[Swissdiver]

@Hippocampus: fully agree. But remember that BA is also sticking to old ovens instead of moving to steam ones… So I am afraid we’ll have to wait for the decent coffee aboard BA…

[FlyingChinaman]

Swissdiver: According to VK, BA has started the re-investment plan the good coffee might come sooner than you think!!!

[David]

VK – yes, this was 2 weeks ago on a long-haul (Middle East) trip. This was in CW, so can’t comment on what was being served in the (very) pointy end of the plane!

[Scandinavian]

Home@FL350 – forgot about Austrian’s coffee menu! Love the choice and its delivery. It’s definitely my favourite too! An excellent touch by OS!

[esselle]

Serving good coffee on the ground is not that striaghtforward; water purity and temerpature, freshness of coffee beans/grounds, and, for espresso based coffees, brewing time and water pressure, all pay a critical part in delivering excellence.
Getting that lot even nearly right onboard is virtually impossible. And that is before the “how can we save money” bit comes into it.

[Recordman]

Pretty sure QF in F use a Nespresso machine with the usual excellent results.

[Stowage222]

No news on getting better coffee on BA CW. They serve the same coffee as WT(+). A bag is submerged in hot water in the pot and if the cabin is busy this could result in a weak affair. Also I understand the bags had to be reinforced as they kept splitting when the crew squeezed them before removing from the pot. Yuk!

NEVER drink the ‘bulk’ tea on BA (again same as WT(+)) as it is absolutely disgusting. This tea comes in large white bags and is brewed the same way as the coffee. The contents of the bag are dust, floor sweepings, stem and any black tea would require a microscope to see. Always ask for the Typhoo black tea option or the speciality teas carried on board.

Agree serving hot beverages in cold cups really makes the product unpallatable. The crew will warm your cup up if requested. The better ones will have done this already. Makes a heap of difference.

Last time on LH I liked the fact their teas and coffees were served from Thermos flasks (economy).

[cityprofessional]

Quite a few airlines now have Nespresso machines in F, and they’re always reliably good – it’s a matter of whether they use them, rather than just give you something from the big vat they serve out in economy and business. I remember one trip when I fancied a midnight coffee, and the flight attendant asked if I would wait a minute so she could prepare me a “nicer” coffee – I think I was in C on LH, and she must have got me a Nespresso from F

However, I concur with previous posters – I’ve never had a bad coffee on Austrian, even on short haul flights

[Senator]

Hi,

For regular coffee, I enjoy the standard SAS offering. I agree with posters regarding Austrian, both short- and long-haul.

RichH1 and I did have a discussion on a different thread about AA, and how this must be the armpit of airline coffee. Dreadful, coloured water..

[VintageKrug]

I think that’s probably just US coffee. It’s how they like it…!

[Swissdiver]

I am not sure, Senator, that Northern Europe (and SAS for that matter) spells for coffee, at least in my terms (i.e. espresso)…

[RichHI1]

VK this post is tiresome xenophobia and does not add value… If all US coffee is so bad how do you account for Starbucks rise around the planet? Or the coffee bean and tea leaf chain?
We grow coffee in Hawaii and Kona coffee is some of the finest in the world.
Whilst US Filter Mr Coffee coloured water is pretty unpleasant, British Nescafe is by far the fouler beverage and seems to be the beverage of choice for many.
AA coffee is bad because they do not want to spend any money on it. I sat next to head honcho in Flagship catering on a DFW -LHR flight and he told me they trialled nespresso machines but the accountants would not agree to the costs introduced by the extra waste disposal as well as the price of the coffee. (Best use for AA coffee is when they use the new bags as an air freshner in toilets) I presume cost is the driver for the gravy browning they serve on BA CE (though I would not complain about BA long haul when properly made)
Kopi Luwak is admired by many as the supreme gourmet experience but most airline coffee has been passed by a different animal I think.

[esselle]

RichHI1

Good to get confirmation about cost over quality. Nespresso makes a good quality coffee, and in addition that quality is consistent. However, it could only ever be used in F as demand in C or J would outstrip capacity.

As for BA, they cannot even deliver decent coffee quality in the Lounge, let alone in the air.

[VintageKrug]

Um. BA uses Nespresso in F.

And the T5 coffee machines are among the most advanced on the market.

[esselle]

VK

The machines may be of good quality, but in itself that does not guarantee what the end product is like. I find the coffee in BA lounges to be weak, thin and lacking in any real body, although I do agree that the machines look well designed.

[Author]

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