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DRINKS AND CONTAINERS

Can you bring coffee on a plane?

At a US checkpoint, TSA treats prepared coffee as a liquid. A carry-on cup or bottle must be 3.4 oz/100 ml or smaller and fit the quart-size liquids bag; a larger ordinary bottle goes in checked baggage. Dry beans and grounds have a separate solid-food rule, and an empty thermos may pass before being filled after screening.

Sources checked: 2026-09-24

Source scope: United States · TSA

Carry-on baggage

Allowed with conditions

Before screening, prepared coffee needs a container of 3.4 oz/100 ml or less in the liquids bag. Dry beans and grounds may travel separately in carry-on.

Checked baggage

Allowed

A larger ordinary bottle of coffee and dry coffee may go in checked baggage. Close the bottle against leaks.

Prepared coffee cup, small travel bottle and a bag of beans
The drink's container, not the coffee flavor, controls the liquids decision.

Brewed drink or dry coffee?

A hot drink remains a liquid at the checkpoint. Beans and grounds are dry products even when they will become coffee later.

  1. Cup before screening

    A full-size prepared coffee cup does not meet the routine carry-on container limit.

  2. Small sealed bottle

    Use a bottle of 3.4 oz/100 ml or less in the liquids bag.

  3. Beans or grounds

    Pack these dry products separately; seal the bag against spills.

BEFORE LEAVING HOME

Separate drink from dry coffee

  1. Close a dry coffee bag so grounds cannot scatter.
  2. Read the marked capacity of a prepared coffee bottle before the checkpoint.
  3. For a larger drink, fill an empty container after screening where permitted.

BASIS FOR THE ANSWER

Sources checked

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