A friend runs an annual silent auction fundraiser for college scholarships and has asked me if I could pull off a coffee bar, with profits going to the fundraiser. They are planning food for 200 people, although as much as 50 of those would be children who probably wouldn't be getting any coffee.

I have a Bezzera BZ02S HX and a Baratza Vario. From what I've gathered in previous posts here and on coffeegeek, vibe pump machines aren't recommended for catering...however, how would it do with a one-time event like this? I don't think I could do more than 1 drink every 1.5 minutes, so the pump would be on for ~30 seconds, off for ~60. And some drinks will probably be steamers or hot chocolates, which wouldn't require any pumping except for boiler refill. Is using a vibe pump for this purpose more of a long-term concern or would I be risking toasting my pump even for this one time event?

Thanks in advance for any input!

If you are serving to the public, you might need to get a permit; your machine might need to meet certain certifications, such as NSF.

See:
http://www.mchd.com/fdevents.htm

Allon,

Thanks, I will look into that.