It seems like as you get more familiar with the Popper, you are able to get quite a lot of versatility out of it and will be able to roast any coffee to the desired roast level with precision. I like the way you stuck with the machine to fine tune your roasts for the desired characteristics. Sounds like a real winner for beginners both in terms of price, ease getting started and capability for a first machine. And great mod with the meat thermometer. Simple and cheap, it will help get the most out of the Popper.
Thanks for following along @slpardee10 . Yea, every roast I do with the Popper is more information about its capabilities and shortcomings. It would be a great starting place for anyone interested in home roasting. We will be seeing more roasts with the Popper . Thanks for sharing your comments!
I've had the great pleasure of roasting some Ethiopian Sidamo (Sidama) coffee recently. I'm loving the sweet fruity flavors! We're so blessed to have access to coffee from all around the world. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us! God bless you, my friend!
I've been looking forward to this episode where you show the temperature probe. I see how that is extremely helpful in managing the roast to the target profile. Will be ordering one today! I would like to see a video on a light to medium roast using the probe. Thanks for helping us with your experiences!
Hi Paul, I'm going to do more roasts with the Popper but it might be a little while. I have other topics I would like to talk about BUT I always try and craft my content so there is relevant info for all home roasters, regardless of their equipment. Yea, the temperature probe is a visual indicator for me to know if my heat is going up or down AND to know how close i am getting to the shutoff temp. I have not charted temps with it yet. That would be fun to do So i could really know what is going on with the temps. I know I could probably do a much better medium light roast now that i can watch my temps..... Thanks for watching and for your comments Paul!
Great video Mike, as usual! It was very encouraging to see a REAL bean temperature probe being used - a total game changer. I'm totally amazed at how quickly temperatures can be controlled in that roaster. About the only downside of the roaster for me would be the relatively small batch size. But with its ease of use and a fairly small price tag, it looks like it will appeal to many people. Two guys I know in town here both roast with air roasters, and have for years. They're quite happy with them.
Thanks for your comments Lou. Yea, air roasting is is different. transitioning from a drum to air has the same concepts but different techniques and as lucas mentiones in a commenton the "can the popper roast light" video, shorter roast times give better results. Still learning!
I use a Westbend vintage poppery. Works like a charm. I keep it simple as I feel like I’m One With the Bean, LOL! Thank you for all the extra information. I find roasting to be very cathartic and enjoy it as much as drinking my coffee. Looking forward to more videos!
Thanks for watching and for sharing how you roast Marilyn. There are many who use that type of roaster and love the roasts. It is relaxing and calming isn't it? Enjoy your home roasted coffee and thank you for sharing!
Great post.I have a Popper. I have only roasted a few times. I find it helpful to use the fan speed control. When I am trying a shorter roast, I don't get sustained cracking. When I slow down the fan speed to increase the heat getting to the beans, I get a sustained even cracking. I am using the Clever dripper, but I use the method where you add all the water first then put the coffee in. The Popper is my first roaster. Your videos are helpfu;.
Thanks for sharing Wendell. I've had a love hate relationship with the Popper until this week once I added the digital thermometer. I have not experimented with the low fan setting yet. I was able to get sustained cracking by keeping my temperature up but then gradually lowered the temp once the majority of cracking completed. How much coffee are you roasting per batch? Just curious. Also, how long is your total roast time and what type of coffee are you roasting? I love the clever dripper. Yow long are you steeping your grounds? Thanks for watching my videos Wendell, I'm glad they have been helpful!
Thank you for your videos. I have been using a popcorn popper for a couple of years now. I ran across your videos and decided to, all be it a small upgrade in coffee roasting, I ordered the popper. I am looking forward to experimenting with the different phases and having a little control over the roast. Perhaps some day even purchase a drum roaster. But for now I like the portability of a smaller unit. I take my roasting supplies with me when we travel in our RV. The fear of running out of coffee. I do spur interest from other RVrs when I roast coffee in the RV park. I get a your crazy look. But I can no longer tolerate bad coffee. Even the popcorn popper gets you a better cup of coffee than I can buy along the way. I have learned so much from your videos. Great job.
