CoffeeGeek serves up simple instructions on how to start your own home roasting career, with the help of a standard, off the shelf popcorn popper, and lots of enthusiasm for learning about the process.
mcKoffee Senior Member Joined: 29 Dec 2001 Posts: 748 Location: Vancouver WA USA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Bricoletta, Audrey, LM 3AV... Grinder: Mazzer Major,SJ, Rocky,... Vac Pot: Gold Royal Balance Drip: When it rains...Moka, FPs Roaster: USRC3k,CCR HT, Behmor, Cafe...
Posted Tue Apr 24, 2007, 6:15am Subject: Re: Roasting coffee with a popcorn popper
Great beginner's guide to popcorn popper coffee roasting Mark! Couple points you might consider elaborating on.
1) Recommended starting point batch size of 85 grams. Obviously poppers vary in capacity and greens movement varies by bean density, moisture content, size and shape. Might mention the method of determining batch size by adding greens until they just barely move at the beginning of roast. Movement picking up as they loose weight etc.
2) Roast times for stages. Again times will vary by many factors including but not limited to batch size, bean type, line voltage, popper model, even popper to popper same model, ambient temp etc. (Of course you know this and did mention the cardboard box for cold weather roasting, good tip:-) But stating about 4 minutes for start of 1st and about 5 or 6 minutes for 2nd without more qualifiers for time variations could lead a newbie astray!
I know the guide is intended as bare bones for the newbie, but also know that a newbie can easily get "stuck" or locked into thinking finite numbers are gold and when they don't get the same results from the same weight & times be clueless! Yeah I know, hit the home roasting forum for advanced discussion, but why not let 'em know up front them numbers are only rough examples of how some poppers will react under some conditions for some beans!
Terry_L Senior Member Joined: 20 Jan 2007 Posts: 64 Location: Louisville-KY Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Coffee Grinder: Solis Scala 166 Vac Pot: French-Press(s)-Love 'em Drip: Bunn Roaster: SC/TO - Air Popper
Posted Tue Apr 24, 2007, 8:33am Subject: Re: Roasting coffee with a popcorn popper
Great Intro Article, Mark !! I'd like to see some posts on this thread for common problems and solutions in regards to taste. I know I had a problem with the roasts going too fast and a very bright / acidic cup was the result. The solution....simply reducing the batch size.
Another recent poster reported a "filmy" or fuzzy taste. Not sure where the solution for her lies, but somebody here will square it away.
Good article Mark!, I think I was the first one on it to rate it. {;-)
Yes, I've had that same taste also, a chalky taste that would possibly lead me to believe that it's a change/error/defect in the roast profile that favored an alkaline chemical change to produce it.
fatnat79 Senior Member Joined: 25 Apr 2007 Posts: 4 Location: LA, CA Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Wed Apr 25, 2007, 9:39pm Subject: Re: Roasting coffee with a popcorn popper
Great write up Mark, as always. Been waiting for one of these from CoffeeGeek for a while. =) Funny timing, that is, I've been recently considering purchasing an actual coffee roaster machine such as the Fresh Roast Plus 8 or the Hearthware i-roast 2. I am sure that either of these should perform substantially better than an ordinary popcorn popper both in end product and convenience (chaff collector and programmable sets), but by how much? As you said in your article, a popcorn popper used to roast coffee will considerably reduce the life of it, however, I have heard that even coffee roasters (such as the ones I mentioned above) have a short life span also (1-2 years depending on how much usage). I do want decent coffee roasting performance without reaching the $500+ prosumer roasters out there, but since a popcorn popper is a fraction of the cost of a $100 Freshroast, how would you gauge an avid coffee drinker such as myself in their decision? Just to let you know the level of my coffee commitment, I am a proud owner of the Rancilio duo (Silvia and Rocky). Thanks again Mark, and to any other who decides to reply.
mcKoffee Senior Member Joined: 29 Dec 2001 Posts: 748 Location: Vancouver WA USA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Bricoletta, Audrey, LM 3AV... Grinder: Mazzer Major,SJ, Rocky,... Vac Pot: Gold Royal Balance Drip: When it rains...Moka, FPs Roaster: USRC3k,CCR HT, Behmor, Cafe...
Posted Thu Apr 26, 2007, 7:46am Subject: Re: Roasting coffee with a popcorn popper
fatnat79 Said:
I've been recently considering purchasing an actual coffee roaster machine such as the Fresh Roast Plus 8 or the Hearthware i-roast 2. I am sure that either of these should perform substantially better than an ordinary popcorn popper both in end product and convenience (chaff collector and programmable sets), but by how much?
Unfortunately mostly incorrect assumption. Chaff collection wise yes but an unmodified popcorn popper will roast very similar to an FR and usually the popper will have larger batch capacity. The IR does have limited sort of profile capability by setting a number of target temp stages, but IMO has a glaring weakness too. Specifically the initial temp point is factor hard set and set too high. OTH the IR overall is more flexible than a stock FR or popper. The IR's method of temp control is rather limited though IMO, specifically varying fan speed for direct temp control rather than varying heater. Based on 6+ years and 1000+ home roasts IMO a popper modified for just variable heater voltage control is capable of better roasts than a IR. With variable boost control of both heat and fan even better and more flexible batch size wise.
I do want decent coffee roasting performance without reaching the $500+ prosumer roasters out there, but since a popcorn popper is a fraction of the cost of a $100 Freshroast, how would you gauge an avid coffee drinker such as myself in their decision? Just to let you know the level of my coffee commitment, I am a proud owner of the Rancilio duo (Silvia and Rocky). Thanks again Mark, and to any other who decides to reply-Nate
Don't get me wrong, it's rather easy to turn beans brown and hence simple to roast coffee. And decent is relative. Just don't expect results on par or maybe even close to good Artisan roasters without a fair amount of time and effort learning the bean. Especially going into home roasting on the cheap, and there's nothing wrong with that! Just expect more learning curve, time and effort to be able to get really good results. But of the off the shelf available home roasting appliances, for easy to get decent results quickly with limited or no tweaking or modifying IMO only the HotTop qualifies. OTH an open wok or frying pan and wooden spoon can produce some might fine coffee roasts, but it ain't necessarily easy!
patrickb Senior Member Joined: 5 Jun 2006 Posts: 22 Location: Toronto, Ontario Expertise: I love coffee
Grinder: President's Choice Burr...
Posted Fri Apr 27, 2007, 6:45am Subject: Re: Roasting coffee with a popcorn popper
Great article! One thing that I would add (from experience) is that coffee *will* fly out of the maker into you chaff bowl. This is especially true with the drier beans that are pushed out simply by air pressure. Also, the air at the end will blow the chaff all over your kitchen unless you somehow seal the bowl. Not recommended. I usually take my popcorn maker outside and use it without the cover. It takes about the same amount of time to roast but it allows me to to catch the beans that fly out (using a large cookie sheet underneath). Also, the chaff just flies out the top so no cleanup! Do it outside anyways because you will get a lot of smoke.
Regarding the chaff at the end, I'd recommend giving it (the coffee) a good stir with your hands and using a sieve that has fairly large holes. There is still *a lot* of it left of the beans and this will be the only way to get it off.
Finally, do be careful if you're using a cookie sheet for cooling off. It does a fantastic job (i.e. fast cooldown) but it does get incredibly hot!
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