Boutique Coffee comes into Life Asiana Airlines is the first to push the hand-dripping filter coffee service.

"Imagine you're traveling internationally for your career or family. Tired you're napping on your flight home. Suddenly, you smell the familiar aroma of coffee, and you feel relaxed, tired and sleepy. That's the magic of coffee." A senior Asiana Airlines flight attendant said so. Starting today, if you choose to fly AirAsia, you'll be lucky because the airline recently launched a hand-brewed coffee service with a professionally trained barista on board to brew you a delicious hand-brewed coffee.

Asiana Airlines is the first airline in the world to offer hand-brewed coffee. The idea came from Shim Jae-beom, a 43-year-old veteran flight attendant who had just been interviewed. He is now head of Asiana Airlines 'team of five baristas. Shen Jae-bum started drinking coffee five years ago. Since then, he has been fascinated by coffee and began reading books, learning about coffee, and receiving professional barista training. "Whenever someone grinds coffee beans for me and brews me a cup of espresso, I feel great. I think my passengers deserve that, too." he said.

So he began introducing hand-brewed drip coffee into Asiana's flight service, and won the company's approval. During the pilot phase, passengers welcomed the special service so much that airlines began expanding their barista ranks. As the head of the barista team, Shen Jae-bum constantly improves his coffee brewing technology and has obtained the Korean and Australian Fine Coffee Association certificates, as well as the Q-Grader Barista License issued by the American Fine Coffee Association (SCAA). However, Shen Zaifan always believed that his first occupation was still a flight attendant, and he did not fully enter the world of coffee. Until one day, a special experience completely changed his life trajectory. During a long flight to Sydney, Mr. Shin discovered a magical, rare coffee variety from Panama's Esmeralda coffee farm: Geisha. "I remember getting up early the morning after I arrived and couldn't wait to board the train to the cafe downtown. I don't know why, but I'm excited." He ordered a cup of coffee when he arrived at the coffee shop. A very young barista was responsible for making coffee for him. "He made six cups and threw out all five because he thought the sixth cup was the best coffee." He can feel his love for coffee and his dedication to coffee quality." When he took his first sip, he could smell and taste the rich floral and fruity aromas. "I feel coffee talking to me. He said to me,'I know you've had a very tiring day. But you must persevere, for I am by your side.' I was really touched."

Coffee in the Air

Shen Jae-fan chooses fine coffee when making hand-brewed drip coffee. He is very strict about the growing environment and taste of coffee beans. According to the American Specialty Coffee Association, only coffee beans with a cup score of 80-100 can be called specialty coffee. When choosing coffee, Shen takes into account the subtle effects of the environment in which customers drink coffee. "I usually choose Ethiopian coffee because it still has a strong aroma and rich taste in cooler environments. This is very important for us because the boiling point of water is lower on the plane than on the ground." Brazilian and Colombia coffees, he said, would also apply.

But he told us that the first factor he considers when choosing coffee beans is season, because sister affects the number of tourists and business passengers. "For travelers, they're willing to try something new. They love to taste different kinds of coffee, so I'll prepare something more distinctive for them. Business travelers are a little more conservative, they usually drink only certain types of coffee, so I gave them coffee beans from Brazil because it tastes better to them."

As a flight attendant, Shen Jae-bum has the opportunity to taste coffee from all over the world. He has written two books about his experiences, one on coffee shops around the world and the other a guide to Seoul coffee shops, including Coffee Libre, El Cafe and Cafe Namusairo.

At this stage, Asiana Airlines only offers hand-brewed drip coffee service in first and business class on certain routes. Shen Zaifan believes that when selecting service objects, factors such as the number of baristas, the cost of making coffee, the use of coffee equipment and flight time should be considered. "The flight we choose should be at least four hours long. We usually only offer this service to first and business class passengers, but we sometimes offer hand-made drip coffee to economy class passengers in winter."

Asiana Airlines 'Featured Services

In addition to hand-brewed coffee service, Asiana Airlines also provides passengers with a series of special services. Flying Magic is one of them. Asiana Airlines was the first airline in the world to offer magic shows. The company was awarded the Special Medal by the Korea Tourism Association in 2002 and the Mercury Flight Service Gold Medal by the International Flight Service Association and the International Travel Catering Association in 2004. In addition, Asiana Airlines has not yet provided passengers with high-end wine service. Along with wine recommendations, they also provide winery and region information, as well as snacks to accompany the wine. What a noble treat to enjoy a glass of high quality red wine with your meal. At present, Asiana Airlines only offers wine service for first and business class passengers.

Asiana Airlines also offers mail services. Travelers can buy stationery and postcards sold on flights to send their loved ones a blessing. These letters will be mailed after the passenger arrives at the destination. In this digital age, people rarely communicate their feelings by sending letters. Asiana hopes to impress its passengers by offering a mail service.

Asiana Airlines sometimes offers passengers beauty services, such as manicures, makeup, masks and so on. There are often professionally trained beauticians on flights to provide passengers with various beauty prone positions. According to statistics, more than 80% of passengers will choose mask service. Because the cabin is usually very dry, passengers can keep their facial skin moist and smooth by applying masks.