fly frequently.
The brewing equipment matters as much as the beans you're working with. The airlines equip their first-class cabins with much better machines - the kind that can heat water to the right temperature and extract the flavor compounds like they should. Economy sections get outfitted with more basic equipment that just can't do the job as well.
A few airlines put a lot more effort into their coffee programs than others. Singapore Airlines and Emirates are known for exceptional food service, and they apply that same level of attention to their coffee programs as well. These two carriers invest heavily in premium beans and actually train their flight crews on the right brewing and serving techniques.
Flying with either of these carriers will get you coffee that's quite decent right from the first cup and tastes close to what you'd get at a decent coffee shop on the ground. Even budget airlines have figured out by now that passengers actually care about their coffee and want something drinkable.
Coffee quality can matter quite a bit during your flight, so it's worth taking some time to research before booking. Find out what each airline serves on your particular flight and read through some passenger reviews to get a better sense of the actual experience. Once you're on board, flight attendants can be a really helpful resource as well - most of them know about the different coffee options available and which blend tastes better, or if the coffee in first class is actually any different from what they serve in economy.
Keep It All Natural
Lower air pressure, questionable water quality and limited brewing equipment all make it hard to brew a decent cup of coffee at 30,000 feet - even if the airline starts with great beans. Your taste buds are also only working at about 70% of their normal strength because the cabin air is so dry, and the altitude changes the way you taste flavors - it's a big part of why airplane coffee has an awful reputation. So it makes perfect sense why that cup they hand you mid-flight tastes nothing like what you'd get at a coffee shop on the ground.
You can make much better decisions about your coffee situation the next time you fly. Pack some instant coffee that you actually like, check out which airlines have better brewing systems before you book or just order tea or water instead. You don't have to settle for awful airline coffee anymore.
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