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Caterade Beverage holder.how hot?

post #1 of 7
7/16/08 at 7:26am
Thread Starter 
Hi there,
I'm new to the forums and have a wedding for 125 that have asked me for tea and coffee.
A couple firsts for me.
1.The location is an hour away
2. The location does not have potable water
3. The only stove I'll have access to is electric home stove 10 minutes way from wedding
4. I haven't served tea before

I'll be arriving at 2:30 pm for set-up etc. Coffee and tea needed at 6pm.
I have a brand new caterade insulated beverage holder 5 gallon. Before I actually do a test run with this thing.
1. Can i fill with hot water before I leave my place and will the water still be hot enough for tea 4 hours later even if I preheat the beverage holder?
Any hints for serving tea on a buffet?
I plan to have a tea tray with assorted teas, milk jugs and sugar /spenda packages.
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post #2 of 7
7/17/08 at 8:17am
I'm stumped. Maybe purchase a generator or set up at that electric stove 10 minutes away.
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post #3 of 7
7/21/08 at 2:38pm
I have cambros, and find that they lose their hea after 3 or 4 hours. I 've had complaints that the coffee isn't hot enough. I don't know about the brand you use.
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post #4 of 7
8/3/08 at 2:11pm

hot water

Little portable butane stoves with gas canisters, campstoves using propane tanks; these are not too expensive or cumbersome to handle. Check asian stores, secondhand stores.
Airpots that hold 2.2 liters can be had for $25-$40 at Smart & Final, Sams Club, many other places. Glass lined is a bit fragile, but holds temp really well for a number of hours, depending on how well you temper it first.

Almost anything beats using a generator.
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post #5 of 7
8/4/08 at 3:49am
tea has to be hot... the water you use to make it needs to be at least 80 degrees else it wont steep properly (which takes at least 3 minutes not the 30 seconds some people leave it for...)

a camping stove, kind of a one ringed butane fueled hob, would be ideal for heating some water, still, take it in the caterade so it doesnt take as long to heat...

coffee again... 80-90 degrees but not boiling so dont add it to something on the hob on a rolling boil
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post #6 of 7
8/5/08 at 8:36pm

Coffee Percolators

I work at one venue (not happily) that does not have potable water. I bring my own -- Poland Springs in jugs.

I would rent 1 - 2 large coffee percolators (or borrow them from your Church or Temple) for the coffee. For the tea, I'd buy an electric hot water pot -- I have one that boils 8 cups of water in less than 5 minutes. You can also use a large pot on a butane stove.

I'm a tea drinker, so I would NEVER use a rental percolator for boiling tea water, because they always taste of coffee. :eek: I've actually purchased one percolator that I only use for hot water. I do all this on-site...make sure you can plug the percolators into different outlets that are not all on the same circuit -- they draw ALOT of current and will pop the breakers or fuses.

Good luck!
Chef Andrea
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post #7 of 7
8/6/08 at 4:10am
"make sure you can plug the percolators into different outlets that are not all on the same circuit -- they draw ALOT of current and will pop the breakers or fuses."

You are absolutely right! It's so embarassing to have the first guest who goes for coffee tell you that it didn't perk or that it perked and is cold!

Not quite as embarassing as having your coffee station shut down the DJ, though..... That was not my finest hour. :suprise: Although when the owner runs a couple of extension cords from the same outlet for the lights, dj, and caterer, you know you're in trouble. That's when we started using the cambros.
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