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  • Also you may need a chimney (made from a can) if you don't already have one as the beans may spill out as it increases in mass during the roast. Then remember by adding a chimney you are again increasing the heat and further reducing the roast time.

    Here's a video I did earlier this year.

    home coffee roasting with a popcorn popper - YouTube

    Comment


    • Originally posted by BSmyth View Post
      I was thinking of trying 110g of beans an see how that goes, or would that a massive backward step?
      +1 for all of the above from saoye and fg1972 ( I just cut a few lines from this post )

      Maybe not what you wanted to hear, but for the next few months you should probably look more at reducing the size of your roasts - not increasing them.

      When using a popper, I am inclined to stretch the roast times as far as possible, because most of the expert advice out there says the this allows better development of flavours and aromas than short roast times. And popper roast times can be very short - as you found with the Cornelius.

      Cheers, Leo.

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      • Ill stay at 80g for the moment as i dont want to risk decreasing the the time to 2C.

        Leo, what times should i try and get too for 1C and then 2C??

        thanks
        Brenden

        Comment


        • Originally posted by BSmyth View Post
          what times should i try and get too for 1C and then 2C?? thanks Brenden
          G'day Brenden, I'm probably not the best person to answer this question. I have only been roasting for a few months more than you and I'm sure that there are others who are way more qualified than I am to advise you here.

          However, judging wholly by what tastes good to me, my best results in a slightly modified popper have been when I get to first crack between the 5 and 8 minute mark, and the second crack about 3 to 5 minutes later. I would try to extend both these times if I could, but without major mods, these are about as far as I have been able stretch. And I'm not going to spend $100 on electronics to fit on a $10 popper.

          I should probably point out here that I drink mainly milk based coffees - flat whites or latte's, and I usually pull my roasts at the first few snaps of 2C, though sometimes I will let them go a little further.

          Many of my earlier efforts were shorter, with 1c starting about 4 or 5 minutes and 2C a couple of minutes later. They were mostly OK in the cup - with a few of exceptions - I practically burned one, and another was when I baked them for over 15 minutes without reaching 2C.

          With your #3 roast, I suspect that you may have stretched the time between the two cracks to the max.

          Experts seem to put a lot of emphasis on extending the time between cracks, but on most of the charts have seen, first crack is about two thirds of the total time and the next stage to second crack is about one third of the overall time.

          So you may want to turn the fan off or even wrap something around the popper if you don't get to second in about 10 mins when your first was at about 6mins. I don't know what happens if you reverse the usual pattern and get a quick first crack followed by a slow second.

          Maybe some of the more experienced roasters will chip in here, but in the meantime, I hope this helps.

          Cheers, Leo.

          Comment


          • So tonight I did another roast and as it was cooler I put on the yellow popcorn cap with no lid and did everything the same. I got the start of 1c at 5:54 and the end at 6:41 then start of 2c at 15:14. Stopped the roast and cooled quickly. The great thing is they look similar to last night. Same beans and amount. Now I just cannot wait to try the first batch out on Thursday morning and second on Friday.

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            • Brenden, After reading this, I tried a roast early this morning while it was still a bit chilly. With all fans etc on full, I got a first crack at about 6 minutes, but never reached second. I stopped at 15 minutes because I think it had stalled, and was just baking the beans.

              I did this once before (cold day in winter) and finally stopped at about 20 minutes. First crack was faint and beans had not darkened much more after that point. The result was very ordinary, and I threw it out after a week or so.

              Since then, about two or three minutes after first crack, I turn off the external fan and/or restrict the airflow into or out of the popper to ensure that it reaches 2c and does not stall.

              I have posted a question about this in a new thread in this section, hopefully some of the resident experts will respond to it.

              In regard to tasting your previous roast, most of the roasters here seem to recommend doing it within 24 hours, and then once a day to see how it ages.

              Don't be too disappointed with the early results, because it will improve, but try it anyway.

