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  • marcstolk
    replied
    Re: Help!

    I pulled off a 10:30min roast of Ethiopian Harar at 160gms in my Crazy Popper last night...

    The Harar I have is currently my favourite - I cant keep my hands of them...

    Leave a comment:


  • hazbean
    replied
    Re: Help!

    I use an $8 op shop BD popper, works OK (about 10 min roast) with 120g batch, but gets
    much faster with say 150g. So I keep the batches small. Hasnt overheated yet. This
    seems to be consistent with comments above about weak fan. I get good results
    but wouldnt want to push the batch size any further.

    Chimney is just an Italian tomato tin sitting inside the plastic top -- no
    butchery, and easy to run a t/c wire between the two. Fine for small batches.
    No bling though

    Keep trying with the Limu. Its one of the nicest Ive done in my three months
    roasting career Mine was done in the famous Corretto roaster, but Im sure the
    popper could do it. In fact, will try soon.

    Leave a comment:


  • grendel
    replied
    Re: Help!

    Well if you manage to make it here next tuesday you can try a whole range of beans at different roasts. I did peaberry last night and it is looking very nice, just have to keep waiting for it though! (Next well be asking Andy to pre-roast a batch of each of the bean bay beans to send out with the greens so that we can drink it immeidately!)

    Leave a comment:


  • Ox
    replied
    Re: Help!

    Dont worry - Ill definitely be salivating over Grendels Presso, no doubt along with his roasts.

    Had friends over yesterday trying my blend (1/3 Ethiopia Limu and 2/3 PNG A Grade washed - might try adding a little robusta) and they all seemed to like it (stove top method with blender frothed milk!). I dont think they were just being polite Maybe its just my nose doesnt like the limu cause they all loved the aroma of the beans... on the other hand tried some today and was fairly inoccuous, so maybe I didnt leave it long enough initially.

    Which leads me to the conclusion that its probably reasonably easy to get a roast thats unoffensive to the untrained palate (if they can take my coffee without spitting it back out). But Id be nervous for too many people on this forum to try it

    Leave a comment:


  • Presso
    replied
    Re: Help!

    While your roasting at Grendels place, check out his PRESSO, let me know how it goes, maybe we could work something out!

    Leave a comment:


  • Ox
    replied
    Re: Help!

    Thanks everyone, some useful comments there. I think I have been roasting too hot on the stove, and obviously need a different popper or whatever.

    A friend at lunch today decided my coffee was quite nice, but Id still call it not too bad :-) Obviously need to wait another day, although a week without a decent coffee starts to bite after a while :-(

    Thanks Grendel, I was wondering about that since youd mentioned it elsewhere. Ill send you my email on a private message and you can give me the details. BTW, Im Alex H on Hamos blog.

    Leave a comment:


  • JavaB
    replied
    Re: Help!

    Hi Ox,

    You definately need to let the beans mature for 24 to 48 hours after roasting (even longer for light roasts).

    As rayzurhed suggested above, the "Corretto" converted bread maker with heatgun makes a great roaster...

    You can do bigger batches (if you wish)- you hear the cracks far more easily and it is very easy to see the bean colour as it changes. The roast process is far more controlled than a popper and really works magnificently... ;D

    Best of luck with future roast, it will take a while to get on top of what method you chose to use..... but the results are really worth it!

    Leave a comment:


  • rayzurhed
    replied
    Re: Help!

    OX, Hey I can relate to the things youve been saying- at least as far as beginning goes.
    Stick with it though. I have a few thoughts that may help...
    If the popper is dead keep an eye out for a second hand one but dont rush out and buy a newy, instead try again with a stainless steel bowl (big dog bowl) a spoon ( I used a wooden spoon, and your heat gun. Take your time! :
    When I was doing gunroasts in the bowl it was tempting to speed up the process to take the pressure of your arms but I aimed for first crack around 9-12 minutes- so depending on your ambient temperature you might not even need it on full blast. After first crack decrease the amount of heat a bit by either turning down to low or physically lifting the nozzel of the gun away a bit. That was you can reach second crack (a softer crackling sound) after another few minutes. Once that starts you need to be thinking of stopping the roast and cooling it down quick with a fan or something. 8-)