Thank you for your comments and for watching my video. The popper has been a lot of fun for me. For the popcorn popper person, it offers a world of opportunities that they never had previously. It is small enough to travel, great point. Enjoy!
I just had my first adventure with the Popper. Oh my! 😅 I also had a wattmeter to go with it. First I reviewed your videos and also Sweet Maria’s. In their video, using a wattmeter, they were roasting at about 925 - 950 watts. I found it difficult to maintain at that range, the dial was kind of hair-trigger and would go from 7xx watts to 975 with barely moving the dial. I also used a meat thermometer probe as you did here but paid more attention to the wattmeter. I was aiming for something midway between your light/medium and what you did on this video. I was shooting for an 8 minute roast of about 44%/36%/20. Hahaha! I plotted it out oh so carefully but you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men . . . My drying phase was 6:30 minutes, almost twice what I’d planned! As it progressed, I’m not even certain I got a proper first crack. I *thought* I was hearing it. I did glance at the thermometer but I’m not certain that I ever got over 400F. At 12:20 I decided it was first crack. I did use the software on my phone to try to shoot for the 20% development phase but then something unexpected happened: I heard a change of sound and the temperature started dropping. Panic! I thought that maybe I tripped an overload and it cut out the heat because it had gone on for so long. Even though I’d added time earlier I totally forgot at that point that what had happened was I ran out of roasting time. So total roast time ended up being approximately 14:03. There is so much to think about and pay attention to when you’re really new at this. It’s a little overwhelming. My percentages ended up being 46%/41%/13%, more or less. Started with 90 grams, ended up with 79g, a weight loss of 12.22%. It doesn’t look bad and I bit down on a bean. It tasted nice and was brown all the way through. I’ll give it a couple of days and won’t have any expectations. I’ll try again tomorrow and give it more heat. It will get easier. I do think that the wattmeter may be a good addition and I’ll pay better attention to the thermometer. I’ve got an IR thermometer and see how hot it gets when it’s given more power. Now to get a burr grinder. I swore in the beginning I wouldn’t but now I’m thinking if I’m going through the trouble of roasting I should give my coffee the best chance it has to shine. I think I may have to break down and buy one new. What have I gotten myself into?!?! 😂
Great comments and thank you for sharing your roasting journey. I’m looking forward to hearing how it tastes. Once you get used to the popper, try a total roast time between 7-8 minutes and see what that tastes like. 👍
Hello Nick. I'm glad you enjoyed my video. The only way I know to record your data using the coffee roasting timer app I used in this video is by manually recording the event times and moisture loss. You could reach out to the developer and ask but I'm not sure how active they are in their support. It is a free app. It might be better to record your times and temperatures using this Roasting Log Worksheet - viewer, Mike G. graciously shared his coffee roasting worksheet as seen in my video which can be found here: th-cam.com/video/IL3cSLS9g_Y/w-d-xo.html and the google doc is here: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dhcEMDZvG-Rytswq6ZutOzc-ztCLgqRZiAYxv3wVbGA/template/preview BUT this was used for fluid bed roasters. I forgot what type of roaster you were using. Was it a popper?
For the money, the popper is a great option. You have full control over time and temperature and the added plus to insert a probe to monitor temperatures is very helpful. One weakness is the lower capacity the popper can handle compared to the Gene Cafe. The link to the program I used to monitor development is found in the description of my video but I will post it here as well. coffeeroastingtimer.github.io/
Thanks for doing so much research on the popper! I am a newbie at roasting and started with Sweet Marie's Stovepop popper. I thought it would be a cheap intro to coffee roasting. My coffee is terrible, either tart and underdeveloped or flat and tasteless. I've tossed out many pounds of coffee beans. In your opinion and with your experience do you think the Popper will be a better option for a struggling rookie?
