Cosmonauts regularly drink coffee on board the International Space Station. Each portion of coffee is contained in a sterile soft polymer pack out of which all the air has been pumped. The use of these packs allows the weight of the cargo delivered to the space station to be reduced. Moreover, they enable the coffee to retain its taste and nutritional qualities.

In order for the cosmonaut to drink coffee, they need to insert the steam nozzle into the opening in the vacuum pack and fill the pack with hot water, and then wait for several minutes while the coffee brews. The coffee is drunk using a special mouthpiece. If the cosmonaut does everything correctly then the coffee will not spill out of the pack, even if he accidentally lets go of it.

Hot water is primarily used for preparing drinks and first and second courses, while warm water is used for salads and starters. In order to eat, the cosmonaut cuts the pack along the colored line, carefully pours in the required amount of water, and shakes it. Whatever the contents of the pack are — pureed vegetable soup, macaroni with mushrooms, or juice — the ‘cooking’ process is always the same.

The vacuum pack is labeled with information about the contents: the weight, amount of water that needs to be added, and the time to wait before consuming, as well as the pack’s shelf life. Cosmonauts in orbit are provided with ordinary black coffee, as well as coffee with sugar or cream.

The coffee is prepared by the Biryulevskiy Experimental Plant. The plant supplies food to the armed forces, the space sector and other state organizations. All food it produces is made entirely from natural ingredients, with no artificial gelling agents, stabilizers, preservatives etc. The coffee is delivered to the International Space Station by the Progress cargo transport vehicles.

This pack of coffee was given to the Museum by Oleg Vladimirovich Blinov, a native of Kirov region and head of the Department for the Development of Space Cargo Vehicles at the Yu. A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, in 2012.