Popcorn coffee roaster

[philandsue1]

I've just dug out my popcorn maker and it's a 1200W machine with air blown in from the sides as opposed to the bottom. From wjat I've read so far on the net I think this will be ideal for having a go at roasting my own. Do the beans turn out well uing this method or am I hopinf for too much from such a simple method?

Thanks,
Phil

 

[roaster dave]

By all means, you can pull off some great roasts with your machine. If you haven't roasted before, I'd suggest getting your hands on some cheaper beans that you can play around with before you spend a little more on some better beans. You'll have to play around a little with batch size to find the perfect amount to roast to achieve the results you are looking for.

 

[SalinaA]

Hmmmm I might actually give this a try myself - sounds like a very good idea lol

 

[ArabBeaker]

Phil, from what I've picked up over the last couple of weeks since having a go at roasting in my popper, it seems these things tend to roast slightly faster than the big commercial machines. But the good news is, you can roast fantastic coffee, especially by keeping in touch with folks on this forum and others.

Here's what I've found out about my little machine, which is the Breville Crazy popper: I need to roast 75-90 gms of green beans in order to get to the second crack. Because less than this, tends to permit a greater airflow and therefore a lower temp. However, this may just be because its still relatively cold here and summer time may be quite different.
I've been told to allow the machine to cool down in between batches, so I place it in a drafty position for 10-15 mins.
Ambient air temp plays a small part in increasing or decreasing roast times.
I am moving away from actually timing my roast and now I watch and listen for the first or second crack to let me know how the roast is progressing. This is very easy to do, you really can't go wrong.
Corn poppers work very well but the life expectancy is probably reduced when compared to using the thing for popping corn.
I worked out I need only to roast 3 kilos of beans in order for the popper to pay for itself with the savings I get from buying green beans.
I leave my beans for 4 days before using them. They are great. Less than this and I can taste the CO2 or what ever it is. It tastes like a kind of sharp acid and is not nice.

There is a lot of information out there regarding different origins and roasting times etc. I would suggest, don't get too worried about all this, its pretty hard to botch anything IMO.
I started with a little good info about which were quality beans to buy, then began my own experimentation with roast times. I have not had any bad coffee yet :wink:

I have gotten friendly with a local roaster who is very open and helpful.

There is much reading to be had by googling " Roasting Coffee beans in a corn popper".
Have fun.
ArabB.

 

[roaster dave]

'tis true. Anything from a cast iron pan on the stove to the big commercial machines used in production areas will produce superb coffees. The main thing to consider is lots of practice and lots of cupping!

 

[jlyon10]

Roasting your own

Roasting your own coffee is such a joy. It is fun and you get to try a lot of different really good coffee and you can roast it the way you like it. I have never tried a popcorn popper, I use a Fresh Roast + 8. It is really neat. You can see a video of me roasting using 2 of them on my website under videos.

 

[Davec]

There is much reading to be had by googling " Roasting Coffee beans in a corn popper".

One of our members wrote this article...you might find it of interest

http://coffeetime.wikidot.com/roasting- ... corn-maker

 

[ArabBeaker]

Re: Roasting your own

Roasting your own coffee is such a joy. It is fun and you get to try a lot of different really good coffee and you can roast it the way you like it. I have never tried a popcorn popper, I use a Fresh Roast + 8. It is really neat. You can see a video of me roasting using 2 of them on my website under videos.

Jlyon, Enjoyed your video, thanks for putting it up. You know I love when people consider their camper van and deck chair essential camping quipment. Right after their coffee roaster(s) :wink:

We have become somewhat popular ourselves the last two years at our favourite camping ground. Possibly due to our espresso machine and also my homebrew Pale Ale.

This summer I am definately taking the corn popper along.

 

[ArabBeaker]

There is much reading to be had by googling " Roasting Coffee beans in a corn popper".

One of our members wrote this article...you might find it of interest

http://coffeetime.wikidot.com/roasting- ... corn-maker

Dave, some handy tips there about prolonging the life of your humble popper.
Yesterday I roasted a little later in the afternoon when cooler. I noticed the time extended markedly from the usual 7 mins to the second crack, up to 8'30. With the first oil taking another 1'30 .
I was roasting some Kenyan which I wanted to try as single origin, just to 'educate' my pallette a little.