Recently, I was stuck in an airport with, what seemed, an endless delay. I had just had lunch and I was desiring the taste of my routine RossOro coffee after lunch. Traveling this time of year can be painstaking, you might even nickname it the “Season of Flight Delays”. So why not use my time sitting to write about the wonders of airline coffee. I’m sure we have all had that questionable coffee served on flights, but why is airline coffee so bad? Well, firstly, airline employees are not trained baristas, so many a time, there knowledge is limited to – brewing a coffee requires only ground coffee and hot water. This is where the lousy coffee experience begins. The water used on planes is, more often than not, tap water stored in the plane. As I have previously shared, the water quality is very important for a great tasting coffee. With this in mind, though the coffee brand used may be a reputable one, the end result does not reflect this due to the water quality. Another issue is the duration in the pot. Occasionally, airline staff may choose to brew the coffee prior to the flight or at an early stage during the flight in anticipation of orders. This means that the coffee may stand in the pot for quite some time, and to avoid it getting cold, airline employees may leave the pots on the burners; thus extensively heating and inevitably burning the coffee. Altitude is another element to consider since it alters our perception of taste, especially sweetness and saltiness. Finally, keeping the coffee at the right temperature on a flight is very difficult due to an air conditioned and pressurised environment. The next time you’re about to order your umpteenth yukky coffee on a flight, keep these points in mind and try to get home as quickly as possible to savour your favourite RossOro blend and get over that flight coffee experience quickly!! |
