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Hi Readers!
It’s the beginning of the week and that means it is time for another Dear Dawnya post. This week I answer a question that many of you may have wrestled with in the past. How do you successfully make tea for a group and should you use teabags to do it?
Dear Dawnya,
I enjoy your website. It is very helpful. I’m helping in the kitchen for a fund raiser for Adult Day Care organization in my community. I’ll be in charge of the tea making and serving (with help of course). There will be 120 guests. I know the group has water urns for tea that have not been used to brew coffee, but they want to use tea bags to make the tea, I assume in the urns. They will be serving both Earl Grey and Herbal teas. For a 50 cup pot, how many tea bags to brew the Earl Grey for 120 guests? How long should the bags be brewed?
I would very much appreciate your advice.
Thank you,
Confused but Excited
Dear Confused but Excited,
Making tea for a large group is best done by creating and using a tea concentrate. Your concentrate is made ahead of time and is poured into the pots that are then filled with boiling water. The result is a mess free, consistent cup of tea for each and every guest. If you plan to serve more than one tea you will need more than once concentrate made in advance. Here is my personal recipe. I share many more details of this process within my online course, Start A Tea Business.com
Tea Concentrate For Groups
25 servings = 1 qt water/ 1/2 cup loose tea or 25 bags
50 servings = 2 qt water/ 1 cup loose tea or 50 bags
100 servings = 1 gal water/ 2 cups loose tea or 100 bags
Make teabags w/ loose tea using large tea socks (can be ordered off of Amazon or purchased wholesale from MetroTea.com)
Bring water to a boil in a large pot and then remove from heat. Add the tea bags or the tea socks and steep for 3-5 minutes. Remove the tea. Let the tea cool and pour into pitchers and refrigerate.
This concentrate can be made up to 3 days in advance. Be sure to make it and test it before serving to a large gathering.
You can use the concentrate in the individual pots or in large water urns which have NOT been used for coffee.
Using a 45 cup urn = 90 Tblsp or 5 1/2 cups of concentrate. Fill urn with water and heat, then add concentrate. If making ice tea, pour in cold water and concentrate in urn, add some ice. When serving, pour over ice in cups.
1 lb of tea should serve at least 200 people or more. The fresher the tea the better!
Enjoy your group gathering. I know it will be a success!
Warmly,
Dawnya
TeaPartyGirl.com
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Do you have additional ideas or questions? Post them here in the comment section!
Oh! This is great information. I, too, will be serving tea, at an ovarian cancer benefit, to be held in May. Thank you both for this information. 🙂
This is very helpful. How much concentrate per teapot? We plan on putting one teapot per table.
This is so very helpful! I’m hosting a tea party bridal shower for about 70 people and had no idea how to serve the actual tea!
I’ll likely use this method.
Quick question… when you say ‘Fill the urn with water’, how much water should I add?
Hi Michele – I always leave it at about two-thirds full, to avoid any boil overs!
Any way that sure does make a lot of tea.
Hope the bridal shower goes well, take lots of photos and be sure to share!