Breville Crazy Popper

[marcstolk]

Re: Breville Crazy Popper

No, a bigger batch will make shorter roast times...

[Thundergod]

Re: Breville Crazy Popper

Thanks.

Next batch will be half size (50gms) to compare.

[bolb]

Re: Breville Crazy Popper

Hi All
First time poster long time reader!

I have been roasting at home now for a few months and i thought i would share my brief history for those who (like me) have no idea.

I started with the kids tifany popcorn popper with just the plastic cover doing 80gms of beans at a time, got to first crack and then thought i got to second crack (remember this point).
I then continued on my merry way doing a number of different beans all the while chasing them around the stainless stell bowl when they popped out of the popper etc.

The other week i went and bought my new toy, an ECM Giotto Premium machine. What did i have before i hear you ask considering i had started roasting beans. Well we either used a drip machine or an electric and/or gas top espresso pot. During the purchase process which included a full on hands demonstration with a demo machine and not the new one i had bought, i got to talking about roasting of beans and of course learnt some different aspects about the "shot" of coffee. Thankyou to Chris for his excellent tuition, i know i still have a lot to learn. But i digress, sorry.

Back to roasting. Chris asked if i had an exhaust tip for my popper, now you all know i was now thinking about dispersing the chaff and that sort of thing. I had no i dea he was talking about making a chimney. Long time reader you say? Well yes i had read all about coffee machines and nothing about roasting until today when i read this thread in its entire length.

As a result i got my first roast to ever get to 2nd crack today using a larger batch of beans (150gms) and using a suggestion in this thread of a lump of wood over the top to keep the heat in during cracking. I stopped somewhere near the end of the second crack i think, it hadnt finished but i think i stopped it premature as i thought the beans were getting too dark.

After cooling them you can see that they are a nice chocolate brown colour and not as dark as i thought they actually were. Many commercial beans i have purchased are generally much darker in colour. Hopefully the next roast i will let the second crack fininsh.

OK Enough about me already

I have two questions of all you masters of roasting.

• How much smoke should be produced when roasting (and yes i understand it is dependent upon batch size and ambient temperature as well) i just dont know what i should be expecting.
• How long does the second crack typically last?
• Any ideas on how to cool the beans quickly? currently i just pour from one SS bowl to another but i have seen some great little home made gadgets in a number of sites on the net.

Thanks to all who have posted previously as your knowledge is invaluable.

Thanks
BOLB

[grendel]

Re: Breville Crazy Popper

Bolb,

Welcome!

The link below is to my blog post on a coffee bean cooler - my earlier method was to pour the beans back and forth between to seives in fron of a fan.

http://cafe-grendel.blogspot.com/200...an-cooler.html

Ill let others advise on the finer points of ending a roast - I generally go by the combination of colour, time and cracks, and then it depends on the beans whether or not I roast dark or light. I mostly pull roasts before they are really into the second crack but some beans I roast right into it.

[Baristacrat]

Re: Breville Crazy Popper

Hi Bolb,

Great to have another home roaster convert on board! 8-) You will find as you roast more regularly with your popper and see the results of the roast in the cup, you will get into a rhythm with the beans and develop a more instinctive idea of the timing of cracks and optimal pull time. There are lots of good posts on CS and also Sweet Marias is an excellent resource for home roasters.

When I first started, although I was breadmaker roaster rather than a popper, I roasted well into second crack, basing my bean colour on what [crap] I had bought commercially. I have found that now I have developed a more defined palate, better knowledge and an understanding of what works for the different beans I am roasting and the characteristics they have that I am seeking to develop. Consequently, I am roasting accordingly to accentuate these characteristics. For most beans though, it is rarely into a rolling second crack these days, more into the first snaps of second crack then pulling the roast straight away.

I used to cool the beans using a fan over a large rectangular wire colunder which was sitting on a 10l bucket, so the air could flow around, there are some great examples on the site of ingenious coolers - but simply, just make sure the beans are cooled within 5 minutes and refine your method as you go.

Roasting is part of a chain of events that produce what is ultimately in the cup, from the bean - its origins and processing and how that effects the flavours,  the roast - timing, colour, speed of development of characteristics through the method you use, degassing and length of resting, grinding and then brewing all contribute to the end result, your knowledge as it builds up will refine your practices, so enjoy the journey and keep asking questions  

[Dimal]

Re: Breville Crazy Popper

Gday Bolb,

Welcome to CoffeeSnobs from me too ;D [smiley=thumbsup.gif].

As far as Roasting goes, it all comes down to a matter of what tastes right to you and only you can decide what that is. However, one way to determine where this "ideal" may be is to roast three smallish batches, say 50-80 grams per batch.

Take the first batch as far as the onset of Rolling 2nd Crack and then cool the beans immediately. You must note the time taken to get to this point in a Roast Log preferably, and should include other variables such as ambient temperature, batch size, bean type, time 1st Crack started and time it finished (using a Stop Watch) and basically anything else you think might be pertinent to the outcome. At the end of all of this you then need to leave a space to record your cupping notes after the beans have rested for a couple of days or so.

