Planning a Coffee Break with Koffee Katering
Need coffee, a snack, and a little break from the meeting? We’ve got you.
A coffee break can mean a lot of things.
Maybe you’re running an afternoon class and want to give everyone a little caffeine and something to eat. Maybe you’re hosting a conference and need a mid-afternoon pick-me-up. Maybe you’re between meetings and want coffee, tea and a few snacks waiting for people when they walk in.
Whatever the reason, a coffee break is pretty simple.
Think of it as a snack—rather than a full meal.
Our coffee break packages are designed to give people something to drink and something to nibble on. If you want something more substantial, that’s easy, too: start with a coffee break and add some food.
And if you’re running a multi-day event, you can use different packages and add-ons to make each break feel different.
When should I order a coffee break?
Coffee breaks are particularly popular for afternoon classes, conferences and meetings, but they can be useful anytime people need a little refreshment.
Timing is an important factor when choosing how much food to include. If your guests haven’t eaten recently, choose a more substantial option—or add enough food to make the break function as a light meal.
- A 10:30 AM conference break
- A 10:30 AM conference break
- A 10:30 AM conference break
- A 10:30 AM conference break
- A 10:30 AM conference break
- A 10:30 AM conference break
- A 10:30 AM conference break
How do I choose the right coffee break?
We offer several different coffee break options.
The easiest way to think about them is:
☕ Coffee & Tea
We mainly need caffeine.
This is the simplest and least expensive option.
It’s ideal when your guests have already eaten and you mainly want coffee and tea available with something small to accompany it.
🍪 Classic Coffee Break
We want coffee and a nice snack.
This is the traditional coffee break.
Coffee, tea and a selection of snacks and sweets make this a good all-purpose choice for a meeting or conference break.
🥝 Healthy Break
We’d like something a little healthier.
The Healthy Break provides coffee and refreshments with more health-conscious food choices.
It’s a particularly good option for groups that have already had lunch and don’t necessarily want another pile of cookies.
🍂 Seasonal Coffee Break
Let’s make it a little more interesting.
The Seasonal Coffee Break changes with the time of year and gives you a more interesting, special-feeling selection.
It’s a good choice when you want the break to feel like part of the event rather than simply coffee appearing in the corner of the room.
The most important thing to understand: a coffee break is a snack
This is worth repeating.
Planning the right amount of food
Our standard coffee break quantities are intended to give each person a reasonable amount of food and refreshments.
Timing can help you decide whether you need to add a little more.
For example: →
Lunch at noon → Coffee break at 2:30 PM A normal coffee break is perfect.
Breakfast at 8 AM → Coffee break at 11:30 AM → Lunch at 1 PM - You may want a slightly more substantial break because people have gone several hours without eating.
Breakfast at 8 AM → Coffee break at 11:30 AM → no lunch until 2 PM - Consider adding some food to keep guests comfortable until the next meal.
Morning vs. afternoon
For afternoon events, we recommend approximately:
50% regular coffee
50% decaf
People tend to want more decaf in the afternoon, and it’s nice to give everyone a choice.
And don’t forget the tea.
Some people don’t drink coffee at all, and you don’t want them staring sadly at the coffee urns while everyone else gets caffeinated.
How much coffee do I need?
Our coffee break packages are calculated using approximately 1.3 cups of coffee per serving. That is the standard amount built into the packages. If you think your group will want more coffee, simply add additional coffee to your order.
This is particularly important for long events or groups that are serious coffee drinkers.
Want to make the break more substantial?
This is where the fun starts.
Start with a coffee break. Then add food.
🍇 Cut fruit platter
🥕 Vegetables & hummus
🧀 Cheese & cracker platter
🍫 Other snack items
Adding one or two items can make a standard coffee break more substantial and give guests more variety.
Classic Coffee Break + Fruit platter
Now you’ve got coffee, sweets and something fresh.
Healthy Break + Cheese & crackers
Now you’ve got a little more substance.
Coffee & Tea + Cookies + fruit
Now you’ve got a simple, inexpensive break with more food variety.
