Bringing Coffee Through Airport Security Is Allowed (If Done The Right Way)
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If you're coming home after a long trip from a destination known for coffee beans, like Vietnam or Brazil, high-quality java would be one of the best food souvenirs you could bring back with you. But brew a perfect cup, you'll have to deal with something (or rather, someone): a TSA agent.
No one likes the idea of finding and buying an expensive bag of Vietnamese Culi Robusta, only to have it seized and dumped at the airport. The good news is that the Transportation Security Administration has some pretty clear guidelines on this. First things first, yes, the TSA does allow you to bring whole or ground coffee in both your carry-on and checked bags without any restriction since it's not a liquid. However, there have been documented cases of people smuggling illegal substances by blending them with coffee before. So, if you're bringing anything through, the coffee might be flagged for a closer inspection by the agents.
Typically, carrying the coffee in its original packaging, unopened, works best. But if you've put it into a travel container, make sure that the container itself is either transparent or can be easily opened and resealed. There are plenty of products, like the Veken Coffee Canister, that have a window letting agents see inside without having to open it. The key is being as prepared as possible for an inspection to smooth out the process.
Liquid coffee's going to be a lot more difficult
Some types of specialty coffee, such as ready-to-drink cold brew, are liquid. These will give you the biggest headache if you try to bring them with you onto a flight. Remember how there's a bin specifically for you to drop your prohibited water bottles next to the scanner, or how there are huge fusses about shampoos and liquid makeup when going through security? The same thing applies here. If you want to bring the coffee with you onboard, you'll need to pack it in a 3.4-ounce container in a quart-sized bag. Any more than that, and it will go into the liquid bin.
Fear not, however, because you can still bring it with you in your checked bag. Unlike carry-on, liquids are fair game in checked baggage. So even if you have an entire box of cold brew on tap, you're good. The only thing you need to worry about is packing it correctly so it won't spill or leak. You can use the same tactics we used to pack beer and wine for flights. You can ask the airport employee if you can use a sticker to label your luggage as fragile. This doesn't guarantee that the baggage will travel unscathed, so just make sure to wrap your coffee in as many layers as you can.
The bottom line is this: You should either drink your to-go coffee before going through security or pack it in your checked baggage. If you absolutely must bring some home, opt for fresh or ground beans. You'll have fewer problems that way.