How Much Coffee for 100 People (Plus 25, 50 and 200): Pounds, Gallons and Urn Chart
For 100 guests at a morning or daytime event, plan about 3¼ pounds of coffee at standard strength, or about 2½ pounds brewed at a lighter urn strength. That makes about 7 gallons, roughly 112 eight-ounce cups, assuming three of every four guests drink a cup and a half. An evening crowd drinks a little less than half that.
We are a family roaster in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, and we pour free coffee from a self-serve urn in our barn every day. Every number below is an estimate with its assumptions shown, so round up.
How much coffee for 25, 50, 100 and 200 people
| Guests | Morning or daytime: coffee to brew | Pounds, standard strength | Pounds, urn strength | Evening: pounds, standard strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 28 cups (1¾ gallons) | 0.8 lb | 0.6 lb | 0.4 lb |
| 50 | 56 cups (3½ gallons) | 1.6 lb | 1.2 lb | 0.7 lb |
| 100 | 112 cups (7 gallons) | 3.2 lb | 2.4 lb | 1.4 lb |
| 200 | 225 cups (14 gallons) | 6.4 lb | 4.9 lb | 2.9 lb |
How we figured it. Cups are 8 ounces, 16 to a gallon. At a morning or daytime event, we assume 75% of guests drink coffee, a cup and a half each. In the evening, half the guests drink one cup. These are common event-planning rules of thumb.
Standard strength is the Specialty Coffee Association's Golden Cup ratio, about 55 grams of coffee per liter of water, or about 35 eight-ounce cups per pound. Our own rule, one pound for every forty to fifty six-ounce cups, lands in the same place. Urn strength is the lighter measure common in big urns, about 46 eight-ounce cups per pound. Diner-style batch brewing can stretch a pound to about 64 cups, but it tastes thin.
Coffee urn chart: 30, 55 and 100 cup urns
Urn makers count small cups of about 5 to 6 ounces, so a "100-cup" urn fills only about 60 to 75 eight-ounce mugs.
| Urn | Ground coffee, urn strength | Stronger pot | Morning crowd it serves | Evening crowd it serves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30-cup (about 1¼ gallons) | 2⅓ measuring cups (about 7 oz) | 3½ cups (about 10 oz) | 17 to 20 | 35 to 45 |
| 55-cup (about 2 to 2½ gallons) | 4 measuring cups (about 12 oz) | 6 cups (about 1⅛ lb) | 30 to 35 | 70 to 80 |
| 100-cup (about 4 to 4½ gallons) | 7 measuring cups (about 1⅓ lb) | 10½ cups (about 2 lb) | 55 to 65 | 125 to 150 |
Weights assume a level measuring cup of ground coffee weighs about 3 ounces, and the crowd columns use the drinking rates above. The urn measure is a little over a tablespoon per urn cup, close to the 1 tablespoon per cup we suggest for a home percolator. For 100 guests in the morning, plan on two full 100-cup urns, or one urn filled twice.
Brewing in an urn or percolator
Most big coffee urns, the kind in church kitchens and banquet halls, are electric percolators. We serve our free coffee at the barn the same way.
“coffee store with perculator of fresh brewed coffee. Help yourself to a free cup.”
Cindy P, Google, June 2026
- Line the basket with a paper urn filter to catch the fines. Our ground coffee is one medium-fine grind that works for every brew method, urns and percolators included.
- Start early. A full 100-cup urn can take an hour or more.
- Lift out the basket when it finishes so the grounds stop steeping.
Our coffee is a medium-dark roast that customers describe as smooth and low in acid, and it holds up for people who take it black (see coffee you can drink black). More tips in the best coffee for a percolator.
Church coffee hour, funerals, weddings, fundraisers and school events
Church coffee hour
A coffee hour happens every week, so plan by your urn. One 55-cup urn each Sunday uses about 3 pounds in a four-Sunday month at urn strength: a Queen Hoff (3.5 lb) every month, $52 on a subscription. A 100-cup urn each Sunday takes about 5¼ pounds in a four-Sunday month and about 6½ in a five-Sunday month: a King Hoff (7 lb) every month, $95. Both ship free.
Subscriptions come weekly, every 2 weeks or monthly, with a two-delivery minimum. You manage deliveries online through a secure emailed link: skip, pause, move a date earlier or change sizes. Churches order the same way any business does: bulk coffee with no account, application or minimum.