How long does a coffee break last?
A properly set-up coffee break can remain available for approximately 2–2½ hours.
That’s particularly useful for classes, conferences and events where people don’t all take their break at exactly the same moment.
If you’re planning to leave the coffee break available for substantially longer than that, let us know.
You may want additional coffee, tea or food.
Use add-ons to make multi-day events more interesting
This is one of the best ways to use our coffee break menu.
If you’re running a three- or four-day conference, you don’t need to serve the exact same break every afternoon.
Instead, use different packages and add-ons.
Monday
Classic Coffee Break
Cookies
Fruit platter
Tuesday
Healthy Break
Vegetables & hummus
Cheese & crackers
Wednesday
Seasonal Coffee Break
Fruit platter
Cookies
Thursday
Coffee & Tea
Cookies
Fruit
Don’t underestimate the power of fruit
A fruit platter is one of the easiest ways to improve a coffee break.
It gives people something fresh, adds color to the table, and gives guests an alternative to sweets.
It’s also particularly useful when you’re running a multi-day event and want to change the break without dramatically increasing the amount of food.
Hummus and vegetables are another great add-on
If you’ve already had lunch, you may not want another round of pastries and cookies.
A vegetable and hummus platter gives people something savory and lighter.
It’s particularly good with the Healthy Break and adds another option to the table.
Cheese and crackers can make the break feel more substantial
A cheese and cracker platter is another easy way to make a coffee break feel more substantial.
It’s particularly useful for:
Afternoon conferences
Long classes
Executive meetings
Events where lunch was several hours earlier
Late-afternoon breaks
What if people haven’t eaten?
This is where you need to think about the timing of the event.
If the coffee break is the only food available, a standard package may not provide enough food for your group.
Instead, either:
Choose a more substantial break, or
Start with a coffee break and add enough food to make it a light meal.
Coffee Break + fruit + cheese & crackers + hummus/vegetables
provides a more substantial selection than:
Coffee & Tea
The right combination depends on how long your guests will be between meals and what else is being served during the event.
Boxed Healthy Breaks
Sometimes you can’t set up a buffet.
That’s when our Boxed Healthy Break makes sense.
That’s when our Boxed Healthy Break makes sense.
Each person gets an individual package, so there’s no need to set up a food table and have everyone gather around it.
We also offer Gluten-Friendly and Vegan boxed versions.
One important thing:
The boxed coffee breaks do not include beverages.
So if you want coffee, tea, bottled water, soda, seltzer or another beverage, you’ll need to add it to the order.
You can also simply pick up a case of soda or bottled water yourself if that’s easier.
Maybe everyone is getting on a bus.
Maybe you’re going on a field trip.
Maybe people are walking between locations.
Maybe everyone needs to grab something and keep moving.
How much coffee should I add to a boxed break?
Because the boxed breaks don’t include beverages, think separately about what people will drink.
The beverage doesn’t have to come from Koffee Katering. If you already have a source for bottled water or soda, that’s perfectly fine.
For example:
50 boxed breaks
bottled water
iced tea
coffee/decaf
for a bus trip: 50 boxed breaks
bottled water
individual sodas
Coffee breaks after lunch
This is probably the most common situation.
If lunch finishes at 1 PM and you want a break at 3 PM, a coffee break is exactly what you’re looking for.
People have already eaten.
They’re probably ready for:
Coffee + tea + something sweet or healthy to nibble on.
For most afternoon events, the Classic Coffee Break, Healthy Break or Seasonal Coffee Break will work well.
If it’s a long afternoon and you expect people to be there until 5 PM or later, consider adding additional coffee/decaf and some food.
Coffee breaks after breakfast
This is a little different.
Suppose your event starts at 8 AM and breakfast is provided.
Then you have a coffee break at 10:30 AM.
You probably don’t need another substantial food spread.
Coffee & Tea or a light coffee break may be all you need.
But if lunch isn’t until 1:30 PM, you may want to add fruit, cookies or another snack to bridge the gap.
How many tables do I need?
For a standard coffee break, one 8-foot table is generally enough for about 50 people.
