5. a) The Tea and Coffee Station
Back to volunteering index Book 5
These items form part of Book 5: CATERING
Setting up the Tea & Coffee Station by Thursday Lunchtime
Maintaining Supplies and Checking the Bin
Set up by Thursday Lunchtime
- This can be done in time for Thursday lunchtime, although the Scouts will not arrive with fresh milk and ice until Friday.
- The URN should be set up in the Lounge (next to Bush Kitchen) with a couple of tables along the wall.
- Obtain water from the deep sink in the Bush Kitchen using a bucket.
- Fill the urn to ¾ capacity (or half if there is an urgent need to heat the water quickly).
- Set up coffee, sugar, tea, stirrers and cups. Dry supplies are kept in the Store Room alcove on the left-hand-side in boxes marked Sugar, Tea Bags, Stirrers.
Tins of coffee should be just on the shelf. Foam cups are in a large carton.
Put out Longlife milk if available.
Put out some serviettes or a roll of paper towel (right-hand-side of alcove) on the table. - Ask the Scouts (please) for milk and ice and set these up in a foam box on the table. The milk doesn’t need to be completely covered as the weather in May is usually cool and a two-litre bottle may not last a whole day. We run a tab with the Scouts - just tell them what it is for.
- Put the rubbish bin with a black plastic liner bag in it adjacent to the table. Black garbage bags are kept in the Store Room alcove on the right-hand-side in a box on the bottom right shelf.
Note that some bags don't fit the wide-diameter bin. - Leave three tubes of cups in the plastic basket, open side down and tear the “top” off the plastic bag to expose the outside base of the first cup (thus people are not touching the lips of other people’s cups when they get theirs).
- Connect a gas cylinder if not already done. See Joe if you can’t find one.
- Use the three burners when first starting up. Note that the taps open AWAY from the urn.
Use a piece of paper to light the burners - a twisted serviette works as a taper – if you can't locate a gas flame lighter. You need to insert the paper or lighter from underneath to reach the gas. If you start by lighting the centre burner, you will hear the ignition “pop” when you turn on each of the other burners. - Once the water is boiling (it takes about an hour), use only the centre burner by turning the 2 outside taps off.
- Keep topped up once down to ½ capacity. Every half bottle of milk is a guide.
- Use a flat plastic conduit cover to check the level. Dip this into the water, taking care not to have it in contact with the base of the urn for more than a moment. Lift it out and you should be able to angle it to the light to see the water level. The “stick” from 2015 may still be there with markings showing the top of the urn and the recommended water level.
- Once set up and water is hot, make an announcement over the PA to advise people that the Tea & Coffee Station is now operational (and they may need to bring their own milk on Thursday).
Maintaining Supplies and Checking the Bin
- Check the area hourly and top up tea bags, coffee, spoons, serviettes, paper towels, cups, stirrers and sugar as needed.
- Before the Scouts arrive, Longlife milk may be available in the Store Room.
- Ask the Scouts for more milk and ice as needed from Friday lunchtime.
- Stomp in the bin to compact the rubbish.
- If the bin fills, tie off the bag and take it to the humpy. Replace with a fresh bag from the Store Room.
Keeping the Water HOT
- Check frequently and especially first thing in the morning, before retiring at night and before and after the talks on Friday and Saturday.
- Ensure the gas is still burning. If the tap is on but there is no heat or flame and no gas smell, the cylinder is empty and needs to be replaced. Joe, Trevor Oates, Peter Moore or Greg Priestley can help.
- Use the white plastic strip (it's a piece of white conduit cover) to check the water level and top up as needed using the yellow bucket at the sink. Take care to only bring the plastic strip into contact with the bottom of the urn momentarily, as it will melt and its shape will distort with excessive heat.
- Keep topped up once below ½ capacity. Every half bottle of milk is a guide.
If it gets down too low, it takes a long time to heat the larger top-up volume, and people will complain if the water is not hot enough.
Make sure it is well topped up around Friday and Saturday lunchtimes, as the afternoons are the busiest periods.
Volunteer Shifts - Thursday morning to Sunday lunchtime
Volunteers may cooperate to cover different shifts: mornings (8am to noon), afternoons (noon to 4pm), evenings (4pm to 8pm), late night (8pm to midnight), depending on their own observing and sleep patterns.
The service operates from Thursday morning to Sunday lunchtime.