    Put the beans into a milo tin with a hole in the lid for a couple of days. They dont really smell real nice for a coupel of day and then you can change them over to a sealed container and use them as needed. :P

    As far as brewing equipment goes, you can get a decent brew from a plunger only if you follow certain rules- like everything I spose. Preheat with boiling water. Allow 45 seconds to 1 minute to drop to a handful of degrees below boiling and then add your coffee- a heaped desertspoon per cup and stir crazily with a wooden spoon for a minute or so and then leave to brew for another minute- then plunge!
    There is a sweet spot between gaining a full brew and the brew flipping over to a yukky cooked sort of taste.

    I guess heaps of people will get back to you with their personalized variations on this. Eventually itd be super to get a second hand Silvia- that took me a while.
    A second hand bread maker Ahh Lahhh "Corretto" will be another help to creating great batches cheaply and without muscle strain.
    As I say- stick with it- Be prepared to wait with a roast for a week to see if it develops slower than others... Dont hurry the roasting process either- slow it down a tad after first crack and dont go too far into second.
    RH

    Leave a comment:


  • grendel
    replied
    Re: Help!

    Im happy to help out with Chimney manufacture as well - but the $10 I spent at the custom exhaust shop for my bling was $10 well spent.

    Leave a comment:


  • marcstolk
    replied
    Re: Help!

    Hi Ox,

    As a Stovetop I generally need 1/4 or 1/2 a teaspoon of sugar due to the water temp "burning" the coffee but overall is still a nice way to have coffee... Have stopped using a Stovetop years ago but my inlaws still use a stovetop and and can enjoy a nice cup if you dont over brew the coffee.. which is easy to do in the stovetop... Im roasting for them now as well.

    The B&D Popper is a shocker.. Mine overheated if I put 130-150g of beans in it.. the Fan is really weak for coffee roasting...however some earlier versions of this popper seems to have a stronger fan... sounds like your and mine missed out on the stronger fan...

    My suggestion, get yourself a Breville Crazy popper as I did.. they have a cracker of the fan... I roast 150g of beans without issues... approx 9min roasts depending on outside temps etc

    Now, regarding the chimney, just get some decent paper sizzors... they will slice through the Heinz tin easily. Make 2 slits about 1/3 up the can... and squeeze and fit the tin in the popper... its really easy...push in the chimney to about where the little screw sits in the chamber....

    Have fun...

    Marc

    Leave a comment:


  • grendel
    replied
    Re: Help!

    Ox - Reckon you might want to try a roast with someone else who is already roasting. I see you are in Perth, and I am going to have a roasting evening with Otherendup (another bloke from Hamos Blog. Are you keen to join in?

    Leave a comment:


  • fatboy_1999
    replied
    Re: Help!

    The sound cues for roasting cracks often described as:
    1st = matchsticks breaking
    2nd = cellophane crinkling
    Rolling (1st or 2nd) is the rapid and continous cracking.
    As for how loud and how long, there are some contributing factors. How many beans in the roast is, of course, a big one. The eveness of the green beans themselves. If they are of a fairly uniform size and process, then they will hit the cracks at around the same time.
    Thus, rolling 1st crack could last for 50 seconds or 2 minutes

    I roast about 700g at a time. The general timings of my roasts are:
    1st crack - 12 minutes
    Rolling 1st - 12:45
    Complete 1st - 14:00
    (I then reduce heat and usually allow the retained heat in the bean mass to get to 2nd).
    2nd crack - 17:00
    Rolling 2nd - 17:30
    and theyre usually out by the onset of rolling 2nd or before.

    I also find that there is significant smoke around both 1st and 2nd crack, but as I am outside whilst roasting, I dont watch it too closely these days.

    I think you are drinking your coffees too early to get the best out of them.
    The robusta, well theres a lot of variation in quality, so its a bit of an unknown for me. Generally, yes the caffeinne is a fair bit higher (exact figures vary).
    The Ethiopian Limmu has generally gotten a fair rap from people, so I would perhaps let it sit for 48 hours before trying it next time.

