Tonyt,

At the risk of having this thread closed, because it mentions Swissair, some years back, when I was there, they had pots marked Coffee and pots marked Tea. Probably OTT and a huge waste of recources but it did improve the beverage!

My thanks to all for the grisly details <img src="frown.gif" border="0">

I shall stick to the brandy, for breakfast in particular.

As a long term consumer of BA tea ( yes I know it explains a lot!) I have come to the conclusion that the CC who brews the tea answers for the quality. The worst cuppa I ever had was on a BAR 737 from MAN. The CSD who made it admitted that she had never drunk tea in her life and hadn't a clue! Last nights offering out of ANU on a 777 was absolutley fantastic - just like I would have made at home. Interestingly the crew were JMC....

SAS developed excellent, lightweight and ergonomically sound coffee pots a few years back which hold a bit over a litre.

If memory serves right, our mob then asked them if we could copy the desing, and got permission. We have (earl <img src="wink.gif" border="0"> ) grey pots for tea, and blue pots for coffee.. .Never a problem to keep them apart, so the tea doesn't get that totally http://www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/smilie/pukeface.gif coffee taste.

gas path, while you are correct in that the sinks,if not abused by ourselves, do drain, it is on many aircraft a problem of design & blockage. Often the drains are difficult to reach properly with the spout of the pot, the drainage area too shallow, or as you say, blocked by us stupidly pouring OJ down it.

Another bit of info: the water boilers/hot cups bo. .th the covered and the open type, are the greatest cause of burn injuries among FA's. Unplugging a jug of boiling water from a sticky socket causes the water to slop over your hand whichever way you do it.. .Next bit is pouring the boling water from the no-spout kettle into the top of a tea pot. Slightest bit of movement from the aircraft and once again you've managed to pour scalding water over your own hand. <img src="frown.gif" border="0">

tonyt, not trying to teach granny to suck eggs here, but we let the tea "mast" while we serve the first round of coffee on long haul. On short hops we make the tea before take-off to give it a chance to get some taste, hence my silly tea cosy to keep it hot. Just an idea.

Amazing, 22 posts about Tea & Coffee! :)

Abraham Lincoln said, "If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; if this is tea, please bring me some coffee."

Huh, all this time I thought they didn't have airplanes back then! :)

I used to buy the Rombout individual filters - about GBP 2 for 10 - hey presto, fresh ground coffee by the cup (for me - then pax wondered why there was a smell of fresh coffee from the galley!)

Why BA cant load plastic 'cafÉtieres'(as used in m-way service areas) with a pack of ground coffee for F/J , lord knows - you may even find some of the great WT unwashed willing to pay for a decent pot of coffee - come on EZY - be the first !!

KLM/LH/Austrian all use the pillow packs of fresh coffee all through the a-c - some uk charter airlines use instant tea which I am told is not too bad by tea drinkers - as someone has already commented, stick to Brandy for breakfast!!

Funny you should mention that, ITSINTHELIFT. At the risk of outrageous plugging, Buzz sell those little pots of filter coffee (2 cups worth) for about £1.50 a throw.

Not much of a coffee fan myself, but Mrs. SXTY tells me they're very nice.

Agree with J-Class on the BA champagne: bring back Charles Heidsieck!!!

Although I do not drink coffee, I have noticed that EZY serve very stong smelling stuff. I do not know what it is but when my neighbour is handed a cup of it, they seem very pleased! The smell is so strong, that I have to cover my nose!

In this case, EZY seem to win for both Tea and Coffee. Unless, of course, we have Madam Flaps on board! <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

We Froggies in J have individual tea bags of 6 different kinds (Earl Grey, Yunnan Imperial, Darjeling, Lapsang Suchong, Mint, forgot the sixth) that the pax can chose from. We use thermic pots with instant coffee or espresso (american or italian style) from the espresso machine (on demand, we don't carry the machine in the cabin :) ) . Pots are the same for tea and coffee but they are only used for one kind throughout the flight (we have brown stickers for tea and black for coffee). . .In Y we use the individual teapot bag which is not that bad and instant coffee.. .The Champagne is Laurent Perrier in J and Krug in C at the moment, but they rotate as well as the wines. We serve free 1/4 Lanson Champ as aperitif in Y. Last night I had a pax from Canada that kept asking me for "that sparkling white wine". He got his Champagne but had to swear first to call it its proper name <img src="eek.gif" border="0"> . .PS . .MUCH better to put the milk before the tea. And if you fly to DEL don't forget to buy your tea at Mittal store at Sander Nagar market.

[ 28 February 2002: Message edited by: flyblue ]</p>

flyblue - is this Air france? If so I want to fly with you - sounds much better than BA Y & J (but of course I would miss the beds in J). BA is also Krug in C. BA Concorde apparently has a list of about 12 champagnes from which they choose one per flight - oh for the good life. Always wanted to try Pol Roger Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill myself but then one has to have dreams!

Would still like to know who the joker is at BA who thinks we all want to drink Piper Heidsieck N.V. in J? They must be getting a huge bulk discount on the stuff. I've given up drinking it now its so dull - perhaps that's what they want!

[ 28 February 2002: Message edited by: ExiledTyke ]</p>

Just re-read this - now I feel arrogant and pompous - didn't think I'd ever see the day when I would complain about the quality of Champagne on flights which I can't even afford to buy my own tickets on. I think I've now booked my place in hell!

Exiled, we all have preferences <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

It is AF indeed. The beds in J are the same as BA (I flew in J with BA), but in C I believe on AF they are much better. We call it 180 (°) because they become a real bed, with pillow and duvet. I found the BA quite uncomfortable, even if I must admit it is the only negative thing they have in this class. Their F/A are so friendly and the service excellent, especially the scones and cream for tea :) . .If you happen to fly in J or C in AF, try the liqueurs, especially Cognac and Armagnac.

British standards Institution standard BS6008 (ISO 3103-1980) "Method for preparation of a liquor of tea for use in sensory tests" should be the last word on the how to brew a cupa question. But I'm sure it won't be.