The Oromo people would customarily plant a coffee tree on the graves of powerful sorcerers. They believed that the first coffee bush sprang up from the tears that the god of heaven shed over the corpse of a dead sorcerer.
I once made a pourover using some expensive Hawaiian specialty beans for a brunch and literally nobody gave a shit. What a waste! Since that time I always use less rare beans to make drip coffee and people are just as happy.
Espresso drinks work well and are much appreciated, but as he says, they don't scale well beyond 4 or 5 guests. Especially with a single-boiler machine.
My go-to for larger gatherings (>5 guests) is French press with supermarket beans. They always love it, so no need to use anything more expensive than that.