MikeSD Senior Member Joined: 10 Jan 2013 Posts: 43 Location: Florida Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Tue Jan 15, 2013, 10:40am Subject: Roasting with a popcorn popper. Is it worth it?
Okay, so I'm fairly new to the world of premium coffee. I'd like to experiment around with home roasting, and I'd like to get started for fairly cheap. I'd hate to drop hundreds of dollars on something I'm terrible at. I've heard/seen some videos saying that home roasting in a popcorn air popper is a good option.
My question to you all is, have any of you had experience with this. What are your successes and failures? Is it worth the trouble of trying to get something decent with an air popper? I'll be honest, I'm not going to spend the money on a pro roaster. At least not now. I'd like to dip my toe in the water, as it were, and see how I do. Any thoughts/comments are much appreciated.
Prof Senior Member Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 638 Location: Seattle Expertise: Pro Roaster
Espresso: PV Lusso, Enrico of Italy Grinder: Pharos 696, Zass Drip: Brazen, Aeropress Roaster: Behmor, TO/SC, Poppery I
Posted Tue Jan 15, 2013, 10:48am Subject: Re: Roasting with a popcorn popper. Is it worth it?
Many of us got started on popcorn poppers. It's easy to do a roast and you will learn quickly the basics.
Thrift stores usually have decent Poppery II's, Proctor-Silex, Popcorn Poppers, etc. Just look for the vents to be on the sides, and not the bottom of the chamber.
Then you'll start thinking about: - extension cords to slow things down a bit - variacs to control the voltage - tipping (leaning) the popper for some reason (I can't remember) - raising the chamber height by using a soup can to keep more heat in the chamber and also to prevent beans from jumping out
From there you might cobble together a turbo oven/stir crazy system that will roast much more at a time. That's pretty cheap compared to getting a Behmor or Gene.
I'm glad I started with the poppers. It felt like being an apprentice by learning the art step by step.
MikeSD Senior Member Joined: 10 Jan 2013 Posts: 43 Location: Florida Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Tue Jan 15, 2013, 11:02am Subject: Re: Roasting with a popcorn popper. Is it worth it?
Prof Said:
Many of us got started on popcorn poppers. It's easy to do a roast and you will learn quickly the basics.
Thrift stores usually have decent Poppery II's, Proctor-Silex, Popcorn Poppers, etc. Just look for the vents to be on the sides, and not the bottom of the chamber.
Then you'll start thinking about: - extension cords to slow things down a bit - variacs to control the voltage - tipping (leaning) the popper for some reason (I can't remember) - raising the chamber height by using a soup can to keep more heat in the chamber and also to prevent beans from jumping out
From there you might cobble together a turbo oven/stir crazy system that will roast much more at a time. That's pretty cheap compared to getting a Behmor or Gene.
I'm glad I started with the poppers. It felt like being an apprentice by learning the art step by step.
Awesome. Thanks. I'm a science teacher, so I kind of like the idea of cobbling together some contraption, but I would kind of like to know what I'm doing first. This sounds like a good starting place. Thanks again.
Posted Tue Jan 15, 2013, 11:27am Subject: Re: Roasting with a popcorn popper. Is it worth it?
MikeSD Said:
Awesome. Thanks. I'm a science teacher, so I kind of like the idea of cobbling together some contraption, but I would kind of like to know what I'm doing first. This sounds like a good starting place. Thanks again.
Posted Tue Jan 15, 2013, 2:05pm Subject: Re: Roasting with a popcorn popper. Is it worth it?
Yes, it's worth it. Even if you have a decent roaster 2 blocks away. You have control of when and how the coffee is roasted, and high quality green beans are less than half the price of the roasted version of the same.
An alternative to a variac for controlling the heat output of the popper is a 1100 - 1500W lighting dimmer switch on just the heater circuit (assuming that the popper is wired for this). I have this on my JC Penney branded popper, and it was extremely useful for controlling the heat input, and for cooling after the roast. After a few years of this in the UK and US, I've now switched to a Gene Cafe, but mostly so I can control the mess and smoke better.
Posted Tue Jan 15, 2013, 3:05pm Subject: Re: Roasting with a popcorn popper. Is it worth it?
MikeSD Said:
Okay, so I'm fairly new to the world of premium coffee. I'd like to experiment around with home roasting, and I'd like to get started for fairly cheap. I'd hate to drop hundreds of dollars on something I'm terrible at. I've heard/seen some videos saying that home roasting in a popcorn air popper is a good option.
My question to you all is, have any of you had experience with this. What are your successes and failures? Is it worth the trouble of trying to get something decent with an air popper? I'll be honest, I'm not going to spend the money on a pro roaster. At least not now. I'd like to dip my toe in the water, as it were, and see how I do. Any thoughts/comments are much appreciated.
Been doing it for five years. I still use it for most of my espresso even though I have a big RK drum. I drink a good deal of SM's Liquid Amber. It turns out ridiculously good in the popper. (I use the drum for some espressos--especially the more finicky ones.)
Few tips:
- Find a measure of beans that is neither too much and so prevents agitation, nor is too little so that it's a waste of time. I use 8 tablespoons (four 2 T coffee measures). With this amount and with my popper (I've used three) I have to stir for the first :40 or so before the beans start spinning. My poppers vary between 1100 and 1350 watts.
- I unplug the popper at the time that first crack is firmly established (not at the first pop or two). I then stir like crazy for about :30. This extends first crack and prevents the train from gaining too much thermal momentum. Substantial dropping of heat after first crack is normal practice for roasting. The beans become exothermic at first crack and can skate along with much less heat being applied. Sometimes I'll do this a second time. Don't let first crack stall. Just moderate it. I could monitor the temps more with my thermocouple, but (1) I get consistently good results and (2) with experience I can rely a lot on time, sight, smell, and sound.
- I used a glass chimney for a while then abandoned it. It kept the beans in, but it prevents me from easily cutting the heat and stirring. Now I lay a steel mesh colander over the top something like this. I don't use it until the beans start flying up in the almost-exit zone. By this time practically all the chaff has escaped, so it won't cog the chamber.
- Dump it out as soon as it's done. Let the beans spread out to cool.
Obviously the drum gives me more ability for control and various batch sizes, but this is where I've landed with the popper after several tweaks through the years. I don't use any variac or wiring modifications, though many here use these things admirably. Notably CG member Frost.
JPF Senior Member Joined: 3 Jun 2010 Posts: 209 Location: NJ Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Mini Vivaldi, Pre-millenium... Grinder: Dosered SJ, Resurrected... Vac Pot: Yama Siphon Drip: Technivorm Roaster: Behmor, Poppery I
Posted Thu Jan 17, 2013, 6:42pm Subject: Re: Roasting with a popcorn popper. Is it worth it?
Best part of an air popper is if you split the heat and fan circuits (very easy on the original Poppery), as soon as you're done, you can cut the heat and you have active air cooling of the beans. Quick cooling helps retain sugars if you like a sweet roast.
roach56 Senior Member Joined: 17 Jun 2010 Posts: 120 Location: USA Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Fri Jan 18, 2013, 11:00am Subject: Re: Roasting with a popcorn popper. Is it worth it?
I use a poppery 2,only because I haven't found an original poppery yet. I just finished roasting with it even though I have a stir crazy/turbo oven and a bread machine roaster. I like the flavor I get from the air popper. Give it a try, but get one with the side vents on the chamber.
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