Coffee (rec.drink.coffee) Discussing coffee. This includes selection of brands, methods of making coffee, etc. Discussion about coffee in other forms (e.g. desserts) is acceptable.

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  #1 (permalink)   Report Post  
Mike
 
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Default How much coffee for a 50 cup urn?

We're throwing a rehearsal dinner for my son's wedding party and
assorted out of town guests next Thursday evening and I've volunteered
to supply the coffee (actually, it's been long assumed that I will).
Unfortunately, it looks like we'll be using a 50 cup percolator (eek!),
something with which I have absolutely zero experience. I'm going to
be using a home roasted Kenya but have no idea how much to use. Also,
I traditionally roast my Kenya to Full City+. Would this be
appropriate or does a percolator (eek!) suggest a different roast?
Keep in mind that this event is not likely to be attended by any
finely-honed coffee palates. My wife and I, on the other hand, would
like to enjoy it.

Any ideas and/or experiences you could relate would be a big help.

Thanks,
Mike

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harrym
 
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I don't think I'd waste my home-roast in a 50-cup percolator. I would
be inclined to use a flavored supermarket blend, maybe a Hazelnut or an
Irish creme. And I'd cut down the amount of coffee a bit [quite a bit],
since in my experience the percolator will intensify any bitter taste.
Is there a local coffee service provider? Ours [LaRue] does a good job.
On the other hand, the big percolator at our church is pretty rank.
But most of the cooks use about a teaspoon of coffee per cup.

Mike wrote:

> We're throwing a rehearsal dinner for my son's wedding party and
> assorted out of town guests next Thursday evening and I've volunteered
> to supply the coffee (actually, it's been long assumed that I will).
> Unfortunately, it looks like we'll be using a 50 cup percolator (eek!),
> something with which I have absolutely zero experience. I'm going to
> be using a home roasted Kenya but have no idea how much to use. Also,
> I traditionally roast my Kenya to Full City+. Would this be
> appropriate or does a percolator (eek!) suggest a different roast?
> Keep in mind that this event is not likely to be attended by any
> finely-honed coffee palates. My wife and I, on the other hand, would
> like to enjoy it.
>
> Any ideas and/or experiences you could relate would be a big help.
>
> Thanks,
> Mike
>


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Ferret
 
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Mike wrote:

> Keep in mind that this event is not likely to be attended by any
> finely-honed coffee palates. My wife and I, on the other hand, would
> like to enjoy it.
>
> Any ideas and/or experiences you could relate would be a big help.


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.
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bdigman
 
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Mike wrote:
> We're throwing a rehearsal dinner for my son's wedding party and
> assorted out of town guests next Thursday evening and I've volunteered
> to supply the coffee (actually, it's been long assumed that I will).
> Unfortunately, it looks like we'll be using a 50 cup percolator (eek!),
> something with which I have absolutely zero experience. I'm going to
> be using a home roasted Kenya but have no idea how much to use. Also,
> I traditionally roast my Kenya to Full City+. Would this be
> appropriate or does a percolator (eek!) suggest a different roast?
> Keep in mind that this event is not likely to be attended by any
> finely-honed coffee palates. My wife and I, on the other hand, would
> like to enjoy it.
>
> Any ideas and/or experiences you could relate would be a big help.
>
> Thanks,
> Mike
>


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

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butch
 
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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.



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Format C:
 
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On 25 Feb 2005 13:26:31 -0800, "Mike" > wrote:

>We're throwing a rehearsal dinner for my son's wedding party and
>assorted out of town guests next Thursday evening and I've volunteered
>to supply the coffee (actually, it's been long assumed that I will).
>Unfortunately, it looks like we'll be using a 50 cup percolator (eek!),
>something with which I have absolutely zero experience. I'm going to
>be using a home roasted Kenya but have no idea how much to use. Also,
>I traditionally roast my Kenya to Full City+. Would this be
>appropriate or does a percolator (eek!) suggest a different roast?
>Keep in mind that this event is not likely to be attended by any
>finely-honed coffee palates. My wife and I, on the other hand, would
>like to enjoy it.
>
>Any ideas and/or experiences you could relate would be a big help.
>
>Thanks,
>Mike


Are you ready for this? 100 heaping tablespoons.



F O R M A T C:

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--Jack Handy Deep Thoughts
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Char Buck
 
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Sounds like a great opportunity to introduce your guests to *REAL* coffee,
proper brewing equipment and techniques.


"Mike" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> We're throwing a rehearsal dinner for my son's wedding party and
> assorted out of town guests next Thursday evening and I've volunteered
> to supply the coffee (actually, it's been long assumed that I will).
> Unfortunately, it looks like we'll be using a 50 cup percolator (eek!),
> something with which I have absolutely zero experience. I'm going to
> be using a home roasted Kenya but have no idea how much to use. Also,
> I traditionally roast my Kenya to Full City+. Would this be
> appropriate or does a percolator (eek!) suggest a different roast?
> Keep in mind that this event is not likely to be attended by any
> finely-honed coffee palates. My wife and I, on the other hand, would
> like to enjoy it.
>
> Any ideas and/or experiences you could relate would be a big help.
>
> Thanks,
> Mike
>



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David Gallardo
 
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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:
> We're throwing a rehearsal dinner for my son's wedding party and
> assorted out of town guests next Thursday evening and I've volunteered
> to supply the coffee (actually, it's been long assumed that I will).
> Unfortunately, it looks like we'll be using a 50 cup percolator (eek!),
> something with which I have absolutely zero experience. I'm going to
> be using a home roasted Kenya but have no idea how much to use. Also,
> I traditionally roast my Kenya to Full City+. Would this be
> appropriate or does a percolator (eek!) suggest a different roast?
> Keep in mind that this event is not likely to be attended by any
> finely-honed coffee palates. My wife and I, on the other hand, would
> like to enjoy it.
>
> Any ideas and/or experiences you could relate would be a big help.
>
> Thanks,
> Mike
>

  #9 (permalink)   Report Post  
Richard Feldman
 
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6.25 Measured cups of ground coffee.


"Mike" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> We're throwing a rehearsal dinner for my son's wedding party and
> assorted out of town guests next Thursday evening and I've volunteered
> to supply the coffee (actually, it's been long assumed that I will).
> Unfortunately, it looks like we'll be using a 50 cup percolator (eek!),
> something with which I have absolutely zero experience. I'm going to
> be using a home roasted Kenya but have no idea how much to use. Also,
> I traditionally roast my Kenya to Full City+. Would this be
> appropriate or does a percolator (eek!) suggest a different roast?
> Keep in mind that this event is not likely to be attended by any
> finely-honed coffee palates. My wife and I, on the other hand, would
> like to enjoy it.
>
> Any ideas and/or experiences you could relate would be a big help.
>
> Thanks,
> Mike
>



  #10 (permalink)   Report Post  
sPh
 
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> harrym wrote:
> I don't think I'd waste my home-roast in a 50-cup percolator. I would
> be inclined to use a flavored supermarket blend, maybe a Hazelnut


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


  #11 (permalink)   Report Post  
sPh
 
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> harrym wrote:
> I don't think I'd waste my home-roast in a 50-cup percolator. I would
> be inclined to use a flavored supermarket blend, maybe a Hazelnut


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

  #12 (permalink)   Report Post  
Jim the Noob
 
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On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 03:46:21 GMT, sPh
> 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.


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

Jim


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