A wedding coffee bar is a self-serve station of hot coffee, cream, sugar and a few extras, set out with dessert or late in the night. Self-serve bars run about $2 to $5 a guest; mobile coffee carts start around $700. For 150 guests at an evening reception, plan about 75 eight-ounce cups, a little over 2 pounds of coffee (our estimate).

We are Der Hoffskeller, a family roaster in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, roasting one coffee in cast iron in a barn that has been in the family since 1944. This guide is for couples setting up their own coffee bar and for the venues and caterers who pour coffee every weekend.

Should you serve coffee at your wedding?

Usually, yes, for an evening reception. On wedding planning forums, couples who served coffee say it went over best at afternoon and evening receptions, next to the cake and before guests drove home. A few said their crowd barely touched it, which is why the amounts below plan for half the room.

One tip from those threads is worth repeating: put someone in charge of the pots. A coffee bar that runs dry at 9 p.m. is worse than none.

When to serve coffee at a wedding

• With the cake. The classic slot. Coffee and dessert go out together, and about half the guests take a cup.
• Through the last hour, so drivers can have a cup before they head home.
• From the start at a brunch wedding. Morning crowds drink more: plan on three of every four guests having a cup and a half.

How much coffee for a wedding

Every figure is our estimate; round up.

How we figured it. Cups are 8 ounces, 16 to a gallon. In the evening we assume half the guests drink one cup; at a brunch, three of every four drink a cup and a half. Standard strength is the Specialty Coffee Association's Golden Cup ratio, about 35 eight-ounce cups per pound. Urn strength is the lighter measure common in big urns, about 46 cups per pound. For urn sizes and measures, see how much coffee for 100 people.

Only the Big Hoff Bag is under $50, so it does not ship free alone; two of the same bag in one order (same grind, both one-time) come to $64, since the second is $4 off, and ship free.

What a wedding coffee bar costs

A wedding budget guide we checked in October 2026 lists these typical ranges:

Run the bar yourself and the coffee is the smallest line. A Queen Hoff at $60 covers an evening reception of 150, about 40 cents a guest, or about 49 cents per eight-ounce cup at standard strength. The rest of the budget goes to cups and lids, cream, sugar, airpots or an urn, and the person who keeps them filled.

DIY wedding coffee bar ideas

• Brew into closed airpots or an urn. One brewer maker advises holding coffee no more than about 60 minutes in a closed container and 20 in an open decanter, so swap in a fresh pot every hour.
• Label every pot: coffee, decaf, hot water.
• Set it next to dessert, with a sign that names the coffee and where it was roasted.
• Use Mason jars of beans as decor. They smell good and look the part.
• Set out real mugs, or paper cups with lids for guests heading back to the dance floor or out to the car.
• Keep the extras simple: cream on ice, sugar, cinnamon, cocoa, whipped cream. We make one unflavored coffee, so the toppings carry the flavor.

Our ground coffee comes in one medium-fine grind that works for every brew method, espresso included, so the same bag works in a borrowed church urn, a drip brewer or the caterer's machine.

A coffee from a barn, for a barn wedding

Planning a barn wedding? Our coffee comes from one. We make exactly one coffee: 100% Colombian Supremo Arabica, roasted medium-dark in what we call the German Norwegian style, in cast iron on our family farm. Customers describe it as smooth and low in acid, and it holds up for guests who take it black (see coffee you can drink black).

“Free bottomless cups of self-serve, deliciously smooth coffee in a cozy converted barn.”
Sory M, Google, February 2026

Taste it before you choose. Our barn at 1040 Sherman Road in Cedarburg is open every day from 9 to 5, and the coffee is free, poured from the same kind of self-serve urn you would set out at a reception. More about free coffee in our 100-year-old barn.

For wedding venues and caterers

Resort and golf venue banquet menus list a gallon of coffee at $49 to $70 in 2026. A gallon at standard strength takes about 0.46 pounds of ground coffee, so from our 20 lb Bulk bag the coffee in that gallon costs about $5.28 on a subscription ($11.50 a pound) or $5.74 one-time ($12.50 a pound), our estimate. That is about 33 to 36 cents a cup.

Any business may buy, serve and resell our coffee with no account, application, approval or minimum, and you are welcome to name it on your menu card or coffee bar sign.

A venue hosting two 150-guest weddings a week with a featured coffee bar pours about 300 cups, roughly 8½ pounds a week at standard strength (our estimate). A Bulk 20 lb bag every 2 weeks covers it at $230 on a subscription; each bag makes about 700 standard or 920 urn-strength cups and ships free. For a big weekend, add a one-time King Hoff.

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. A pause typically runs one to four billing cycles, so set a schedule for wedding season and order one-time for winter events. Every size is on our page of coffee for wedding venues and caterers.

When to order, and how

Order one to two weeks ahead; orders typically go out within a few business days (estimates, not guarantees). We ship by USPS to US addresses only, free on orders of $50 or more, so every Queen, King and Bulk order ships free.

Checkout is a guest checkout with your email and shipping address, no account, paid by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe. Shipping to the venue? There is no company field, so type the venue's name with your name or on the Apt, suite line. The confirmation email lists what you ordered and the total. Online orders are limited to 60 items; for more, call 414-375-5804 or use the contact page, also the place for questions.

Decaf: we make one coffee and no decaf. Keep a small, labeled pot of decaf on the side for guests who skip caffeine.

Wedding Coffee Bar Questions

How much does a wedding coffee bar cost?

A wedding budget guide lists a self-serve bar at about $2 to $5 a guest, a mobile coffee cart at about $700 to $1,800 and a premium espresso bar at $1,500 to $2,500 or more. Run it yourself and a Queen Hoff at $60 covers an evening reception of 150, about 40 cents a guest (our estimate).

How much coffee do I need for 150 wedding guests?

For an evening reception, about 75 eight-ounce cups, a little over 2 pounds at standard strength, assuming half the guests take one cup: one Queen Hoff (3.5 lb). For a brunch wedding, about 5 pounds: a King Hoff (7 lb). These are our estimates.

When should coffee be served at a wedding?

With the cake, kept going through the last hour so guests can have a cup before the drive home. At a brunch wedding, have it hot when guests arrive.

Do we need a barista?

Not for brewed coffee. A self-serve bar needs one person to swap in a fresh airpot about every hour. Hire a barista or cart only for espresso drinks made to order.

Do you have decaf or flavored coffee?

No. We make one coffee, with no decaf and no flavors. Keep a small pot of decaf on the side, and let cinnamon, cocoa and whipped cream carry the flavor.

Will your ground coffee work in a caterer's urn or espresso machine?

Yes. Ground comes in one medium-fine grind that works for every brew method, espresso included. Whole bean is there for anyone who grinds in house; every bag size costs the same either way.

Set up the bar, then enjoy the night

Count your guests, pick evening or brunch, and the table gives you a size: for most evening receptions, one Queen Hoff; for a brunch or a featured coffee bar, a King Hoff. Congratulations from all of us at the barn. Prost.