For larger groups, you may want additional table space.
And, whenever possible, it’s helpful to separate beverages from food.
For example:
Table 1
Coffee, decaf, tea, cups
Table 2
Food and snacks
That keeps people getting coffee from blocking the people trying to grab something to eat.
For a small group, it doesn’t matter much.
For 100+ people, it matters a lot.
What does Koffee Katering take care of?
For our Zero Landfill coffee break packages, we handle the setup.
We bring:
Coffee
Decaf
Tea where included
The food included in your package
Compost bin
Cups
Plates
Flatware as appropriate
Tablecloth
Serving equipment
We’ll set everything up professionally and take it down afterward.
You provide the tables, or we can provide them for an additional fee.
So you don’t need to arrive early and spend 30 minutes trying to figure out where the coffee cups go.
That’s our job.
What should I tell Koffee Katering?
When you place your order, tell us about anything unusual in the comments section.
For example:
“Set up outside Room 302.”
“Please use the side entrance.”
“This is an outdoor event.”
“Everyone will be boarding a bus.”
“The room isn’t available until 2:15.”
“We have three Vegan guests.”
“We need Gluten-Friendly food.”
“The break needs to remain available for two hours.”
The more information you give us, the better we can plan.
Should I add an Event Attendant?
For most coffee breaks, you don’t need one.
But an Event Attendant can be very useful for a large or formal event where people are coming and going over a long period.
The attendant can:
Keep the food area tidy
Clear used cups and plates
Keep the coffee station organized
Replenish the presentation area
Make sure the table continues to look good
If you’re running a large conference and want the break area to remain looking great throughout the entire break, an Event Attendant is worth considering.
A few examples
Example 1 - Afternoon class
50 people - Class runs 1–4 PM.
Healthy Break
Coffee/decaf
Tea
This gives everyone a simple refreshment during the afternoon.
Example 2 — Afternoon conference
75 people - Lunch at noon. - Break at 3 PM.
Classic Coffee Break
Fruit platter
Coffee/decaf
Tea
A nice mid-afternoon pick-me-up.
Example 3 — Long afternoon meeting
50 people - Lunch at noon. - Meeting continues until 5 PM.
Healthy Break
Fruit platter
Vegetables & hummus
Cheese & crackers
Additional coffee/decaf
Tea
Now you’ve got a more substantial afternoon break.
Example 4 — Three-day conference
Days
Day 1
Classic Coffee Break
Fruit
Day 2
Healthy Break
Cheese & crackers
Day 3
Seasonal Coffee Break
Fruit
Hummus & vegetables
Add afternoon coffee/decaf and tea each day.
The attendees get something different every afternoon, while you get to keep the ordering process simple.
Example 5 — Field trip
50 people - Everyone is getting on a bus.
Boxed Healthy Break
Bottled water
Individual sodas
No tables.
No buffet.
No line.
Everyone gets a box and goes.
The easiest way to order a coffee break
If you’re new to catering, think about it this way:
-
Consider when your guests will be eating and how much time there is between meals.
-
Yes: Choose a regular Zero Landfill coffee break.
No: Consider a boxed break.
-
Classic: Something everyone will enjoy.
Healthy: Something a little lighter.
Seasonal: Something more interesting.
Coffee & Tea: Mostly caffeine.
-
Add fruit, hummus and vegetables, cookies, cheese and crackers, or other appropriate food.
-
Remember that one coffee serving is approximately 1.3 cups.
If you think people will want more, add more coffee/decaf.
For afternoon events, think approximately 50% regular and 50% decaf.
And don’t forget tea.
-
Change the package or add-ons from day to day.
-
We’ll deliver it, set it up, and take it down.
Don’t overthink the coffee break.
Start with a package. Add a little fruit, maybe some hummus, cheese and crackers, or cookies. Add coffee and tea for the afternoon. And if you’re doing this for three or four days, change things up so that your guests don’t feel like they’re experiencing the exact same break every day. That’s the beauty of a Koffee Katering coffee break. Start with the basics, make it your own, and let us take care of the work.