A Review and Guide for the Top 5 Coffee Urns
Coffee urns are a great way to serve hot coffee to large groups of people. You can also use them to keep your coffee warm for long periods, like when you have guests, hosting an event, or event catering.
Coffee urns are also called “hot water urns” because they’re often used for more than just serving coffee. They’re perfect for tea too!
This article reviews the top 5 coffee urns to help you decide which one is the best fit for your particular use.
Click here to jump to the bottom guide & learn more about considerations when buying a coffee urn.
Brews fast, easy to clean, and doesn’t break the bank are reasons why we believe Hamilton Beach 45-cup urn is the best.
Click to jump down & read all the pros & cons
Coffee urns are also called “hot water urns” because they’re often used for more than just serving coffee. They’re perfect for tea too!
The Hamilton Beach 45-Cup Urn Silver is great for your kitchen. The stainless-steel construction ensures that this urn will last you a long time and look good while doing it.
This unit has an automatic shutoff safety feature, which means you won’t have to worry about burning your coffee or wasting electricity when the cycle is complete (not that we’d ever waste electricity).
The carafe holds up to 40 cups of coffee, making it a good urn for church functions. It can be removed easily for cleaning or filling. The spray head also detaches easily, so you don’t have to worry about getting it dirty while brewing some java!
This urn makes 1 cup of coffee per minute.
There were complaints that the it made weak coffee if users followed the recommended coffee ground servings.
However, if you simply add more coffee grounds to the urn you can get a batch more suitable to your liking.
Check out our top picks and guide on how to select the best one for your situation.
If you have a little more foot traffic or sudden influx of people vying for coffee and you need to dispense coffee quicker: consider a 2-spout coffee urn.
The Hamilton Beach 40518 has a cup-activated spout. Which means users should press the cup into the lever to activate the dispenser.
The Chefman Coffee Urn 20 Cups isn’t ideal for coffee, but could be under supervision. The biggest concern would be if someone boiled the coffee using the boil setting.
This is an electric model, so it’s not as portable as some of its competitors. However, it has many other excellent features that make it worth buying. It’s compact so it can be used at home, office or for a small event.
The Chefman Urn holds up to 20 cups of coffee at once and can operate continuously for up to 8 hours without needing to be refilled.
It takes 30 minutes to heat water at full capacity, and the coffee stays warm throughout the day.
It also has an automatic shutoff feature that activates when there’s no water left in the reservoir—this helps prevent overheating and burning your machine.
It’s easy to clean and maintain—wipe off any spills or splashes with a damp cloth. Stainless steel casing make it easy to wipe off the dust when you bring it out from storage.
This Elite Gourmet 30-Cup Coffee Urn is a great option if you’re looking for something that brews large batches of coffee.
The capacity is impressive, especially compared to other models on the market. You can easily bring it to kids’ soccer games, given that it’s lightweight.
It holds up to 30 cups of coffee at once and has two warming plates so you can use it as a buffet server.
Recommended coffee ground serving for the Elite Gourmet is half a cup of coffee grounds for 30 cups of coffee.
The price point of this model makes it an attractive option, though there are some complaints about its durability (the heating element may stop working after heavy use).
Some users prefer having separate hot plates for brewing and serving instead of combined ones in one unit like this one has.
Following directions is essential in order to get a proper brew. The wrong coffee ground coarseness, wrong amount, or tamping the coffee bed incorrectly will mess with the pressure.
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The SYBO 2022 SRC CP 50 Cup Coffee Urn is a commercial grade urn that comes with stainless steel construction, which makes it durable and long-lasting. The spout is heavy duty and the lid shuts snugly. It has an elegant design that looks good on any countertop.
The coffee stays warm for about 2-3 hours after its unplugged, making it a great urn for outdoor gatherings. Light turns on when coffee is ready, which is done in 30 minutes.
In addition to being easy to clean and maintain, this model also has an automatic shutoff feature that helps prevent accidental fires when left unattended for long periods (e.g., overnight).
It features a self-cleaning function that uses hot water after each brew cycle to reduce the build-up inside the coffee pot.
This coffee urn is also BPA-free.
After the first brew, the warm feature turns on for about an hour, and then it starts brewing again every 30 minutes. If the filter basket isn’t removed it will continuously brew coffee (with brewed coffee).
The Zulay 100 Cup Coffee Urn is made of stainless-steel. This urn is ideal for a catering event of 50 people and durable enough to last.
The double-walled design keeps the beverages warm while keeping the condensation out. This ideal so your coffee stays fresh for longer and doesn’t get watered down with water from condensation.
This model has built-in temperature control, so it heats quickly and maintains optimal brewing temperatures throughout the day, regardless of the environments temperature.
It also features an automatic shutoff feature that turns off after two hours (or one hour if you’re using pre-ground beans), ensuring you’ll never accidentally leave the pot running all day long.
The Zulay 100 cup urn volume is 3.9 gallons or 14.7 liters. It brews 1 cup per minute. A cup is considered 5 oz to Zulay.
Coffee urns are designed to keep coffee hot for long periods, which allows servers to fill up cups without having to brew fresh batches each time they want hot coffee or tea.
The heating process is accomplished through an electrical element that heats the water inside the reservoir. Once this water reaches a certain temperature (usually around 200 degrees Fahrenheit), it is forced through a tube into the dispenser head, mixing with ground coffee beans before dripping into the urn.
You can choose between automatic and manual models depending on your needs and preferences.
Automatic models generally require less attention because they have built-in timers that turn off automatically when they reach their maximum capacity (usually 24 hours). Manual models require more oversight.
There are a few considerations to be made before purchasing an urn.
If you plan on serving each cup then you want to get one with a spout lock. This will allow the coffee to pour while doing another quick task, like gathering sugar packets or creamer.
A simple 20 cup coffee urn can accomplish the task if it’s a small event and guests are self-serving.
If it’s self-serve and there is a lot of traffic at the event then consider a 2-spout coffee urn.
Just like it sounds, a 2-spout coffee urn allows double the amount of guests to get coffee. We feel the Hamilton Beach 2-spout urn is the best choice.
Be prepared to spend at least $60 for a decent affordable coffee urn.
If you spend less than $50 you’re probably buying a cheap Chinese product that will cause headaches later.
Not to mention the safety issues. Some urns get very hot and will burn people and so a warning should be placed on the urn.
If $50 is out of your budget consider putting in the legwork to find a deal on Craigslist or Facebook.
None of the models listed here require paper filters. That is not to say no coffee urns use filters, but most models do not.
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