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Date: 08 Sep 2006 17:32:58
From:
Subject: Getting started roasting my own beans
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I'm now at the point where I'm considering the popcorn popper roaster
route for roasting beans myself. I assume that there's a good FAQ or
instruction set somewhere. So, two questions -
1) Who has the best set of instructions on the web, and what kind of
pitfalls should I be on the lookout for?
2) Which air popper is the best one for roasting beans?
Thanks.
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Date: 08 Sep 2006 20:39:02
From:
Subject: Re: Getting started roasting my own beans
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There are several Poppery's, including the original model, for sale on
eBay right now.
Liz
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Date: 08 Sep 2006 23:19:15
From: Ed Needham
Subject: Re: Getting started roasting my own beans
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I have catalogued a number of creative efforts by homeroasters on my web
site...
http://www.homeroaster.com
and also there is a wealth of information on...
http://homeroasters.org
--
*********************
Ed Needham®
"to absurdity and beyond!"
ed at homeroaster dot com
(include [FRIEND] in subject line to get through my SPAM filters)
*********************
<choffman@austin.rr.com > wrote in message
news:13a3g2dg73e6linuk4feb0n9qbi8fisnk7@4ax.com...
>
> I'm now at the point where I'm considering the popcorn popper roaster
> route for roasting beans myself. I assume that there's a good FAQ or
> instruction set somewhere. So, two questions -
>
> 1) Who has the best set of instructions on the web, and what kind of
> pitfalls should I be on the lookout for?
>
> 2) Which air popper is the best one for roasting beans?
>
> Thanks.
>
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Date: 08 Sep 2006 20:22:16
From: Dan Bollinger
Subject: Re: Getting started roasting my own beans
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www.homeroasters.org
<choffman@austin.rr.com > wrote in message
news:13a3g2dg73e6linuk4feb0n9qbi8fisnk7@4ax.com...
>
> I'm now at the point where I'm considering the popcorn popper roaster
> route for roasting beans myself. I assume that there's a good FAQ or
> instruction set somewhere. So, two questions -
>
> 1) Who has the best set of instructions on the web, and what kind of
> pitfalls should I be on the lookout for?
>
> 2) Which air popper is the best one for roasting beans?
>
> Thanks.
>
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Date: 08 Sep 2006 15:09:37
From: Harry Moos
Subject: Re: Getting started roasting my own beans
|
I have been using the West Bend air poppers [either original Poppery or
Poppery II] for several years. They work
fine for me. I have five more in reserve, since they tend to melt the tops
over time. But I have bought them at Goodwill for 50 cents to $3. I bought
two new ones at garage sales for $3 and $5. Different alties have done all
sorts of modifications to them, but they work OK as is, too.
<choffman@austin.rr.com > wrote in message
news:13a3g2dg73e6linuk4feb0n9qbi8fisnk7@4ax.com...
>
> I'm now at the point where I'm considering the popcorn popper roaster
> route for roasting beans myself. I assume that there's a good FAQ or
> instruction set somewhere. So, two questions -
>
> 2) Which air popper is the best one for roasting beans?
>
> Thanks.
>
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Date: 09 Sep 2006 03:55:14
From: Donn Cave
Subject: Re: Getting started roasting my own beans
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Quoth "Harry Moos" <harrym@ruraltel.net >:
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Date: 08 Sep 2006 19:34:11
From: Paul Monaghan
Subject: Re: Getting started roasting my own beans
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On Fri, 08 Sep 2006 17:32:58 GMT, choffman@austin.rr.com wrote:
>2) Which air popper is the best one for roasting beans?
>
>Thanks.
My vote would be for the original Poppery. After using any number of
thrift shop Poppery II clones I finally ebayed an original Poppery.
Big, big difference.
You'll do fine with any of the ones mentioned, but you'll do better
with a Poppery imho, even at ebay prices.
Good luck!
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Date: 08 Sep 2006 19:11:51
From: Robert Harmon
Subject: Re: Getting started roasting my own beans
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Any air popper with a solid bottom will work. These will have vents to
direct the hot air in a swirling pattern. DO NOT USE the air poppers (Presto
&?) with a screened bottom - they don't agitate the beans very well & some
people have suggested they can be a fire hazard. I use a White-Westinghouse
that looks suspiciously like the Poppery. Do a Google search for, "air
popper coffee roaster" & you'll find lots of links. Good Luck!
--
Robert (duck & cover) Harmon
http://tinyurl.com/pou2y
http://tinyurl.com/fkd6r
<choffman@austin.rr.com > wrote in message
news:13a3g2dg73e6linuk4feb0n9qbi8fisnk7@4ax.com...
>
> I'm now at the point where I'm considering the popcorn popper roaster
> route for roasting beans myself. I assume that there's a good FAQ or
> instruction set somewhere. So, two questions -
>
> 1) Who has the best set of instructions on the web, and what kind of
> pitfalls should I be on the lookout for?
