5 Airlines With Craft Coffee Service

Drinking on airplanes—that is, what you drink and how much—is a surprisingly polarizing subject. Some feel that tomato juice has no place on a plane, while others happily suck down Bloody Marys on board. Similarly, caffeine fiends can't imagine a flight without at least one cup of joe, while purists would never touch the thin, brown, vaguely coffee-scented liquid poured at 35,000 feet. (They're not just being difficult either. Taste buds are dulled at high elevation, and in-cabin water quality may not be ideal.)

To satisfy travelers with a taste for adventure and single-origin espresso, airlines have stepped up their coffee game. Several domestic carriers source beans from Rainforest Alliance purveyors and local, beloved hometown labels, and analyze the best way to brew in different environments. Here, five airline-coffee collaborations guaranteed to keep you flying high.

For every pound of Community Signature Blend coffee served on a Southwest flight, the two companies make a donation to the ECOM Foundation, a nonprofit organization that funds education for the families of farmers who grow arabica beans in Mexico. Nearly a century old, Community Coffee originated in Louisiana, and is the largest family-owned and -operated label in America.

Hawaii may be associated with macadamia nuts and tropical fruit, but there's no shortage of good coffee on the islands—and, fortunately, it's now up in the air, too. Hawaiian Airlines serves Hawaiian Paradise coffee, a 17-year-old craft label also preferred by the islands' Ritz-Carlton in Kapalua, JW Marriott and Halekulani, on all domestic and international flights. Taste of the Pacific is the carrier's signature on-board blend and is made from locally roasted arabica beans.