- British Airways extends its partnership with London-based coffee brand, Grind, becoming the new partner for complimentary coffee served across its premium cabins and lounges globally
- A bespoke blend has been carefully crafted for the perfect taste at altitude and is available exclusively to the airline
- Last year, coffee was one of the most popular drinks amongst customers, with more than 90 tonnes of coffee served on board and in the airline’s lounges
- The airline is further elevating its beverage portfolio with a multi-million-pound investment in its wine offering this year
British Airways is expanding its partnership with London-based coffee brand Grind, to bring a bespoke coffee blend to the skies, specially crafted to serve the perfect cup at 35,000ft.
The specially curated blend will be served across British Airways’ Club Europe (short‑haul business class) and Club World (long‑haul business class) cabins. The blend has been co-created by Tim Jackson, British Airways’ Master of Wine who oversees the airline’s full complimentary drinks portfolio, and Grind’s Head of Coffee, Howard Gill.
The roast has been carefully made from an equal trio of Brazilian estates, the smoky blend delivers a rich, full-bodied flavour in every cup. Using speciality-grade Arabica beans, it offers a smooth, dark-roasted cup with notes of dark chocolate, hazelnut and toasted pecan that provide great flavour.
The airline’s customers travelling in First will be offered Grind’s popular dark roast espresso‑based coffee, prepared to their preference using either Grind’s signature house blend or decaffeinated pods. This dark roast blend complete with notes of chocolate, almond, and caramel will also be available throughout the airline’s UK lounges giving customers the complete bean to brew experience. In the lounge, customers will be able to choose from a variety of self-serve barista-style coffee options.
Tim Jackson, British Airways’ Master of Wine, said: “We’re proud to be the first airline to serve Grind in the skies and take our partnership further by bringing this Shoreditch-born favourite to millions of customers travelling to more than 200 destinations worldwide.
“The dark roast blends have been carefully selected to suit every stage of the journey, whether that’s a welcome caffeine boost while working in our lounges, awakening the senses in the air or offering a comforting cup ahead of landing. It’s another step in championing British quality as we continue to elevate our beverage portfolio, with more to come as part of our multi-million-pound investment this year.”
David Abrahamovitch, Founder and CEO of Grind, said: “We are incredibly proud to extend our partnership with British Airways, an iconic British brand that represents the very best of British quality and service - values that are deeply important to us as a fellow London-born, British brand. For Grind to go from a single café in Shoreditch to the premium coffee partner for British Airways globally in a little over a decade is a huge moment for our team. We’ve had an incredible two years on board European flights already, and we hope that British Airways customers in lounges and on board long-haul flights will love the new blends we have created just as much."
Building on the success of British Airways’ existing buy-on-board partnership with Grind, customers travelling in Euro Traveller (short-haul economy) can continue to enjoy a wide range of Grind products available to purchase through the airline’s High Life Café on board every short-haul flight. These include Iced Caramel Latte, Flat White, Black Coffee and Decaf Black Coffee.
Elsewhere across the customer experience
This partnership is part of the airline’s multi-million-pound investment in its beverage portfolio. Earlier this year, British Airways introduced an elevated wine programme featuring a selection of new additions, including Rock Angel, which was previously served in First and is now available in Club World. Each quarter, the airline champions a different destination to bring greater variety and choice to its premium customers.
This season, British Airways is showcasing Lisbon and Southern Portugal, offering notable wines such as Herdade do Mouchão in First and Cartuxa Colheita Branco Évora in Club World, spotlighting producers from this emerging region. British Airways is also serving a rotating selection of prestige cuvée Champagnes for customers travelling in First, kicking off the year with both Charles Heidsieck’s Blanc des Millénaires and Rare.
Last year, British Airways announced award-winning British tea producer Birchall, as its new tea partner, offering customers the UK’s most awarded tea for taste.
Tags: David Abrahamovitch coffee brand Grind Tim Jackson, British Airways