>
> 2) Which air popper is the best one for roasting beans?
>
> Thanks.
>
>
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Date: 09 Sep 2006 03:17:37
From:
Subject: Re: Getting started roasting my own beans
|
Thanks to everyone for their replies. I checked out the sweet maria's
recommendations and then went to my local Thrift Shop - they had
nothing. I went to Target, where they had a big ugly mass popper, and
a Toastmaster TPC3 popper. Sweet Maria's stated that some people have
had acceptable results with the Target Toastmaster, but it looks like
it has the fan inlet on the bottom rather than on the sides (inlet on
the bottom supposedly is the fire hazard according to SM). Any idea
if the TPC2 Toastmaster is actually ok for air roasting beans?
I'll try going to the local Goodwills tomorrow to see what I can turn
up there. Gas has gotten too expensive for driving across town for
garage sales, so worst-case, I'll get the Toastmaster for $15 from
Target, if people here can vouche for it.
On Fri, 08 Sep 2006 19:11:51 GMT, "Robert Harmon"
<r_h_harmon@Zhotmail.com > wrote:
>Any air popper with a solid bottom will work. These will have vents to
>direct the hot air in a swirling pattern. DO NOT USE the air poppers (Presto
>&?) with a screened bottom - they don't agitate the beans very well & some
>people have suggested they can be a fire hazard. I use a White-Westinghouse
>that looks suspiciously like the Poppery. Do a Google search for, "air
>popper coffee roaster" & you'll find lots of links. Good Luck!
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Date: 09 Sep 2006 04:27:16
From: Donn Cave
Subject: Re: Getting started roasting my own beans
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Quoth choffman@austin.rr.com:
...
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Date: 09 Sep 2006 08:53:57
From: Robert Harmon
Subject: Re: Getting started roasting my own beans
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Did you check out eBay?
--
Robert (duck & cover) Harmon
http://tinyurl.com/pou2y
http://tinyurl.com/fkd6r
<choffman@austin.rr.com > wrote in message
news:g7c4g25m7pai9ugdf94n22fbis4hjk3830@4ax.com...
> Thanks to everyone for their replies. I checked out the sweet maria's
> recommendations and then went to my local Thrift Shop - they had
> nothing. I went to Target, where they had a big ugly mass popper, and
> a Toastmaster TPC3 popper. Sweet Maria's stated that some people have
> had acceptable results with the Target Toastmaster, but it looks like
> it has the fan inlet on the bottom rather than on the sides (inlet on
> the bottom supposedly is the fire hazard according to SM). Any idea
> if the TPC2 Toastmaster is actually ok for air roasting beans?
>
> I'll try going to the local Goodwills tomorrow to see what I can turn
> up there. Gas has gotten too expensive for driving across town for
> garage sales, so worst-case, I'll get the Toastmaster for $15 from
> Target, if people here can vouche for it.
>
>
> On Fri, 08 Sep 2006 19:11:51 GMT, "Robert Harmon"
> <r_h_harmon@Zhotmail.com> wrote:
>
>>Any air popper with a solid bottom will work. These will have vents to
>>direct the hot air in a swirling pattern. DO NOT USE the air poppers
>>(Presto
>>&?) with a screened bottom - they don't agitate the beans very well & some
>>people have suggested they can be a fire hazard. I use a
>>White-Westinghouse
>>that looks suspiciously like the Poppery. Do a Google search for, "air
>>popper coffee roaster" & you'll find lots of links. Good Luck!
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Date: 08 Sep 2006 13:34:07
From: Harry Moos
Subject: Re: Getting started roasting my own beans
|
I have been using the West Bend air poppers for several years. They work
fine for me. I have five more in reserve, since they tend to melt the tops
over time. But I have bought them at Goodwill for 50 cents to $3. I bought
two new ones at garage sales for $3 and $5. Different alties have done all
sorts of modifications to them, but they work OK as is, too.
<choffman@austin.rr.com > wrote in message
news:13a3g2dg73e6linuk4feb0n9qbi8fisnk7@4ax.com...
>
> I'm now at the point where I'm considering the popcorn popper roaster
> route for roasting beans myself. I assume that there's a good FAQ or
> instruction set somewhere. So, two questions -
>
> 1) Who has the best set of instructions on the web, and what kind of
> pitfalls should I be on the lookout for?
>
> 2) Which air popper is the best one for roasting beans?
>
> Thanks.
>
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Date: 08 Sep 2006 11:32:12
From: Ken Fox
Subject: Re: Getting started roasting my own beans
|
<choffman@austin.rr.com > wrote in message
news:13a3g2dg73e6linuk4feb0n9qbi8fisnk7@4ax.com...
