Starbucks sells coffee in portable containers just for you.

Traveler

I think your menu sounds lovely. Presumably by 10:00, everyone will have already had breakfast, so this will just be a little treat. Sort of like an early "elevenses", which we make it a point to have when we visit England. I don't know anything about the Trader Joe's coffee concentrate, except it sounds like instant coffee, which makes me cringe. If I were you, I'd either borrow a coffee maker or buy a couple of French presses. Of course, with a French press, you'll need a way to heat the water. Do you own a kettle?

Yes to the extras you'll need. I would have on hand sugar, artificial sweetener, milk, cream (or Half & Half), and lemon. I would have English Breakfast Tea and perhaps something like a chamomile as well.

Have fun!

Borrow the coffee maker if you can.

Milk, sugar, sugar sub if anyone uses those awful things.

About caff and decaf- find out if anyone needs decaf before you buy.

Lemon and honey are very nice for tea. Just get a small box of regular tea.

Streamline as much as possible.

Also, I think you need more protein for your brunch. You can make a frittata quiche or egg casserole ahead of time and serve room temp, or rewarm in the oven prior to serving.

Thanks! I don't want to have to drive to Starbucks when I'm trying to get ready for guests. And I don't want to buy a French press and have to store it. We honestly go years in between making coffee. Sounds like the TJ's concentrate gets a resounding no. So I think I will go ahead and buy a couple of these

They collapse so they will be easy to store. (The coffee thing befuddles me. Thank goodness I married another non-coffee drinker so I don't have to smell that stuff on a regular basis.)

I am not really thinking of this as a brunch. My invite was a very casual email asking people to come by for coffee. Do you think I really need to serve a meal at a 10am coffee?

Which sugar substitute should I buy? I have never used them and there seem to be so many now. Do I have to get more than one kind?

The nibblies your offering will be just fine if your guests know that it's not a meal.

I have Splenda packets on hand for my in-laws. Again, I'd find out if your guests even use it before you buy. There are indeed many substitutes out there and people are usually faithful to the brand they use.

People who really care about what sugar subs they use generally carry it with them.

This might seem heretical to coffee afficionados, but I'd recommend you consider buying instant coffee. Then, all you need is a tea kettle.

Really, it's not your father's Sanka anymore!

I enjoy Folgers decaf and actually travel with packets because decaf can be hard to find and many people don't have it on hand.

And I hate to not have my hot coffee in the morning.

Radical idea... forget the coffee and tea altogether, and serve a nice juice/punch. Unless you know these people are coffee fanatics.

I was also going to suggest ditching the coffee and tea. What about a hot mulled cider? Nice for autumn! (As an added benefit, your kitchen will smell like heaven.)

People can get coffee (or tea) anywhere. Hot, mulled cider is just a very nice thing to make for company.

Ingredients

1 navel orange

1/2 gallon apple cider (not juice)

2 Tablespoons honey

5 whole allspice berries

6 whole cloves

pinch ground nutmeg

One 1-1/2 inch piece ginger, thinly sliced

8 cinnamon sticks

Directions

1. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the zest from the orange to create long strips.

2. In a medium pot, bring the cider, honey, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and orange zest to a simmer. Do not boil. Heat, uncovered for 30 minutes.

3. Ladle into cups and serve warm with the cinnamon sticks.

I also recommend getting starbucks, panera or dunkin donuts coffee to go-- first of all, they provide all the "go withs" (sugar, cream, stirrers) for you.. secondly, they are insulated and stay warm for a number of hours. Since they aren't on heat, there's no worry of that burnt or "old" taste. This is a much better option than instant-- and if you don't know how to make coffee and you don't like the smell, it seems worth a trip (assuming it is within 15 min of you)-- especially since you are doing so much prep the night before. It's much better than serving coffee that is too strong or too weak to your guests.

They do come in a cardboard container, so you might want to put them in an insulated carafe. It would depend on how casual the gathering is.. and how nice the insulated box is. A local indie coffee cafe does this here and their insulated boxes are interesting enough that I'd definitely use it for a casual coffee gathering.

I think the menu sounds fine.. my only other thought was a yogurt bar as Mtn has talked about. Scones and a greek yogurt/ with fruit, nuts and honey sounds very nice to me and so little effort! I should note that I don't eat yogurt but i do think it's pretty universally liked. Another easy idea would mini quiches which are not much more effort than stuffed dates but I think more in line with a late morning coffee gathering. You can prepare them ahead and warm them the day of.

LOLOLOL, sorry, but that just really made me laugh. If someone invited me over for coffee, I'd be REALLY surprised if they then asked me to stop on the way and pick it up!

One thing I have figured out about coffee is that there isn't a "right" strength to make it. My mother says she likes her coffee "strong." My brother says my mother's coffee is sooo weak. Lol.

I think having invited people for "coffee" I need to serve actual coffee. I have been told by several people that the pour over type coffee maker that I posted above makes good coffee. And it is small and something I can keep for the next time I "need" to make coffee. It was more or less my plan when I donated our coffee maker before our kitchen remodel. I was just hoping that the TJs coffee concentrate would be a step up from instant and acceptable to serve as that would be super easy to buy and store.

Thanks everyone!

I use a Melitta cone to make coffee (very infrequent drinker here) & it always comes out tasting great. I grind whole beans extra fine for a good strong brew.

The pour over will give you the best coffee. We are coffee snobs and use a Melitta cone and filter every day. It's easy to control the strength. I would buy and grind a good local coffee the day before, a breakfast blend and a darker roast. The scones and other things are enough variety.

Not sconces, too crunchy. Scones are a good choice, though, and you can put butter on them. Yum.

