How To Brew Coffee In A Coffee Urn

A coffee urn is an easy solution when you have to offer coffee for an event or for large parties. An 8 liter coffee urn can brew up to 32 cups of coffee.

It’s important to remember that the perfect way to brew coffee in each urn is to follow the instructions that came with it.  Here are some additional tips and tricks to follow to make sure each and every cup from the coffee urn taste great.

1. Open the lid of the coffee urn 

Open the lid of the urn and pull out the filter basket and the center pole. A little twist might be needed to unlock it. Most coffee urns have level markings inside to indicate the amount of water needed for each number of cups of coffee. Fill the coffee urn with water until it reaches the desired level. Put the center pole back, making sure it’s locked into place. Place a paper coffee filter into the filter basket and slide it onto the post.

2. Add the ground coffee

Carefully measure the amount of ground coffee you’ll need and put it in the filter basket. The ratio is simple: one third of a cup of ground coffee to get five cups of coffee. For brewing the usual minimum (25 cups, in a small coffee urn), try 2 cups of ground coffee. In case there’s a filter basket cover, put it back in, too; it makes sure that the water is filtered evenly through the coffee grounds.

3. Close the lid of the coffee urn and lock it

The standard brewing time for coffee in a percolator is approximately 40 seconds for each cup you want to brew. If you’re brewing 30 cups of coffee, it takes around 20 minutes for the urn to finish the brewing process. Most coffee urns have an indicator light that lets you know when the brewing is done. Unplug the coffee urn after the coffee is ready, and you can start serving immediately. 

Pro tips

  1. Use spring water or filtered water to brew a better tasting coffee.
  2. For best results, use freshly ground coffee (coarse grind size, perfect for filter brewing), or buy coffee that is already ground, but make sure you choose the right grind size for a coffee urn or percolator.

Important: If you’re planning to leave the coffee urn out on a table so that people can help themselves to some coffee, make sure you remove the filter basket when it’s safe for you to manipulate the machine without harm. Let it cool down first, for at least 30 minutes. Removing the coffee basket and used coffee will help prevent the burned taste that coffee develops when it sits for a long time in a machine.