Coffee For a Crowd Calculator
Brewing for a group takes more coffee than most people guess. Enter how many people are coming, how many cups each will have, and how big a cup is.
- Free
- Works offline after your first visit
- Saves on this device
- No sign-up
- Updated
How it works
Multiply people by cups each and by cup size to get the water to brew. Then divide the water weight by the ratio to get the grounds, since the ratio is grams of water for each gram of coffee.
The default ratio of 16 to 1 is a middle strength. Stronger coffee uses less water for each gram of grounds, so lower the ratio, and raise it for a lighter cup.
Worked example
For 50 people with 2 cups each, brew 4.7 gal of water with 39.1 oz of ground coffee.
Questions
How many cups per person?
Two to three cups each is a common plan for a morning event. Afternoon crowds usually drink less.
Does the urn hold water back?
Some water stays in the urn and in the grounds, so brew a little more than the count if the urn is large.
Is weighing better than using scoops?
Yes. Weight is steadier than a scoop, since ground coffee packs differently from one scoop to the next.
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