              Cheers, Leo.

              Comment


              • Originally posted by BSmyth View Post
                So tonight I did another roast and as it was cooler I put on the yellow popcorn cap with no lid and did everything the same. I got the start of 1c at 5:54 and the end at 6:41 then start of 2c at 15:14. Stopped the roast and cooled quickly. The great thing is they look similar to last night. Same beans and amount. Now I just cannot wait to try the first batch out on Thursday morning and second on Friday.
                Hi Bsmyth
                Sounds very similar in time to what I achieved with a small 50g batch, standard popper and fan over the top. Run these through the machine and they taste great! Neither really got to a decent 2C, but I just dumped by colour. I'm going to try increasing batch size slightly (maybe 80g) & turning the fan down after 1C - see where 2C falls then…

                But again - let your taste be the guide!
                Matt

                Comment


                • Originally posted by DesigningByCoffee View Post
                  Hi Bsmyth I'm going to try increasing batch size slightly (maybe 80g) & turning the fan down after 1C - see where 2C falls then…Matt
                  Hello Brenden & Matt

                  I think Matt is on the right track here. After the lack of response to my question in the other thread, I burned the midnight oil last night searching for info on crack times.
                  I found a LOT of stuff, and the one person who did reply to my question ( thanks saoye ) was on the money, both with his advice and the link to the profile graph.
                  I also found a lot more profile graphs here, and on other sites, but they were all using factory built roasters with much more control than we have with poppers.

                  From all the graphs I saw and everything I read, this is what I found most interesting :
                  The times to first crack varied a lot but most were between 3 and 15 minutes.
                  Poppers were usually less than 10 mins (often much less). Factory machines were mostly in the 10 to 15 min bracket.
                  But for both types the time from first to second crack was between 2 and 5 minutes in the majority of cases.
                  One article by an american guru referred to extending the time between first & second cracks from 1½ mins to 2 minutes, and from 2 mins to 2½ minutes.
                  He also warned that extending this phase of the roast much longer than this could bake some flavour and aroma out of the beans.
                  Another one suggested that "one should not rush from first to second crack" and that it should take at least two or even three minutes.
                  I found none that recommended or even suggested more than 5 minutes between first and second crack.
                  It would seem that "extending" this stage of the roast is a very relative term.

                  So tomorrow morning I am going to do a batch with both fans on high, and a short chimney, to maximise the time to first crack.
                  When I hear the first snaps I'm going to switch the fans off, and extend the chimney.
                  If 2c does not start within two minutes, I will restrict the air intake or the chimney to reduce airflow.
                  I want to reach 2C inside three minutes. If it doesn't start by that time, I will stop it then anyway.
                  Then in a few days I will compare it with yesterdays batch that went more than seven minutes past 1C.

                  Brenden, I now believe that your roasts are too slow between first and second. Maybe you should try another batch, reaching 1C same as before,
                  but when you get there, turn the fan off, put both lids on, wrap something around the popper to retain the heat or restrict the airflow.
                  This should get it to 2C faster than previously, and then you can compare it with the previous batches and see which you prefer.

                  Cheers, Leo.

                  Comment


                  • Leo

                    I did taste the first and second batches last night and this morning and agree with you. It had no body or enough taste. My third batch which i did

                    I did another 2 batches this morning but with a few changes. I increased the batch size to 100g and this was my findings.

                    1st batch was as follows
                    1c 3:21
                    2c +4:24

                    2nd batch
                    1c 2:49
                    2c +4:55

                    ill try putting both lids on and see what happens but ill do that after i try this batch.

                    il let you know

                    Brenden

                    Comment


                    • Brenden, Based on my new-found knowledge and some of my own results, I think the latest batches will be better.

                      However, the larger batch size has reduced the first stage time as well as the second. Now according to the experts this is not so good.

                      But if you went back to 80g and started with the fan on and the lids off, it should get your 1C times back near where they were.

