How the coffee for a crowd calculator works
To brew coffee for an event, you scale a single cup up to the whole group. This tool multiplies guests by cups per guest to get total cups, multiplies by cup size for total water, then applies a strength rate to find the ground coffee needed. It also estimates tablespoons, bags, and how many large urns you will need so nothing runs dry.
How much coffee per person at an event
Plan on about two cups per guest for a morning meeting or reception, and more if coffee is the main offering or the event runs long. At standard strength that works out to roughly 60 grams of ground coffee per liter of water, or about one to one and a half tablespoons per six ounce cup. Decaf demand is usually about one in five cups.
Brewing big batches
Percolator urns in 30, 60, and 100 cup sizes are the easiest way to serve a crowd, and they keep coffee hot for hours. A 60 cup urn takes roughly an hour to brew a full load, so start early. For very large groups, run two urns, or set up one decaf and one regular so guests have a choice.
Do not forget the extras
Stock cups, lids, stirrers, sugar, and both dairy and non-dairy creamer. A rough guide is one and a half cups worth of supplies per guest to cover refills and spills. Hot water on the side lets guests make tea or hot chocolate from the same station.
Frequently asked questions
How much coffee for 30 people? About 60 cups at two per guest, needing roughly 4.5 liters of water and around 285 grams, close to one large bag, of ground coffee.
How many cups in a pound of coffee? A 454 gram pound brews roughly 60 to 75 cups depending on strength.
How long does an urn take to brew? About one minute per cup, so a 60 cup urn needs close to an hour. Start before guests arrive.
Related calculators: Coffee Batch, Coffee to Water Ratio, Party Beverage.