anyone still using poppers?

[leograyson]

Yeah Matt,

It really is a case of trial and error. You have to be prepared to play it by ear, or really, by eye and ear. Watching the colour of the beans changing and being prepared to turn the fan off, or even wrap a "blanket" around the whole thing if you don't get 1C within 5 or 6 minutes and 2C another 5 or 6 mins later. If a popper has not hit 2C in that time, it's probably not going to get there without some help.

By popper standards, the 1C times of your 50g batches are fairly typical (for cool conditions) but then it was clearly struggling to get to 2C.

However, as the weather warms up, you may be looking for a bigger fan, or other ways of cooling things down.

Cheers, Leo.

[DesigningByCoffee]

Hi Leo
All makes a lot of sense!
We have a different issue with the climate here (snowed on Friday!) so most of my roasting is usually done in ambient b/n 5-15deg. I think a slightly larger batch (maybe 70-80g), fan on full to 1C, then fan down to 2C might do the trick. :-)
Matt

[leograyson]

I still use a popper, a Breville Bratz which is rated at 1100-1200w.
The only modification I have done is to replace the plastic superstructure with a 415g Alaska salmon tin as a chimney.
I roast about 165g at a time with great results. I don’t usually weigh them but fill them up to the silver screw conveniently put inside the chamber.
Barry

Hello Barry, I have a couple of poppers, a B&D and a Breville Bratz. Like you, I removed the top of the Breville & added a salmon can to stop the beans escaping.
I have occasionally wondered why Breville rate the unit as 1100 - 1200 watts when most other brands just give a single rating.
I suspect that they are allowing for variation in local mains voltage.

I mostly do 80 gram batches, which usually give me a fairly quick roast, even with a fan blowing on the exposed chamber. Yesterday I tried a 60 gram batch, and it still changed colours and reached first crack at the same rate as the larger batches. It did marginally extend the time between first and second crack, but only by about a minute or so.

I'm interested to know what times you get with your 165 gram loads, i.e. the time from start to 1C, and time between first and second crack.

I have been experimenting with blends recently, including blends of the same bean roasted to two or three different levels, so I'm already a bit overstocked with brown beans, otherwise I would have been downstairs this morning, trying a bigger batch.


QUOTE BY DBC :- "However, I'm really interested - when the usual roasting 'profile' shows that the majority of the hard grunt work is done by the roaster leading up to 1C, then you try to back it off and coast to 2C not long after (certainly this is the case my corretto experience) why does 1C come on soooo quickly in a popper - but then all the hard work seems to come after that to get the beans to 2C? I was also getting 2nd 'cracks' for about the last 6-7mins of the roast - so in the end just went on colour! "

Hi, DBC. Judging mainly by my experiences in winter (fairly mild here in SEQ ), most poppers heat up quite fast even in cool weather, but then they peak at about the temperature needed to reach 2C. They have a fairly small chamber and a small bean mass, so they can't coast far on residual heat, and may need a little more heat applied to make the step from 1C to 2C.

In winter I go up from 80g to 100g, I don't use the fan, I use a taller chimney, and sometimes after 1C, I restrict the air intake at the bottom of the popper so as to reach 2C without over-baking the beans. Whereas in summer I use a short chimney, and do everything I can to improve airflow and cooling, yet I still get fast roasts, and quick second cracks.

Your two very different experiences were with a 100g batch, and a couple of 50g batches, so I suspect that somewhere in between you will find a "happy medium". This may vary with the ambient temperature at the time, and yes, you may need to turn the fan off, or fit the chimney when you reach 1C.
With more than 50g of beans you may have to fit the chimney earlier than that, to stop the beans from jumping out.

Cheers, Leo.

[DesigningByCoffee]

Just out of interest I did two 50g batches last night. No chimney can on top, just a fan blowing over the opening. The first roast gave me 1C at 4.10, pulled at 15mins (CS8-9). The second I opened up the vents inside for greater airflow, gave me 1C at 6mins, then pulled at 22mins (CS8-9). Could certainly adjust this time by changing the external fans speed - or even turning it off.

Obviously 50g is not a really useful amount for general consumption (about 2x double baskets!) but great for sampling. I also tried to install the DMM probe in the side, angling into the centre of bean mass, but it either disrupted the bean agitation or wildly spiked up/down depending on whether it was in the airflow or not - so ended up pulling it out. Would probably need more beans for a reliable reading. How do others install them?

However, I'm really interested - when the usual roasting 'profile' shows that the majority of the hard grunt work is done by the roaster leading up to 1C, then you try to back it off and coast to 2C not long after (certainly this is the case my corretto experience) why does 1C come on soooo quickly in a popper - but then all the hard work seems to come after that to get the beans to 2C? I was also getting 2nd 'cracks' for about the last 6-7mins of the roast - so in the end just went on colour!

Fun shed time though :-)
Matt

[Barry_Duncan]

I still use a popper, a Breville Bratz which is rated at 1100-1200w.

The only modification I have done is to replace the plastic superstructure with a 415g Alaska salmon tin as a chimney.

I roast about 165g at a time with great results. I don’t usually weigh them but fill them up to the silver screw conveniently put inside the chamber by Breville. I have to stir them for a while with a wooden spoon handle until they stir themselves.

I sample the roasting beans with a spoon and go until there are no straw coloured beans and until about second crack and C8-10 depending on my taste and experience with the particular beans.

In mid-summer I have had the heat switch cut out. I try to do them in the cool of the morning in hot weather.

Today I roasted the Mexican that is currently on BeanBay.