I have no advice because I'm in the same situation, lol! Not a coffee drinker and am hosting a group this week for brunch. I always cringe when I make coffee because I don't know how it's supposed to taste. Fortunately I have a neighbor who is coming early to help and I'll ask her to make the coffee. I agree that if you've asked them for coffee then you should have coffee to offer them. Have you looked at reviews for the TJ's coffee concentrate? Maybe you're right and that it is a step up from instant coffee?

Thanks everyone! The few reviews I was able to find for the TJ's coffee concentrate were mixed. Mostly people seemed to be using it for cold coffee drinks. Since I think all coffee tastes and smells horrible, I can't try it for myself unfortunately.

I'd be surprised if someone invited me over for coffee and then didn't have any to serve. Do the dunkin donuts in a box and put it in your own carafe. Get some regular tea like a ceylon, a fancy tea like a chai and an herbal tea like rooibos. Have cream, sugar, milk and stevia...if you have honey on hand, that'd be a nice option. I've only seen people put lemon in iced tea in many years, not in hot tea, but it's pretty on a plate.

If people are real coffee drinkers, I'm sure they'd rather have a good cup of prepared coffee than have you struggle with it and risk missing the boat.

I agree with Annie. I would call ahead about the Dunkin' box to be sure.

I might be wrong, but keep things simple and light. I remember back to the coffees and AM gatherings. Most young women are diet conscious and will probably nibble on a thing or two.

Most of the food was left untouched.

If this is something you like to do throughout the year , invest in a Kuerig. It's easy and quick , you can have decaf and regular pods available.

If I were in the OP's situation and a good friend offered to help and knew about my coffee anxiety and lived near a place that had good coffee, I would ask the friend to pick up some for me. ymmv.

Thanks everyone. I ordered two pour over coffee makers, a box of filters, and a pour over kettle (didn't have a kettle either) on amazon last night. So the coffee problem is solved.

It sounds like that was your plan when you ditched the coffee maker so that's good. Be warned, though-- while they make good coffee for one, it can be a little more challenging to make coffee for a group via the one cup method. Your group isn't large so you should be fine as long as you are organized.. and prepared to allow them to drip... and then to clean them out for the next cup. I'd have coffee already measured into your filters.. enough for first and second cups.

too funny that you invited people for coffee, but don't drink coffee or have the ingredients! you could call them and change it to lunch!

I would definitely pick up coffee from dunkin and pick up some icetea and juice varieties and a pitcher of ice water... if you have a microwave, people can heat up their coffee if they want it nice and hot! I think dunkin will provide you with sugar packets and sweeteners. I probably wouldn't worry about buying tea unless you will use it later... most people will have already have had at least a cup of coffee or tea already by 10...

I have found throughout my adult life that "coffee" is a shorthand for casual non-meal events. Lunch would mean serving more food and I would feel far more compelled to make sure I had a wide variety to accommodate vegetarian, gluten avoiding, religious restrictions, diets, etc. If it is "coffee" no one feels awkward of they just drink something and nibble on a handful of almonds. It's also much more acceptable to just drop by for twenty minutes and leave if the baby is fussy or you need to for scheduling reasons.

Also kindergarten is part day here. Lunch time is also basically pick up time. Lunch is bad scheduling wise for everyone.

I get the irony, but "coffee" is exactly what I'm going for here.

I do appreciate the suggestions, but I am not going to go somewhere to get coffee when I need to be at home letting the dog out and straightening up from breakfast and cleaning the kids' morning mess up in the bathroom that everyone will want to see. I have ordered the stuff to do pour over coffee and I will double check the method via google. And it will be fine. I will do my best and if the coffee is undrinkable, we will all laugh and people can drink juice or water or tea instead.

UPDATE

I just want to say thank you again. I had my friends over and we all had a great time. People arrived over a span of about an hour and left at various times, so things were casual and fluid as I had expected.

I had two takers for coffee, one decaf, one regular. And one taker for tea. Everyone else just wanted water. The coffee was simple enough to make. They both drank the entire cup so I assume it was not terrible.

The food seemed adequate, with most people nibbling on just one or two items. The scones were the most popular, with many compliments. I did have one person who declined all food, but she had brought some chocolate covered dried cherries, which I opened while she was here and she did not eat any of those either so I don't think it was a question of selection (or keeping kosher--I know she is Jewish, but I am pretty sure they don't keep kosher as she has often accepted snacks for her son without checking labels or asking any questions.).

So glad it went well.. but what a shame to bring in coffee paraphernalia for only two cups! You'll just have to have more get togethers!

Love scones! I think it was a great choice... and so nice that you made them yourself! I wouldn't worry about the person who declined food-- I really don't like to eat in the morning and she could be the same. I love morning food-- just later in the day.

Well, the important part was everyone had a nice time. And you were a great hostess as you were well prepared.

Glad it went well!

The gal who didn't eat anything most likely is dieting....

Just thinking though how most people drank water...can you imagine inviting people over for water?

It sounds like a nice event. The take-away here is what to call the gathering. "Coffee" seems pretty outdated, like my mother's generation (pre-Boomer). Can we come up with a better name for a mid-morning gathering featuring light morning food? Then you would not be quite so pushed into a niche or cliche, and you can serve what you'd like.

Missed this post the first time around but it sounds like you had a really, nice relaxing get together.

I really like the collapsible cone you bought. We use the Melitta cone regularly and it's such a simple procedure. We donated our coffee maker too because DH and I would rather brew a fresh cup rather than store it in a thermal carafe. Less waste and I like having less clutter on my counter. When we have company we pull out the Melitta 10 cup carafe.