This is why you should always choose wine instead of coffee when flying

Thanks to jet lag, time differences and unforgivably early flights, it's impossible to avoid feeling tired when you're flying.

Which is why the human race's best friend, coffee, is just darn essential. But there's one massive problem with this equation: Coffee alwaystastes worse on airplanes.

This is why, according to Hello Giggles:

The water

The water used to brew coffee comes from the same tank as the water you use to wash your hands in the bathroom, and apparently it isn’t the cleanest.

The brewing process

At 35,000 feet, water boils at a much lower temperature, which messes up the extraction process so that only some of the coffee solids get dissolved.

You

It’s not all the coffee’s fault, because your taste buds are also part of the problem, thanks to cabin pressure, dry air and altitude, which weakens your taste perception.

Picture: Unsplash

But don’t worry – while the coffee might not be up to a high standard on your next flight, there’s a very tasty alternative. Wine, it turns out, can taste even better when you’re in the air.

Not all of it, though – but good news for those who don’t like to splash out.

Jordan Salcito, Director of Wine Special Projects for Momofuku restaurants, told GQ:

As a general rule, crappy wine is going to taste less crappy at altitude.

This is because of the same reasons that make coffee taste worse: the dry air and cabin pressure.

Andrea Robinson, a Master Sommelier for in-flight wines at Delta, told GQ:

Aircraft cabins are incredibly dry. And the drier the environment, the drier your olfactory system is. When your olfactory sense are dried out, you aren’t able to sense complexity.

Experts recommend crisp, light wine with stronger scents.

More: This man quit booze and coffee for two years. This is what happened next