Barry

[saoye]

Yeah, certainly worth it for sampling. 60g in the corretto isn't too flash! I do 350g a hit in mine - the perfect amount for a full week :-)
Wouldn't decreasing the amount in the popper speed up the roast? I wasn't getting any self movement - just scorching!

The 60g suggestion was for the 1200W popper. Yes, it's a strange one to think that by decreasing the amount of beans in the popper you actually lessen the heat (seems counter intuitive)...it is due to increased airflow around the beans. For a lower wattage popper like the 900W popper it's the opposite where you increase the amount of beans because the popper is not as hot (but you have to manual stir until the bean weight lessens and can aggitate by itself). Try 60g in the popper and you should see a better result.

[Pete39]

Decreasing the amount in a popper slows the roast because the resulting increased airflow causes the air temp to be lower. If you're not getting any movement you can try tilting the popper and/or reducing the amount.

[DesigningByCoffee]

Yeah, certainly worth it for sampling. 60g in the corretto isn't too flash! I do 350g a hit in mine - the perfect amount for a full week :-)
Wouldn't decreasing the amount in the popper speed up the roast? I wasn't getting any self movement - just scorching!

[saoye]

Good way to get a 1200W popper to roast 100gms at a time. I'd suggest if you didn't want to stir by hand to put 60gms into the popper and let the popper do the aggitation.
I do 500 to 650gm in the corretto at a time. The popper is there just in case. I should really use it more for sampling new SOs and blending.

[DesigningByCoffee]

Well, I'm a bit surprised to say the least!
Just finished the Poppered Peruvians after about 2 weeks rest - and actually very nice! I thought they were going to taste burnt after the initial tipping (followed by emergency changeover!) but no hint of this. Despite a very similar roast time to my current Corretto profile, I got a completely different flavour overall. Lovely and aromatic, it needed a much finer grind (in fact wasted the first basket - huge gusher!) but when I got it dialled in, very nice as a doppio, and OK through soy - a bit mild for my liking.
If I was to try and describe the main differences between the two roast 'styles' I'd say that the corretto gives much more thickness & body but a little less subtlety - while the popper is more subtle, with lighter body & fresher flavours? In a real world comparison, I'd describe the popper roast like caramel popcorn, while the corretto more like a block of dark chocolate - both lovely, but in different ways. Or maybe a glass of Rosé vs Port … :-)
But overall, very surprised at the results with this very simple mod. Glad to have the popper on hand if the corretto ever died all of a sudden. Really, the biggest dilemma would be trying to get the popper to last for an hour while I roasted my 350g for the week!

Here's a pic…
Happy roasting
Matt

[DesigningByCoffee]

I picked one up last week to do the kids popcorn in.

I just managed to stumble upon a Tiffany 1200w popper at the Blayney Tip shop for $2! Bargain! Worked a treat for popcorn (and might remain in use for this process TBH!)
But a real hot beast. Decided to try a batch of Peru. 100g, straight in. Starting to get scorched tips on some beans in about 30 secs - while most beans of the beans were still green!
Quickly dumped into the mesh seive I had on hand, and put the sieve straight on top of the popper (with plastic top removed). Stirred by hand. This actually worked quite well! Got a good rolling 1C at 10mins, then took to about CS8-9 at about 20mins. Had actually put a normal fan over the sieve to slow after 1c - but didn't really need it - it almost struggled to get there I think.

But nice even roast this way - the straight-in method would have been spontaneous combustion in 2mins i reckon!

Don't think I'll retire the corretto though - I'll see what the results taste like in week or so… :-)

Matt

[JamesM]

The only problem I have with my Kambrook Popcorn Factory AKA Flutter Butter Popcorn machine is

what is your process / directions for this popper? I picked one up last week to do the kids popcorn in. hahaha *evil*. Unlike you guys, I usually do 600gm in my coretto, but often wish I could do just 50-60gm for cupping or one-off filter coffee's. I can't do under 400gm in my coretto, fails.

[C-man]

where can I get a 900W popper?

no place around here, but somewhere online maybe?

[Spoony]

The only problem I have with my Kambrook Popcorn Factory AKA Flutter Butter Popcorn machine is that something inside it ticks and I'm unable to use the popper for about 5 - 10 minutes. It must be some safety feature but it does this even when popping popcorn too.

If i knew how to turn this off I would as it's annoying. Any suggestions on this?

That would be a thermal cutout (usually a bi-metal strip), a safety feature so it doesn't over heat and melt into a puddle of plastic. My Cornelius would only cut out if I roasted 3 - 4 batches on a really hot day. Maybe your cutout is a bit sensitive (but you did say you can do 8 batches in a row which is pretty good going)? I guess you could bypass it but you then run the risk of it melting completely (as I said ... it's a SAFETY feature).

You would be mucking with mains voltage so only do it if you know what you are doing and you are an electrician with a 4 year apprenticeship under your belt and at least 3 years of real world experience working with your brand of popcorn maker.

[neofelis]

Thats what I do . 4 - 8 roasts in a row and im set! I can roast about 1kg.

I do find though that im hitting first crack in 4 minutes and second crack in about 6 minutes. I don't know if this is too early or not. The coffee looks great and tastes even better though and im happy.

The only problem I have with my Kambrook Popcorn Factory AKA Flutter Butter Popcorn machine is that something inside it ticks and I'm unable to use the popper for about 5 - 10 minutes. It must be some safety feature but it does this even when popping popcorn too.

If i knew how to turn this off I would as it's annoying. Any suggestions on this?