>
> I'm now at the point where I'm considering the popcorn popper roaster
> route for roasting beans myself. I assume that there's a good FAQ or
> instruction set somewhere. So, two questions -
>
> 1) Who has the best set of instructions on the web, and what kind of
> pitfalls should I be on the lookout for?
>
> 2) Which air popper is the best one for roasting beans?
>
> Thanks.
>
you can get all of your important questions answered and find tutorials on
this stuff at www.sweetmarias.com
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Date: 10 Sep 2006 21:27:44
From: Eureka
Subject: Re: Getting started roasting my own beans
|
You will find two types of WHOLE GREEN BEANS ready for roasting at
www.cafedepr.com
Both are of the ARABICA kind cultivated in the high altitudes of the west
end Cordillera Central de Puerto Rico in the town of Jayuya.
They are modestly priced and guaranteed to be 100% Puerto Rico Arabica
Coffee.
<choffman@austin.rr.com > wrote in message
news:13a3g2dg73e6linuk4feb0n9qbi8fisnk7@4ax.com...
>
> I'm now at the point where I'm considering the popcorn popper roaster
> route for roasting beans myself. I assume that there's a good FAQ or
> instruction set somewhere. So, two questions -
>
> 1) Who has the best set of instructions on the web, and what kind of
> pitfalls should I be on the lookout for?
>
> 2) Which air popper is the best one for roasting beans?
>
> Thanks.
>
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Date: 12 Sep 2006 22:07:08
From:
Subject: Re: Getting started roasting my own beans
|
Ok, just as a follow up:
I haven't tried getting a popper on Ebay yet, simply because I'm not a
big Ebay user. That may be my next step, though. Thank you everyone
that replied to my questions.
Based on comments on Sweet Maria's, I picked up a Toastmaster from
Target at $15 (since that's all I could find in the area), and a
couple of pounds of green beans from my local bean supplier (the beans
turned out to be free, because my "buy 10 pounds get 1 pound free
card" got filled up when I used it to get 1 pound of roasted Yrgecheff
and 2 pounds of Guatamala green).
The Toastmaster is 1200 Watts, has the air intake on the bottom, and
has a small 1/2 cup reservoir. It runs incredibly hot, bringing the
beans closest to the reservoir sides to a French roast level inside 5
minutes. At one 1/2 cup at a time, the beans roast unevenly. While I
was roasting on my apartment balcony, I had the sliding door open and
the smoke set off the fire detector. I used this as an excuse to turn
off the popper, and then examined the beans. About half were very
dark roasted, and the other half somewhat lighter. A few beans never
went through the second crack and were still their original size, but
definitely had a roasted look to them. I'll try again tomorrow after
I get a patio chair and table to work on. I'll probably have to use
fewer beans at a time, in any case.
Still, it was fun watching the beans squirrelling around inside the
popper as they heated up and took their turns rising up to the top of
the pack. Not sure if there's enough air flow to meet the needs of
coffee roasting, yet.
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Date: 12 Sep 2006 19:54:37
From: David Williams
Subject: Re: Getting started roasting my own beans
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A few months ago I purchased a poppery II and green beans from sweet
marias. the poppery II would make it to 1st crack but after 25+ minutes
it never made it to 2nd. The product it made was downright awful. Sooo
I bought a machine brand new from some department store. it had the
screen on the bottom so I was pretty careful with it and had it outside
away from anything that could catch fire. I tilted it to about a 30-40
degree angle to make sure that it kept the beans moving. It seemed to
do a lot better and it could definately get into 2nd crack... yet the
result was still pretty bad. The beans still tasted green even though
they were roasted dark enough to make the oils come to the surface...
So today I gave up on the popcorn poppers and purchased a french roast
from sweet maria's. I'll have an update about that hopefully next week.
sorry about your smoke detector :)
Couple things i read was to try and stir the beans with a wooden spoon
or something similar for a minute or so to make sure they are moving
properly. Also make sure you have the hoods attached to the popcorn
popper to make sure the temp reach something that's hot enough to roast
coffee. If it's on an extension cord that'll lower the voltage a bit
and you may have problems there too. Or like me, you just may not have
any kind of luck at all with them.
-David Williams
choffman@austin.rr.com wrote:
> Ok, just as a follow up:
>
> I haven't tried getting a popper on Ebay yet, simply because I'm not a
> big Ebay user. That may be my next step, though. Thank you everyone
> that replied to my questions.
>
> Based on comments on Sweet Maria's, I picked up a Toastmaster from
> Target at $15 (since that's all I could find in the area), and a
> couple of pounds of green beans from my local bean supplier (the beans
> turned out to be free, because my "buy 10 pounds get 1 pound free
> card" got filled up when I used it to get 1 pound of roasted Yrgecheff
> and 2 pounds of Guatamala green).