I just ordered the Popper from SM as well as the thermometer from Amazon. I have been roasting on a Behmor 1600+ for about 4 years, but I am excited to give air roasting a try. I am also going to give roasting decaf a try since my daughter-in-law is pregnant and doesn't want to drink regular coffee.
I would encourage you to try an EA type decaf coffee. I am enjoying some this week and it is delicious. Congrats on the grandchild by the way :-) The Popper is a pretty cool and inexpensive air roaster that offers control. I'll be interested to hear what you think about that compared to the Behmor.
I didn't get the name of the app you are using ,where can i get it , and yes sorry your video was very informative thank you for putting it out for us to see
Hi Brian, the link is in the video description. No worries, the Coffee Roasting Timer App can be found here: coffeeroastingtimer.github.io/ Thanks for your encouraging comments.
Hello Dennis, thanks for watching my my video. I don't know of a way to get a thermometer into the Gene Cafe. It is a closed system and appears to be no way to place a probe because of the rotating design. I would need to buy a Gene Cafe in order to do some roasts and at this time, I don't have plans to do that. Sorry. Having said that, my videos focus on roasting concepts that can apply to the Genie Cafe. Specifically the roast phase percentages. I would encourage you to consider these, experiment with them and see if you can notice improvements in your end result.
Thank you for another informative video. I noticed that the temperature when you reached first crack was higher than the temperature you reach first crack with on your drum roaster and was generally in line with when I reach first crack on my popcorn popper. I also noticed that you manipulated your heat to try and fit the roast into the roasting profile that you desired. Wouldn't this skew the ROR? If so, would it negatively affect the taste of the coffee? Noting how you used the temperature probe, you could use a MASTECH MS6514 Digital Thermometer and be able to use Artisan Coffee Roasting software with The Popper.
Great observations Chuck. So let's address ROR. For these roasts, I only used the thermometer to help me monitor a temperature range. I was trying to avoide the overheat shutdown as well as pace my roast between phases. I could potentially focus on ROR with the Popper BUT as you noticed, I was trying to make my times and temps. Very little adjustments to the popper temp dial can make big differences in temperature changes so, in order to conquer the ROR challenge, I would need to spend a lot more time on the Popper. Will it make a difference in taste? Probably. Will it ruin the coffee? It didn't with my cup. Yes, it could have been better but it was pretty good. Especially for being my 5th roast on the Popper. I would need to connect to artisan, like you mentioned and for my experiments and demonstrations, I am looking to simply control my roast times and phases. I think your question really opens up something I intentionally have not focused on much with the manual and smaller roasting devices, which is the ROR topic. Most people using these devices are trying to control their roast and make the times. Even the hive roaster, which I love, would be difficult to have a consistent ROR slope. I think the goal of working through the phases is a better way to learn about flavor impacts than ROR. I do have videos that discuss ROR while using artisan on my drum roaster and it is an important topic while advancing our skill set. Truthfully, my manual Mill City drum roaster is great but having a perfectly descending ror is very difficult for me. I still get some rollercoastering. It could be my artisan settings or my probe, I'm not sure. Have you roasted two similar roasts and had one with a better ROR slope come through as the better cup when drinking? Can you taste the difference? I'm just curious. I appreciate your question and in theory, yes, absolutely, a descending ROR is our goal and can improve cup quality. Can this be worked through on the Popper? I'm not sure. Actually, now that I think of it, there is a guy here on this thread who has some sort of electrical widget that controls heat to provide a descending ROR? I just looked for it but can't find the reference.....
Thinking a little more, temp readings will be different because of probes and in this case probably because of the way the probe was placed in the chamber. Like I mentioned in the video, I believe I was reading air temps not beam temp on the popper. On the drum roaster with minimal airflow I am getting more of the bean temp.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab That’s a very interesting discussion, popper type roasters would require higher temperatures than drum roasters? I would expect not considering higher convection heat transfer at the popper. But in my experience with a modified popcorn popper with automated temperature control, I had to set higher temperatures than typical drum roaster profiles to have sound FCs. It happened at 8 min and 215 ºC. I think I had good ROR curves, but I didn’t have evaluated the influence of that to the quality at the cup.