Funeral luncheons
A funeral lunch is usually midday, so use the daytime numbers: about 3¼ pounds for 100 guests at standard strength, or 2½ pounds in an urn. Funerals are planned in days, not weeks, so order the day the date is set and ship it straight to the church or hall. If that is too soon, see the barn note below.
Weddings and receptions
At an evening reception, coffee comes out with the cake and about half the guests take a cup. For 150 guests, plan about 75 cups (4¾ gallons), a little over 2 pounds at standard strength, so one Queen Hoff. For a brunch wedding, use the morning rate: about 5 pounds for 150 guests, so a King Hoff.
Fundraisers and school events
Pancake breakfasts, bake sales, open houses and parent-teacher conferences follow the same math: count the crowd, pick the morning or evening column, round up. A teachers' breakfast for 50 is about 1.6 pounds, so a Big Hoff Bag (2 lb). A pancake breakfast for 200 is about 6½ pounds, so one King Hoff.
Selling coffee by the cup to raise money needs no account, application or permission from us. Prices are the same for everyone. At standard strength, a Queen Hoff works out to about 49 cents per eight-ounce cup and a 20 lb Bulk bag about 36 cents, before cups, cream and sugar.
What to order
| Size | One-time price | 8 oz cups, standard | 8 oz cups, urn strength | Morning crowd it covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Hoff, 1 lb | $25 | about 35 | about 45 | about 30 |
| Big Hoff Bag, 2 lb | $34 | about 70 | about 90 | about 60 |
| Queen Hoff, 3.5 lb | $60, ships free | about 120 | about 160 | about 110 |
| King Hoff, 7 lb | $105, ships free | about 245 | about 320 | about 220 |
| Bulk, 20 lb | $250, ships free | about 700 | about 920 | about 620 |
These links open ground coffee as a one-time order. Every size also comes whole bean for anyone who grinds their own (see whole bean vs. ground). Each extra Big Hoff Bag of the same kind in one order is $4 off, and each extra Queen or King Hoff is $10 off, so two Big Hoff Bags come to $64 for 4 pounds and ship free.
Checkout is a guest checkout with an email and shipping address, no account, and you pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe. There is no company-name field, so type the church, school or business name with your name or on the Apt, suite line. The confirmation email lists what you ordered and the total, handy for the treasurer.
We make one coffee: 100% Colombian Supremo Arabica, roasted medium-dark in the German Norwegian style in cast iron on our family farm. There is no decaf, so plan that separately if your crowd wants it.
When to order
Order about two weeks before the event if you can, and at least a week. Orders are typically roasted, packed and handed to USPS within a few business days, and processing and delivery times are estimates, not guarantees. We ship by USPS to US addresses only, free on orders of $50 or more.
Short on time, or close by? Checkout has no pickup option, but our barn at 1040 Sherman Road in Cedarburg is open every day from 9 to 5, and we keep beans and grounds on hand. For a larger amount, call 414-375-5804 first.
Event Coffee Questions
How much coffee do I need for 100 people?
For a morning or daytime event, about 3¼ pounds at standard strength or 2½ pounds at urn strength, assuming 75% of guests drink a cup and a half of 8 ounces. For an evening event, about 1½ pounds. One Queen Hoff (3.5 lb, $60, ships free) covers a morning crowd of 100.
How many gallons of coffee for 100 people?
About 7 gallons for a morning or daytime event, roughly 112 eight-ounce cups, and about 3 gallons in the evening. That is two full 100-cup urns in the morning, or one in the evening.
How much coffee for 50 people?
About 1.6 pounds at standard strength for a morning event, or 1.2 pounds at urn strength, about 3½ gallons. A Big Hoff Bag (2 lb) covers it. In the evening, plan about three quarters of a pound.
How much coffee for 200 people?
About 6½ pounds at standard strength for a morning event, or 5 pounds at urn strength, about 14 gallons. A King Hoff (7 lb, $105, ships free) covers it. In the evening, plan about 3 pounds.
How much coffee goes in a 100-cup urn?
About 7 level measuring cups of ground coffee, roughly 1⅓ pounds, or about 10½ cups for a stronger pot. A 30-cup urn takes about 2⅓ cups (7 ounces), and a 55-cup urn about 4 cups (12 ounces).
Does your ground coffee work in an urn or percolator?
Yes. Our ground coffee is one medium-fine grind that works for every brew method, urns and percolators included. Line the basket with a paper urn filter to catch the fines.
Planning something bigger?
For a festival, a season of Sundays or more than 60 items in one order, send us a message or call 414-375-5804. Tell us the head count and how you will brew it, and we will give you a number. Prost, and enjoy the gathering.