Coffee and Tea For A Crowd

[Claki]

How do you make coffee and tea for a party? We are going to have an open house for the new baby. We have a small french press, a Chemex, a briki, and a drip Saeco that makes about 6 cups. So none of these options make sense for serving coffee for a crowd. I'm not sure how many people are coming.

A relative of ours has a commercial percolator we could borrow, but I hate the taste of the coffee whenever we have it at their parties.

I also want to serve tea, as it's going to be a "sip n see." I want to use our china... And I would also love to serve up Greek coffee, but as far as I know you can only make it in small batches. Our briki does 4 cups at a time. I plan on hiring someone to serve drinks and help serve but I don't want them making greek coffee the entire time.

Any advice?

[amldaley]

Honestly, the commercial percolator. I'll bet their coffee tastes bad b/c they either don't clean it properly or brew properly. You sound like you are well versed at this...I bet you could make decent coffee in the perc.

As for tea....you could pick up an airpot somewhere - Sams, Costco, even sometimes Marshalls.

I am such a paranoid freak though. I would not allow any hot drinks around a new baby! You are a better hostess than I am

[SnuggleBuggles]

No advice other than to just skip it. One can sip anything. I'd probably just make a punch in a pretty bowl and call it a day. My MIL has a Mrs. Tea tea maker but that can only do 4 cups at once. Tea shouldn't be too hard. You could borrow the percolator and just keep hot water in there, right? People can use their own choice of tea bags (or however you want serve it). Hopefully someone helpful will post though!

Beth

[brittone2]

We have a giant old fashioned percolator handed down from a family member. It has a dispenser spout on the bottom. We only use it a few times a year but it is handy for large get togethers.

I have also used one of those large vacuum pump thermos bottles and made a few pots of coffee in the regular coffee maker. I think we paid $25 at Sam's a number of years ago for our pump top thermos bottle thing (the large kind you often see out at coffee shops, Panera, etc.).

[amldaley]

Originally Posted by brittone2

I have also used one of those large vacuum pump thermos bottles and made a few pots of coffee in the regular coffee maker. I think we paid $25 at Sam's a number of years ago for our pump top thermos bottle thing (the large kind you often see out at coffee shops, Panera, etc.).

It is also called an air pot.

[brittone2]

Originally Posted by amldaley

It is also called an air pot.

Ah, never knew that. Thanks for giving it an accurate name! "Pump top thermos bottle thing" may not be the easiest term to search for if someone was trying to find one to buy online

[Trigglet]

The 'air pot' thingummy sounds like the best option for coffee. And being a Brit, I am a fascist about tea, and firmly believe you can only make it fresh with boiling (not just hot) water - so that makes it a bit less than practical for a big gathering, unless you can find catering-sized tea pots that you can make up as required and serve cup by cup.

On these kind of occasions I usually provide something that people can serve themselves, or that doesn't have a short 'temperature window' (usually something bubbly and alcoholic!). If there are a couple of older folks who really only want a cup of tea or coffee, then they can be catered for individually.

I have learned from painful experience that people have relatively limited requirements on these occasions and that for your own sanity you should keep it simple!

[kwc]

How about a big decanter of iced coffee as made by The Pioneer Woman? Easy, make ahead, no big coffeemaker needed.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2...t-iced-coffee/

[Claki]

Thanks everyone, I love all these ideas! I'm feeling better about our options now. I have had a "tea party" feel in mind, so I've been stuck on the hot tea thing. But now I'm leaning toward skipping it.

For the coffee I might use the percolator or I might get an airpot. Or maybe a carafe like this... http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/prod...p?SKU=11689698

This crowd will definitely expect/appreciate coffee. I'm trying to decide now about pulling out our china. We never use it, so I would like to get it out. But I know everything would be simpler without it.

[Beth24]

I'm a little late posting here, but the percolator coffee will taste much better if you use good quality coffee and brew it nice and strong.