@Marcio Sanglard When I was roasting on the popper, my temps displayed were higher than my drum roaster. On a dark roast coffee i usually don't go past 410 f but at 13:50 in the video, you can see I am over 433 degrees. Like I mentioned earlier, we are reading air temperatures, not necessarily bean temperatures. At least that is what I think I am seeing?
Great work! This profile is very close to the espresso profiles I've been playing with on the Popper. I'm at a roughly 10 min roast with phases at 33%/45%/22%, and similarly at med to med-dark but no 2C (16% weight reduction). My rationale is to cook out the water a bit faster to allow more caramelization in the browning phase (leveraged from your past videos!). The espresso on a Pavoni and Robot have been quite good, with much more good brightness than a reference espresso from my local roaster, but still balanced and supporting a 2:1 espresso. If you have the equipment, I think you may like your roast as an espresso!
Thanks for sharing that @daRock121. Yea, I haven't really shared weight loss as part of my roasting toolbag. At one point I was documenting all of my moisture loss and it almost always came out around 14%. Then again, I wasn't roasting dark and my ending temperatures were within a couple of degrees. Are you using moisture loss as your way of determining roast level? How do you think density plays into that? Just cuious to hear your thoughts if you care to share. Yes, I have an old cuisinart espresso maker which is buried somewhere in the basement. Not really a fan of that unit. I primarily enjoy filtered coffee. I am asking for a MokaPot for Christmas. Not really espresso but headed in that direction. The whole topic of "Espresso Roast" has always baffled me. Some think it has to be a dark roast. Others say you can use regular single origin coffee that is fruity (you mentioned brightness). My friend owns a 3rd wave coffee shop and he uses a blend of African and Guatemalan coffee for his espresso. At some point there will be a video, once I get a better grasp of the topic.
I've never really paid any attention to "espresso roasts" and just throw whatever beans I want into my espresso machine, so I'm not really clear what the difference is either. I read somewhere that starting with a lower charge temp and doing a slightly longer, more gentle roast makes the coffee easier to extract, which would be relevant to a lighter roast espresso, I guess, but I haven't played around with it too much in my own roasting and kind of just use the same roast for whatever brew method.
That's my point I guess @MmMmGood, the term "espresso roast" or "espresso beans" is confusing. The coffee I roasted in this video wasn't meant to be an espresso roast BUT many people think an espresso bean is one that is well developed and leans towards the darker side. I'm going to address this in a future video but I'm with you, it is a brew method, and using the same beans is a widely used practice for specialty coffee.
My problem with owning the Popper is its low capacity to roast coffee. One full roast will cover one and a half pots at my house. You would have to roast every other day.
Interesting video. I am going to try the app when I roast next time on the Behmor. Thanks again for another interesting informative video! Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks for this series! I just got into home roasting and don't have time to get too serious right now (two kids under 3 years). A few questions as I consider this option against the Fresh Roast SR800... 1) How is the smoke output? (I noticed you looked pretty comfortable doing it indoors, but I'm not sure if you had a hood or exhaust kicking it out.) 2) I'm a native Michigander now in exile in Wisconsin. If I have to roast in my garage in winter, do you think this will hold up in Midwest winter ambient temps? 3) Head-to-head, what might make the SR800 preferable to this? Thanks in advance for any reply you can give. Cheers from across Lake Michigan!
