Arrrrh! 50 Coffees in 2 hours? Am I crazy?

[Personality_Juice]

No, I'm not talking about drinking 50 coffees - just making them!

Hi Snobs, I need your advice.
We're throwing a lunch party this long weekend - big family event - and I said I'd do coffee.
I reckon there'll be 60 people there, so I might be up for 40 - 50 coffees over a couple of hours or so.

I go alright making coffees at home, have made 20 without trouble, on my Isomac Tea and Mazzer Mini E. Which is what I'll be using. :/
At home I'm using a VST 18g per cup (dosed to 20g for a double ristretto kind of vibe) but I'm thinking of getting a larger basket to serve 2 cups per shot. Ideas?

Since the event will be at a hired hall, I'm trying to make sure I pack everything I'll need to cope with demand.. but I'm nervous,
So any ideas you guys have (or funny stories/horror stories!) from past experiences would be much appreciated!

oh I have 2kg of beans, 3 milk jugs, a decent knock box and a 2L water filter, and 100 paper cups.

Thanks guys!

[sprezzatura]

Small cups (8oz) make it easier. Can you pull 40ml out of your VST 18? Taste alright for the hoi-polloi (I mean family)? Split it and make two drinks. Have the folks put their own sugar/chocolate on if you're too busy.
Smile - make every drink a drink that you'd drink. Tell jokes. Have fun.

[scoota_gal]

^What he said.

And no, I've done 40 coffees in 20 minutes so you'll be fine. 2 hours is heaps!

Maybe just make sure you set up a good work flow, everything within reach and someone to run for you if needed. A bucket with clean water maybe if you're not close to the kitchen? Somewhere you can just rinse your cloths out that is.

Haven't got any funny stories about doing functions or horror stories for that matter. Best I can come up with is the time we did Relay for Life and made about 300 coffees in 24 hours. (which for a town of 1500 people isn't bad) The late hours were the worst that night but we had a camper trailer we just ducked into for a kip on the bed! The coffee machine was set up under the camper's awning.

Good luck!

[Bazooka]

Thats plenty of time, to add extra buffer you may want just serving a small size serving (8oz) so you can split a double shot into two small cups, have only one type of milk good luck

[richard_m_h]

Why not set up for filter coffee (or something in an urn) where they can serve themselves as well and give them a choice.
You might want a filter for decaf anyway.

[Luke_G]

If you comfortable with your setup and have everything within arms reach, i see no reason why you can't reach your goal. Especially if the consumers are waiting at the machine for their coffee.
Just acknowledge people as they line up and keep the first on or two people talking about something. People don't mind waiting for a good coffee.

Good luck and let us know how it pans out?

[Personality_Juice]

Thanks for the tips and encouragement - I'm looking forward to having a go.
Should be fun - a good chance to dial in the perfect grind and work on the latte art!

[RayTCoffeePro]

Thats a lot of coffee,

Are you sure your espresso machine can handle a *commercial* like environment......

And i think your grinder will probably be good enough, i see Starbucks using Mazzers.... so i think you could use it in this commercial style usage.......

Grinder is A ok, and the machine may not be able to go that far as my concern is......

How many beans do you think you'll need since the amount of coffee being served is certainly insane and can you plumb it in?

[blend52]

Thanks for the tips and encouragement - I'm looking forward to having a go.
Should be fun - a good chance to dial in the perfect grind and work on the latte art!

if things get busy,..forget the artwork, or at least keep it basic. ,!

[Personality_Juice]

We'll I'm happy to report back that it went well and was a lot of fun!
Delivered 64 coffees in 2.5 hrs, with a lot of friendly chat along the way.

The isomac didn't miss a beat, I got the mazzer grind and auto doser spot on, and the new VST 22g is really fantastic for 2 flavorsome shots.
I found a handle in my parts drawer that fit the 22g basket, fitted the double spout, and was pulling about 20ml shots (into each cup) that were sweet and tasty.

Best bit was definitely the enthusiastic chats with the folks, interested in the machine, technique, fave cafes, or just a bit of catch-up.
Hardest part was keeping everything perfectly clean along the way.

I'd do it again in a flash and was interested to see that despite putting out a range of teas, only one person took that option!