>
> The Toastmaster is 1200 Watts, has the air intake on the bottom, and
> has a small 1/2 cup reservoir. It runs incredibly hot, bringing the
> beans closest to the reservoir sides to a French roast level inside 5
> minutes. At one 1/2 cup at a time, the beans roast unevenly. While I
> was roasting on my apartment balcony, I had the sliding door open and
> the smoke set off the fire detector. I used this as an excuse to turn
> off the popper, and then examined the beans. About half were very
> dark roasted, and the other half somewhat lighter. A few beans never
> went through the second crack and were still their original size, but
> definitely had a roasted look to them. I'll try again tomorrow after
> I get a patio chair and table to work on. I'll probably have to use
> fewer beans at a time, in any case.
>
> Still, it was fun watching the beans squirrelling around inside the
> popper as they heated up and took their turns rising up to the top of
> the pack. Not sure if there's enough air flow to meet the needs of
> coffee roasting, yet.
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Date: 01 Oct 2006 08:55:55
From: Harry Moos
Subject: Re: Getting started roasting my own beans
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I have used several Poppery II's over the past four years. Ten minutes will
take most green beans through second crack. I usually set the timer for
eight minutes for Monkey blend, slightly less for Moka Kadir Blend. I leave
the hood on to direct the chaff into a container. Also, I run the popper
for a minute or so before I put the 4 ounces of beans in.
"David Williams" <REMOVEdaveCAPS@bluenotblue.com > wrote in message
news:17adnSW3ge4h1ZrYnZ2dnUVZ_qednZ2d@comcast.com...
>A few months ago I purchased a poppery II and green beans from sweet
>marias. the poppery II would make it to 1st crack but after 25+ minutes it
>never made it to 2nd. The product it made was downright awful. Sooo I
>bought a machine brand new from some department store. it had the screen
>on the bottom so I was pretty careful with it and had it outside away from
>anything that could catch fire. I tilted it to about a 30-40 degree angle
>to make sure that it kept the beans moving. It seemed to do a lot better
>and it could definately get into 2nd crack... yet the result was still
>pretty bad. The beans still tasted green even though they were roasted
>dark enough to make the oils come to the surface...
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Date: 15 Sep 2006 18:31:52
From:
Subject: Re: Getting started roasting my own beans
|
Another follow-up on my travels and travails in learning to home
roast:
I'm still using the Target Toastmaster. This thing gets hot fast.
But, the heating container is small, so it's best to use small amounts
of green beans at a time.
1) The Toastmaster has air vents along the bottom cylinder wall,
blowing air concentrically in a circle at the base of the unit. Beans
swirl around due to the air, but the heat comes from a heater directly
connected to the metal unit. That is, it's not really an air popper -
it's a heater popper that uses air to force the popped corn out the
top of the popper. As such, the beans will stay in the unit until you
pour them out manually.
2) Chaff: I'm getting some chaff, but it's blown out the mouth of the
popper and therefore is controllable (especially since I'm doing this
outside).
3) Build-up: Oils and bean chips build up inside the unit and burn
after about 5 rounds of roasting beans. I'm using one official coffee
scoop of green beans per "batch". After 5 "batchs", I need to stop
and clean out the unit with a paper towel (takes about 10 minutes for
the unit to cool down enough to safely touch the inside of the popper
without burning myself).
4) Heat: As I say, this thing runs *hot*, and can cause the beans to
go to a French roast pretty quickly. The plastic butter
melter/measuring scoop on top of the main plastic cover has already
started to melt and deform.
5) Results: With one scoop of green at a time, this popper heats the
beans pretty evenly, but it is difficult to control the roast level
just by sight. And, at one scoop at a time, it takes quite a while to
roast 1 pound of finished beans. Next, I need to get a scale to
measure just how much beans I've roasted - I can't tell just by sight
or feel.
Questions:
Just exactly what is meant by "into the second crack"? (I know, that
sounds dirty. Anyway...) The second crack seems to be a continuous
series of quieter cracklings. Should I be timing the roast level
based on the start of the crackling? Because the crackling takes at
least one minute to finish, and by then I've got another batch of
French roasts. So, for a simple dark roast for use in a Toddy, should
I be planning on stopping the roast 10-20 seconds after the crackling
starts?
Observation: My wife is Japanese, and as such, she wrinkles her nose
at anything that looks less than clean, or seems weird. So, I'm
sitting on the balcony, watching yet another batch of beans turning
color in the popper, when she walks by the glass door, shakes her head
at what a weird thing I'm doing, and walks away. Later, I bring her a
bowl of roasted beans to demonstrate what the finished results of my
experiments are. She looks surprised, grabs a bean, eats it, smiles,
and takes a few more to happily snack on. Now, I'm the one shaking
his head... (to me, they taste too much like charcoal.)
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