    What I generally suggest when starting out roasting is:
    • keep a record of what/when/timings/weather conditions/method
    • take the roast to 2nd crack (so you know how long this type of bean should take)
      Let it rest for 48 hours.
    • It would be good if you could try your results a couple of ways - IE: Espresso, milk based, plunger. Some beans or blends are great for some methods, but not so good for others. EG: I love Tiger Mountain through the Silvia, but not in a plunger. It might just be that the coffees you have dont go too well in the French Press. Perhaps someone who uses this method will know.

    Hope that helps.

    Leave a comment:


  • Boris
    replied
    Re: Help!

    Gday Ox,
    I feel your frustration. While Ive never tried a stove top roast, Ive tried the popper, with and without a chimney. I moved past them becasue of their tendancy to cut out if they get too hot, not nice mid roast! Plus they are limited to small batches.

    I guess the most important factor in the "getting started" process is consistencey, both in method+process (no, theyre not the same thing) and the type of bean.

    Trouble starts when you change bean types and methods before youve really nailed one process. Get a hold of a bucket load of the cheapest beans available. These are going to be totally sacrificial. Pick one method of roasting, measure a weight of beans, press start on a timer and cook the absoluter bejessus out of them, noting what happens as the roast progresses. On a piece of paper note what happens in time slots, 0-3 minutes, 3-6, 6-9 etc. At the end (20-25 minutes) they should be pouring off thick smoke, totally roasted beyond use. Bin them. Now revise your notes. Compare your time 3 minute sections to what happened to the beans.

    Now repeat the process, this time looking at the time and watching for the changes. This is where youre going to start to identify the changes. The biggest for me is when they go from the peanut yellowish to the course rough brown, about the same time as the first crack, then a few minutes after they start to look smoother, a little shiney and the the second crack starts to trickle.

    Bare in mind each bean type roasts differently, so try not to focus on quoted times for roasting, everyone does it slightly different, not helpful when starting out, and stay away from decaf as a starter, its a tricky sucker at the best of times. My suggestion would be Sumatran Mandeling. Its very demonsrative of an ugly srappnel bean that gives off lots of chaff, beautiful colour changes, distinct first and second cracks as well as a sizable volumetric increase to finish up being a lovey glossy handsome bean.

    Good luck.

    P.S> If you can stretch the budget, try a Heat gun.


    Boris

    Leave a comment:


  • Ox
    started a topic Help!

    Help!

    Ive tried a few batches now and not having fun

    Some questions (sorry if these anwered elsewhere, Ive looked around but still need help).

    Whats the diff between 1st and 2nd crack? Ive tried pan roasting and popper roasting. The pan definitely gave a louder crack (assume 1st), but not as much or for as long as I expected. 2nd crack continues for longer and a real crackling. Is that right?

    Ive tried roasting in a B+D Hot n Pop. I tried a chimey but a mess not having side cutters or decent hack saw. Popper overheated and shut down! So have been trying smaller batches. A few cracks and then what sounded more like 2nd crack in the pan. So not sure if Ive been roasting too little or too much.

    Basically the results have been very disappointing.

    Robusta to what I thought was just after 1st crack in the popper - blow your head off stuff (but assume thats the nature of robusta)

    Ethiopia Limu which Ive tried both ways, havent tasted the pan roasted yet, but the popper roast has gone in the bin. Is it just a unique bean I dont like, or have I screwed it up that much? :question

    PNG Grade A Washed in the pan. Of course very uneven result, but to what I think was just into second crack. This is OK with milk and a bit of sugar. Bit watery, but thats normal from some of the comments elsewhere here.

    BTW, pan roasting Ive done without a lid on and stirring constantly on a high heat.

    Ive drunk them all pretty fresh, day after roast. And in a french press as all Ive got else is a 6 cup stovetop which I cant afford to run just for me.

    Im already in trouble for spending a bit extra on some stuff, so have to work with what Ive got!

    Any suggestions appreciated.
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