For 240 individually prepared cups, count coffee bags rather than treating “240” as a standard box size: Taylors Out of Home lists 80-bag packs, so three packs provide 240 bags. Loose ground coffee can work when the venue has suitable brewers and time to prepare it, but its serving count depends on the recipe. Offer regular and decaf as choices rather than assuming every older guest wants decaf.
The choice turns on how each cup will be prepared, not on guests’ age alone.
Individually wrapped coffee bags suit a service where guests or helpers have a kettle and mugs but no dedicated brewer. Taylors Out of Home describes brewing its ground-coffee bags directly in a mug.
Loose ground coffee is an option when a suitable cafetière, filter machine or other specified brewer is available, along with someone to prepare and serve it. Set a recipe before calculating how much coffee 240 cups will require.
Separate, clearly identified options let guests choose their preferred coffee. Taylors Out of Home lists regular and Decaffé bags, while the researched Lavazza, illy and Tesco Finest products provide loose-ground decaf options.
Choose when: Cups need to be made individually with a kettle and mug; Taylors Out of Home lists both regular and decaf 80-bag packs.
Trade-off: Three of those packs make 240 bags, but that is a three-pack plan, not confirmation of one factory-packed 240-bag box.
Choose when: The venue has a brewer suited to the selected coffee and someone can prepare and serve it.
Trade-off: Packs are specified by weight rather than by cup count, so a dose and batch plan must come before the order quantity.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Portion count | For bags, confirm the number in each orderable pack and the regular-to-decaf split. For loose coffee, define the dose per cup and number of batches. | I need a countable plan for 240 cups, with enough of each coffee choice for the service I intend to offer. |
| Preparation | Check the product’s brewing instructions, the available hot-water and brewing equipment, and who will make each cup or batch. | If guests make their own cups, a simple individual method matters more to me than batch-brewing capacity. |
| Service and clean-up | Plan where used bags or filters will go. For loose coffee, allow for serving vessels, brewer capacity and washing-up between batches. | With limited helpers, I want a preparation method the venue can manage throughout afternoon tea. |
| Decaf choice | Confirm which products are regular and which are decaf, then keep them identifiable during storage and service. | I want guests to be able to choose decaf without assuming that age determines their preference or individual health needs. |
Coffee bags have a stated bag count, whereas loose ground coffee is packaged by weight. A weight on its own does not establish how many cups it will make.
Choose the format first. Confirm bag counts for individual portions, or set a dose and batch recipe before calculating the loose coffee required.
Preparation instructions differ: Tesco Finest lists cafetières, filter machines, moka pots and percolators for its decaf ground coffee, while Taylors’ bags brew in a mug.
Check the venue’s equipment, hot-water capacity, staffing and washing-up arrangements against the exact product’s instructions.
The European Food Safety Authority’s caffeine assessment considers older people within the general healthy population, but does not address people with medical conditions or caffeine taken with medicines. It cannot settle an individual guest’s choice.
Where practical, label regular and decaf coffee separately and let guests choose. Individual medical or medicine-related questions belong with a clinician or pharmacist.
These brand references illustrate different ways to serve coffee; their pack formats should not be treated as interchangeable portions.
Taylors Out of Home lists individually wrapped Rich Italian and Decaffé ground-coffee bags in 80-bag packs.
Lavazza UK specifies its Decaf as a 250 g pack of decaffeinated ground coffee for moka, filter and French-press preparation.
illy describes its decaffeinated ground espresso as 100% Arabica coffee in a 250 g can.
Tesco Groceries lists its Decaffeinated Colombian Ground Coffee in a 227 g pack, with instructions covering several brewing methods.
Rombouts lists one-cup filters, including Original, Italian Style, Colombian and Decaf varieties.
These options cover individual drip filters, individually wrapped coffee bags and loose ground coffee for a cafetière or filter machine. Check each pack’s portion count or your brewing recipe before planning 240 cups.
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For individual cups made with a drip filter: the instructions call for hanging a bag over the cup and slowly pouring water at approximately 90–95°C. The pack contains eight 10 g bags, so 30 packs would provide 240 bags; confirm the orderable quantity before relying on that plan. Check the variant if a decaf choice is needed.
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Individually wrapped ground-coffee bags provide a regular option for cups prepared one at a time. This listing is for three 75 g packs; confirm the number of bags in each pack before calculating how many orders would cover 240 cups. This product contains caffeine, so a separate decaf product is needed if offering both choices.
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A loose-ground option for a venue using a cafetière or filter machine, as specified in the listing. The 200 g pack is measured by weight rather than individual portions; set a dose and brewing plan to calculate the quantity for 240 cups. Check the variant if the coffee must provide a decaf choice.
No fixed cup count follows from a pack’s weight: servings depend on the dose and brewing method. Tesco Finest, for example, gives a cafetière instruction of about one rounded tablespoon per person for its 227 g decaf ground coffee. Set a recipe before calculating the packs needed, or use portioned bags when an exact bag count is the priority.
Taylors Out of Home lists 80 individually wrapped bags per pack for both Rich Italian and Decaffé, so three of those packs provide 240 bags. Decide how many packs of each variant you want and confirm the retailer’s orderable pack configuration. Do not assume a different Taylors bundle has the same bag count.
Age alone does not settle an individual guest’s coffee choice. The European Food Safety Authority’s caffeine assessment covers the general healthy population, including older people, but not people with medical conditions or caffeine taken with medicines. Offer a clearly labelled decaf option where practical, and leave individual medical questions to a clinician or pharmacist.
No: illy states that its decaffeinated ground espresso has a caffeine content not higher than 0.1%. Check the label of the exact product being served rather than describing decaf as caffeine-free.