Hi All,
Just thought Id say gday. Just took the plunge yesterday. Bought my popper last weekend (Magic Popper), and the beans finally arrived on Friday (Kenyan AA). Have read a lot about poppers and their temperature problems, but being new, I thought Id start with a completely unmodified popper and see how it turned out.
Everyone here was pretty much spot on, the popper roasts very quickly. I dont have a thermometer yet and am too inexperienced to pick the first and second crack. I did hear the first crack about 4 minutes in. I left it another couple of minutes, but didnt hear anything else. The beans were starting to get very dark in colour so I thought Id take it off the heat and transfer to the collander. They looked pretty good. What I considered to be a nice medium roast. I left them in an open paper bag overnight and cupped this morning.
Coffee was very undeveloped. It had very mild acidity but had not developed any of the body Id come to expect from well roasted beans. Im guessing a) I should have let it roast longer, and b) I should actually modify the popper to allow more air in to slow it down a bit.
People have suggested a chimney before. I thought it was just to channel the smoke out, but its really to stop all the beans overflowing from the chamber. They get MUCH bigger during the roasting and start to come out the chute during the process.
So - for next time:
* Add a chute extension (a-la chopped tin can)
* Remove the half sealed air intake at the bottom of the popper
* Elevate the popper so its off the bench a little (to improve airflow)
* Wait for the second crack!
Cheers,
Pete
Just thought Id say gday. Just took the plunge yesterday. Bought my popper last weekend (Magic Popper), and the beans finally arrived on Friday (Kenyan AA). Have read a lot about poppers and their temperature problems, but being new, I thought Id start with a completely unmodified popper and see how it turned out.
Everyone here was pretty much spot on, the popper roasts very quickly. I dont have a thermometer yet and am too inexperienced to pick the first and second crack. I did hear the first crack about 4 minutes in. I left it another couple of minutes, but didnt hear anything else. The beans were starting to get very dark in colour so I thought Id take it off the heat and transfer to the collander. They looked pretty good. What I considered to be a nice medium roast. I left them in an open paper bag overnight and cupped this morning.
Coffee was very undeveloped. It had very mild acidity but had not developed any of the body Id come to expect from well roasted beans. Im guessing a) I should have let it roast longer, and b) I should actually modify the popper to allow more air in to slow it down a bit.
People have suggested a chimney before. I thought it was just to channel the smoke out, but its really to stop all the beans overflowing from the chamber. They get MUCH bigger during the roasting and start to come out the chute during the process.
So - for next time:
* Add a chute extension (a-la chopped tin can)
* Remove the half sealed air intake at the bottom of the popper
* Elevate the popper so its off the bench a little (to improve airflow)
* Wait for the second crack!
Cheers,
Pete


). If it didnt work out next roast vary the colour. It is a never ending learning curve. There is another curve around the corner from the one you are on.
With practice you will hear the different cracks but when you start out hearing the second crack can be illusive. It is usually accompanied by more smoke but in a popper this can be very little due to the small weight of beans you are roasting.
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