Commercial popcorn machine for roasting coffee?

[andy]

Re: Commercial popcorn machine for roasting coffee


I have seen a couple of ex-cinema jumbo poppers in the past but the guy that had them wanted way too much.

They look like they might work ok although the one that I looked at worked more like "wok roasting" than the "fluid air" style that the little poppers do.

...not to say that is bad, just different.

[hangdog]

Has anyone tried adapting the guts of a commercial popcorn machine for home roasting? A no-name machine with an 8oz/~200g kettle, and built-in stirrer and heating element, can be had on eBay for ~$400 new.

Id imagine that second-hand ones can be found more cheaply with some hunting around, although new high-quality commercial poppers seem to be just as expensive as proper sample roasters, maybe even more so.

Im only really asking to satisfy my curiosity. After a few weeks of using the little Aldi popper with mostly acceptable results, Im about to go the Corretto tomorrow when Aldis $20 heat guns go on sale again. Gotta try and get that Monsooned Malabar roast right.