How much coffee for a 50 cup urn?

First off, I wouldn't waste top end home roasted coffee. Get some commercial whole bean and grind it yourself. That's about the best that will make much difference. I wouldn't use a darker roast either. The chances are the coffee will get more bitter throughout the evening so something relatively mild would be good. Try to time it so the brewing finishes as close to the start of serving as possible. If it's going to sit for hours and be served the whole time, add a few pinches of salt to the grounds before brewing. I don't know the science behind this, but it seems to keep the coffee less bitter for a longer time when being kept warm.

I'd call a coffeehouse. We don't do hardly any catering stuff, but we will provide a 2.5gallon insulated urn of freshly roasted specialty coffee for $22. We brew it with our treated water, using our equipment and standards. All the customers have to do is pick it up. Bernie

I would get a pound of supermarket canned coffee because most people will be very happy with that. If you use your home roast, grind it coarse - hopefully if you do use home roasted coffee - someone will appreciate your gesture.

On the flip side - borrow a couple of Bunn pour over drip makers - you should be able to come up with some vac pots and brew and pour into those - I have a couple that I use for customers and they keep the coffee hot and tasting very well for several hours. Target has the made in China air pots for around $13 - they work OK. Not fancy smancy but they get the job done. In the interest of quality - I would go for this route.

Are you ready for this? 100 heaping tablespoons.

F O R M A T C:

If you ever drop your keys into a river of molten lava, let'em go, because, man, they're gone.

--Jack Handy  Deep Thoughts

Sounds like a great opportunity to introduce your guests to *REAL* coffee, proper brewing equipment and techniques.

I calculate 50 c. to be about 3.125 gallons. How about bringing that much water (plus a little extra) to boil in a pot, dumping the coffee into that, then filtering with a large drip cone (probably using several filters sequentially) into the urn? Sorta a cross between french press & drip methods.

Mike wrote:

If you are making a full 50-cup urn full, I can guarantee someone in your audience will be allergic to nuts, so PLEASE don't use hazelnut, almond, or other nut flavours.

sPh

If you are making a full 50-cup urn full, I can guarantee someone in your audience will be allergic to nuts, so PLEASE don't use hazelnut, almond, or other nut flavours.

sPh

Hey, thanks for the reminder. (We're planning a big party over here too.)

Jim