itstimetofly

That is absolutely hilarious.

I will admit to being a coffee snob of sorts, but I actually like the Fresh"Poo" over the Starbucks stuff.

channa

More like sad than hilarious.

Many bring pillows now. Some bring coffee, and I've even seen people bring their own linens.

Nevsky

Really wish they would have brewed decaf, although the instant is not bad for instant.

xzh445

Some might think that this would be a bit pompous or arrogant.

UA-NYC

I actually think it's quite generous - it's clearly a customer who knows how degraded the coffee has become, and who is trying to help his/her fellow passengers enjoy a decent cup

smashr

I sense a BoB opporunity! The default coffee can be the freshpoo, but if one of the F passengers shells out $5, the FAs get to brew a pot of decent, name brand stuff!

Welcome to the new United!

Luvs2snowbordbut1kSEA

Of course then in F they could charge for the premium beverage, as well.

goodeats21

I have to disagree with this one. The first time I tasted the instant decaf, I had to "send it back". Utterly un-drinkable, even to this coffee non-snob.

I have seen other passengers either send it back or somehow indicate their dislike of the decaf.

Is there any word if the decaf is changing at all with the upcoming March 1 coffee enhancement date?

mauiUAflyer

+1. On my first CO (pre-merger) domestic flight, I was in F and asked for decaf. The FA gave me a funny look, and explained it was this instant crap now. I had her bring me a cup to check it out; she was entirely correct! And they migrated that stuff to UA with the merger. On a recent UA flight, the FA shared some of her personal decaf stash with me. ^^

sprokofiev

The new coffee, 'KOVA' is significantly better than the fresh-poo 'traveler' blend. Hard to compare with Starbucks as that isn't boarded at all anymore, but KOVA is certainly better than fresh-poo travelers blend.

KOVA is trickling in throughout the system slowly. Ask your crew if it is the new blend 'KOVA' or the old fresh-poo blend. The mix will probably continue for a month or so.

I will not touch the fresh-poo 'traveler' crap - it has an 'artificial' aroma that isn't appealing. The KOVA blend is something I will drink.

As many have noted, it is hard to brew 'superior' coffee on an airplane, given the elements of elevation (altitude of around 8000 feet) and equipment that was designed to brew 'Folgers, et al).

Too bad the influence of Houston was overpowering in this whole debacle. Perhaps Houston has learned a lesson?

JohnMacWW

I agree, last week I had a great interaction with a FA. Turned out that they had Freshpoo and KAVA on the plane. It was a domestic 757-200 and the FC area had KAVA but the mid area between FC and Economy had the Freshpoo. Myself and two fellow passengers were provided taste test. We were brought two mugs, one of KAVA and one of FreshPoo. We all agreed the KAVA was acceptable but the Freshpoo was, well, terrible.
I was also provided a myg of hotwater and so I compared Freshpoo to KAVA to Starbucks VIA Italian Roast. KAVA won.
Looks like I can put my VIA packets away!

Sulley

I've personally had the new coffee and I can definitely say that it is a big improvement.

I was on nonreving from MCO-IAH today when I saw one of my friends working the flight. After drink/snack service had been completed, I went into the rear galley to chat for a bit.

We were talking about the coffee fiasco and he let me know that the new Kova blend had been onboarded. He then offered me some (I usually don't drink airplane coffee -- it's usually never that great and once you have seen the inside of the potable water tanks you don't want to touch it) and it was actually pretty good.

The blend is a lot stronger, and dare I say, it tastes like actual coffee!

So +1 for that.

CIT85

KOV was served on LAS-IAD this afternoon. The coffe did not have much of an aroma and did not have much taste either. While poeple may debate about whether Starbucks is any good, I would much prefer the aroma and taste of Starbucks over KOVA any day.

EsquireFlyer

I had a chance to try the new KOVA blend on a CO flight yesterday.


My comments:
First and foremost, I think this blend is much better than the Journeys blend!

It is still a Freshpoo product, but maybe KOVA is a (comparatively) higher-quality product, whereas perhaps Journeys was a low-cost budget product. I didn't find KOVA to be particularly flavorful, but it was decent, and I finished the whole cup. I was never able to finish a whole cup of Journeys, because it was so vile I couldn't make myself drink more than a sip or two, even if I wanted the caffeine. (Interestingly, the part number printed on the KOVA packs still appears to be CR700C.)

I still prefer the taste of the Starbucks VIA that I started buying in bulk when UA switched to Freshpoo, but the taste and quality of the KOVA blend is satisfactory enough that I probably won't feel the need to continue to buying VIA packets after my current supply is exhausted.

The F galley was stocked with Journeys, but the F flight attendant called the Y galley to ask if they had any KOVA, and she asked them to send some forward to F. She was excited about the new coffee and was looking forward to getting some passenger feedback. She thought that the old Journeys blend was terrible (so, note: it's not just PMUA flight attendants who state that opinion), and she said that if I liked the KOVA, then she would try a taste herself. I gave the FA my last 2011 UA GTEM cert for arranging the taste test for me. :-: (Do GTEMs do anything CO side? I doubt it, but I thought she deserved it for whatever it was worth.)

So, I am pleased with the KOVA thus far. In light of the Basket Wars issue, though, I am reserving my final judgment until I also taste some KOVA brewed on a PMUA plane, which should be on 3/3. (And I am guessing that there may be a high demand for coffee that day.)

Finally, if anyone is still reading, I am giving away one free pack of KOVA, by random lottery, to any interested FTer who has not yet had occasion to try it, so that you can give it a taste and share your comments! Let me know if you're interested.

Sulley

Great review, CollegeFlyer. Agreed completely.