                      Then at first snaps you turn the fan off, put the lids on and wrap a cloth around the popper to reduce the second stage only.

                      Anyway that pretty much the equivalent of what I'm going to try tomorrow morning.

                      I noticed on the graph of Andy's aussie bean roast that 1C was at about 8 min, lasted about 1:30 and from there only 2 min to the end.
                      He doesn't say whether he pulled it at the beginning of 2C or before it started, but I'd guess that it was pretty close to it.

                      Either way, maybe we should be stopping 2 or 3 minutes after 1C - whether 2C has started or not. Food for thought there.

                      Cheers, Leo.

                      Comment


                      • Guys, my tip is to put the 100g in and have the lid and chimney off and closer to 1c (or if you think beans may start spilling) to add the chimneyn which will ramp up the heat into 2c. Turning off the power and wrapping most likely will burn the beans that are touching the hot surface of the chamber and scorch those beans. I think when Andy turns off the fire towards 2c he would still have the aggitation of the beans going.

                        If you want to extend 1c maybe instead play with a desk fan blowing at the side of the popper and turning that on and off. you'll be surprised how much a little breeze effect the temperature of the popper. I assume you all have the CS data logger? If not, you should defnitely invest in one. worth every cent. Takes out a lot of the guess work in what's going on in your roast. download the software and away you go. so easy to use.

                        Comment


                        • o i dont have a CS data logger yet. i did download an iPad app today to see what that was like.

                          Thanks Saoye and Leo

                          ill keep working on it

                          i might start a new thread

                          Comment


                          • Originally posted by saoye View Post
                            Guys, my tip is to put the 100g in and have the lid and chimney off and closer to 1c (or if you think beans may start spilling) to add the chimneyn which will ramp up the heat into 2c. Turning off the power and wrapping most likely will burn the beans that are touching the hot surface of the chamber and scorch those beans. I think when Andy turns off the fire towards 2c he would still have the agitation of the beans going.

                            If you want to extend 1c maybe instead play with a desk fan blowing at the side of the popper and turning that on and off. you'll be surprised how much a little breeze effect the temperature of the popper. I assume you all have the CS data logger? If not, you should definitely invest in one. worth every cent. Takes out a lot of the guess work in what's going on in your roast. download the software and away you go. so easy to use.
                            Saoye, Brenden is using a 900w popper here. I have used one of these, and they struggle to reach & hold 2C temps when ambient is low. He has been using an external fan on the unit which has an top extension and a separate lid. By using the fan, and leaving the lids off, he is getting good 1C times with 80g loads, but taking a long time to reach 2C.

                            With a 100g batch both of these times came down, so I have suggested that he stays with what gave him the good 1C times, then does the necessary to ramp up a little to achieve 2C.

                            I have had to wrap one of these units just to get to 1C in winter, and it does not make much difference. I had to re-cycle the hot exhaust air back into the base to get it to reach 2C and even then it didn't burn the beans, they were agitated quite well right from the start and very well by 1C.

                            Remember - I'm only suggesting that he turns off the 'external' fan, not the power, and puts the lids & the wrap on for the last couple of minutes, but not turning off the popper itself. Maybe I wasn't clear enough about that.

                            Much of this may change soon anyway, the weather is warming up, and will probably stay that way for a few months now.

                            When I first got my 900w popper it was summer, and I had some of the usual problems of having to keep it cool, but not nearly as much as some others who had 1200 watt units. In autumn it was great, and then winter arrived and I found that it just didn't have the grunt to handle cool/cold ambient temps.

                            Cheers, Leo.

                            Comment


                            • An alternative to the Target $16 popper during winter (due to not being able to reach temp in cold weather) is the Big W Popper currently selling for $10 (normally $12). It's a 1200W popper. So for a combined cost of $26 you have a popper for both extremes of the seasons!

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                              • Add me to the list there, waiting for a starter pack too, and keen to see your roast.

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