Ok, the second batch should be taken to say 30 seconds before the onset of Rolling 2nd Crack and then immediately cooled.... record all the above info for this and subsequent batches as well.

Lastly, the third roast should be taken to 30 seconds past the onset of Rolling 2nd Crack and then immediately cooled, record info, etc.

After the beans have had a chance to degas for a couple of days in a 1-Way Valve bag or similar, it then becomes taste test time ;D. Probably the best way to do this, is to use a small French Press/Plunger and brew a single cup of coffee for each roast stage and then do your best to describe the flavours, mouth-feel, after-taste, etc. So long as your descriptions mean something to you that is the most important thing.

Rightio, now having tasted each stage of roast for this particular bean, its then up to you to decide which one you enjoy the most or at least in which direction of roast progression you prefer. As a general rule, the earlier before the onset of 2nd Crack you stop the roast, the more the intrinsic varietal flavours of the bean will come though.... Conversely, the closer to and more into 2nd Crack you go, the more will these varietal flavours become diminished and the actual roast flavours will start to dominate such as a predominance of caramel and chocolate flavours. If taken even further into 2nd Crack, you will start to notice a stronger ashy/smoky flavour start to take over which to my palate is not very pleasant.

For most of my roasts these days I dont get anywhere near 2nd Crack as I prefer to taste all the lovely spicy, fruity, citrusy flavours that most of our CoffeeSnobs beans have to offer. There are a couple of varieties that I do take into 2nd Crack though, namely the Yemens and a couple of other East African beans. I hope some of this has been of help to you mate . All the best, and

Happy Roasting,
Mal.

[Javaphile]

Re: Breville Crazy Popper

How much smoke should be produced when roasting (and yes i understand it is dependent upon batch size and ambient temperature as well) i just dont know what i should be expecting.

There wont be much smoke until around 1st crack with it gradually increasing until 2nd crack at which point there will be a very noticable increase in the amount of smoke and as the roast progresses further the smoke will increase even more.

How long does the second crack typically last?

Longer than you want to roast any bean for! Second crack can last for several minutes but I have yet to meet a bean that is at optimum flavor more than 30 seconds into the roll. Most beans are at their best flavor when pulled prior to 2nd crack too just into the first few snaps of 2nd crack.

Any ideas on how to cool the beans quickly? currently i just pour from one SS bowl to another but i have seen some great little home made gadgets in a number of sites on the net.

Most peoples coolers are a variation on the theme of a box or bucket that a SS sieve/screen sits in/on with a fan mounted in the box/bucket that sucks/blows air through the beans.

You want to cool the beans as fast as possible. The good coolers will take a roast to room temp in as little as 20-30 seconds.

Cooling the beans quickly is very important as if you dont the beans will continue to roast and end up farther into the roast than you intended. Potentially ruining what otherwise would have been a great roast.

The longer it takes your beans to cool the earlier youll have to pull the roast from where you would if they were cooled in 30 seconds.


Java "Another one hooked!" phile

[niallpedlow]

Re: Breville Crazy Popper

Grendel,

Im really liking the bean cooler idea with the extraction fan.

I have a couple of different ideas and thought Id get your opinion on them.

What if I was to get the fan to run in the opposite direction? Im guessing I would need some cylindrical shape tube to sit above it to stop the beans flying away....

What if the mesh was much smaller, say a metallic fly screen?

Would like to know what you think...

[Javaphile]

Re: Breville Crazy Popper

MochaMaster,

Heres my solution to cooling the beans: http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1092462710/1#11


Java "Gotta love the BBC!" phile

[grendel]

Re: Breville Crazy Popper

Reversing the fan might be a good move - I have been considering that myself. Also if you can get a mesh in between what I have used (4mm) and fly screen that would be ideal - I do find that with the 4mm screen it allows any stones to fall through. A useful feature.

Between 2mm and 4mm screen and a blow rather than suck fan. . .

(I wonder if I reverse the wires will that reverse the motor direction. . .)


Gren "Dont cross the streams!" del


Just not quite the same as when Javaphile does it, is it?

[Javaphile]

Re: Breville Crazy Popper

If nothing else having the fan blow accross the beans will extend the life of the fan as it wont be subjected to the heat that it is when it sucks.

Unlike on a DC motor reversing the wires on an AC motor will not reverse its direction.


Java "Crosses the streams just to see the pretty pyrotechnics" phile

[grendel]

Re: Breville Crazy Popper

Dagnammit!

[Thundergod]

Re: Breville Crazy Popper

Maybe its possible to reverse the fan blades.

[niallpedlow]

Re: Breville Crazy Popper

So while were talking about it, can anyone tell us how you DO reverse the direction in an AC fan? Turn it upside down?

[Thundergod]

Re: Breville Crazy Popper

I meant to turn the blade over.

But just having a look at the fan on my desk (duh), Ive realised that wont work.

Either the direction of rotation would have to be reversed (somehow) or else a different set of fan blades (opposite angle) would need to be used.

So MochaMaster yes turning upside down would be one way.
But as they are designed to fit flush with a ceiling there tends to be a lot of stuff on the other side (motor, brackets, whatever).