How much coffee for 50 people
For 50 guests at a short party, plan on about 1.5 lb (702 g) of ground coffee and 3 gallons of water. For a long event where everyone keeps pouring, it is about 3.3 lb (1479 g) and 6.3 gallons. The table below covers 10 to 200 people. The two scenarios come from two published planning guides, and you can change the numbers in the calculator.
The two assumptions
- Short party. Methodical Coffee suggests making coffee for 75% of the guests (50% at an evening event where alcohol is the main drink) and counts a 10 oz cup brewed at 1:16. That gives 25.5 cups per pound.
- Long event. Ellen's Kitchen allows 1 pint (16 oz) of made coffee per person for a three hour party. I applied that to every guest at 1:16 as well.
The ratio is my choice. 1:16 is the stronger end of the usual 1:16 to 1:18 range. At 1:18 the 50-person short party needs 1.4 lb instead of 1.5 lb. The two guides also differ on their own (for 100 people, Ellen's Kitchen lists 1 1/2 pounds for a dinner and 2 1/2 pounds for a breakfast), so treat every row as a starting point.
Coffee by number of guests
Each cell shows pounds, grams and gallons of water. Batches are 12-cup drip machines (60 oz each). The urn is the smallest common size that holds the water.
| Guests | Short party 75% drink 10 oz |
Long event all drink 16 oz |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 0.3 lb (148 g) 0.6 gal water 2 drip batches 30-cup urn open in calculator |
0.7 lb (296 g) 1.3 gal water 3 drip batches 40-cup urn open in calculator |
| 20 | 0.6 lb (277 g) 1.2 gal water 3 drip batches 40-cup urn open in calculator |
1.3 lb (592 g) 2.5 gal water 6 drip batches 80-cup urn open in calculator |
| 30 | 0.9 lb (425 g) 1.8 gal water 4 drip batches 50-cup urn open in calculator |
2 lb (887 g) 3.7 gal water 8 drip batches 100-cup urn open in calculator |
| 50 | 1.5 lb (702 g) 3 gal water 7 drip batches 80-cup urn open in calculator |
3.3 lb (1479 g) 6.3 gal water 14 drip batches 100-cup urn open in calculator |
| 75 | 2.3 lb (1054 g) 4.5 gal water 10 drip batches 100-cup urn open in calculator |
4.9 lb (2218 g) 9.4 gal water 20 drip batches 100-cup urn |
| 100 | 3.1 lb (1386 g) 5.9 gal water 13 drip batches 100-cup urn open in calculator |
6.5 lb (2957 g) 12.5 gal water 27 drip batches 100-cup urn |
| 150 | 4.6 lb (2089 g) 8.8 gal water 19 drip batches 100-cup urn |
9.8 lb (4436 g) 18.7 gal water 40 drip batches 100-cup urn |
| 200 | 6.1 lb (2773 g) 11.7 gal water 25 drip batches 100-cup urn |
13 lb (5915 g) 25 gal water 54 drip batches 100-cup urn |
Urn sizes use the Hamilton Beach cup of about 142 ml, so another brand's urn may hold more. Grounds keep some water, so the coffee you pour is a little less than the water figure. Round up when it matters.
Which brewer to use
Drip machines. One 12-cup batch (60 oz) takes 111 g of coffee at 1:16, about 11.1 coffee scoops. Run batches back to back into thermal carafes. The 12-cup coffee maker table covers other machine sizes.
An urn. One brew for the whole crowd, and it keeps coffee hot. Urn makers print weaker ratios than drip, so the coffee urn page has the manual's own amounts. Use that page when you own a specific urn.
Cold brew. Good for a hot day or a dinner. The gallon of cold brew page has concentrate amounts.
Buying and planning
- Grind for your brewer: medium for drip machines, coarse for urns.
- Coffee left on a hot plate turns bitter after a while, so brew in rounds if guests arrive over time. The bitter or sour guide explains why.
- Have some decaf. Ellen's Kitchen lists 1/2 pound for 100 people, and Methodical Coffee suggests it for guests sensitive to caffeine.
- Buy a bag more than the table says if coffee is the main drink.
Sources: Methodical Coffee, serving coffee at events; Ellen's Kitchen, beverage planning for 100. The 1:16 ratio and the table math are mine.