Hi Aaron, welcome to the world of home roasting. I have not used an sr800 so I can’t say for sure. But, I have an sr540 which is the little sister to the 800. I just got it as a gift from my family! Hands down I had a better experience with the sr540. And, if you get the extension tube….. oh baby, game changer. Visibility of the beans is better and I really really appreciate the digital reference for fan and power. The poppers dial is less than exact. As far as smoke goes, the biggest factor will be how dark you go. I’ve been roasting with the sr540 with no hood fan. I roast medium to medium light and usually don’t get anywhere near second crack. If you have a hood fan you should be good. I plan on having a series of videos with the ser549 which will cover basics, then some mods like the extension tube and then probes. First one will be available tomorrow. Enjoy your Wisconsin exile.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab thanks for the reply! It sounds like you would recommend either of the Fresh Roast models over the Popper, if one can afford it. Am I interpreting you correctly?
@@aaronvoss9501 With only a few roasts on the SR540, I would say it is easier to control than the popper because of the digital display and the great visibility. I have not used the fresh roast enough yet to offer a critical comparison to the popper. I know I didn't exactly answer your question. The popper is a great value at half the price of the 540
How strange... Today I tried using a meat thermometer probe and the probe actually restricts the bean movement, as of the probe is just too heavy and everything remains static. Have you ecountered this issue?
No, my thermometer moves around with the beans until they start lifting a little. When the roast first starts, the coffee doesn’t move much, with or without the probe, then after a minute or so it begins to lighten up and move.
Hi Json, That is a great question. The dry phase takes place from the beginning of the roast (charge) until yellow/dry end. The browning phase takes place from dry end (the end of the dry phase) until first crack. The development phase takes place from first crack until you end the roast (drop)
Sorry for any confustion Json. When there is no green in the bean color, it is now Yellow and that is the end of the drying phase and the beginning of the browning phase.
Really enjoying your videos. Regarding the voltage of your house wiring - I question whether an extension cord is going to cause any significant voltage drop. How far is the outlet from your panel? Much farther than an extension cord. How far is your panel from the transformer on the pole? Much further still. It’s generally not recommended to use extension cords with heat generating devices because they draw a lot of amperage and that causes heat. If one does use an extension cord, a heavy duty cord would be the best choice. A flimsy lamp cord type extension cord would not be a good idea. More significant, I think, is what voltage are you getting from the power company and how consistent is it? Is it 110v or 120v or somewhere in between? A voltmeter could tell you what is the voltage at the panel, at the outlet, and at the end of an extension cord. I really appreciate the detail you go into regarding the phases and their affect on the flavor. I’m just starting out and still using a popcorn popper but perhaps eventually I’ll upgrade to one of these. Your videos are really well done. They are informative, detailed, and engaging. Thank you.
Thanks @OldMotherLogo . The extension cord was a sweet Maria’s suggestion I mentioned. I don’t use one when I roast with a hot air popcorn popper. See this link www.sweetmarias.com/nostalgia-electric-popcorn-popper.html I do have a wall meter that measures my volts which is 120v. Thanks for watching, sharing and I am glad my videos have been helpful for you.
I think I accidentally posted this in the wrong video! There was mention of extension cords and voltage drop but it doesn’t look like it was here. I apologize. My skepticism about it stems from working as a construction electrician for 13 years. I could be wrong. I’m holding out for a Hive but today found a Maria’s popper used, with the upgraded motor, online, so I’m looking forward to experimenting with that in the not too distant future.
I received my Popper yesterday and tried a roast last night. I did a 9 minute roast in my kitchen. Is roasting in the kitchen without an outdoor exhust harmful?
Congrats on the popper Conrad. I did not need a fan while doing my roasts but I am not roasting dark. If you have a hood fan in your kitchen, roast under that. If you are roasting dark, you may need to get creative. “harmful”? Are you concerned about smoke or carcinogens?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Thank you for your quick reply. I do like to attempt a dark roast following this video. My concern is if there are any toxic gases or carcinogens like from second hand tobacco smoke. Thanks
It saddens me that the old Hearthware air roaster is no longer in production. If someone developed a chaff catcher for this Popper, we might come close!
How do you know the top of the thermometer probe is not touched the bottom of the popper? Wouldn't the bottom floor be way hotter than the air+beans and give you a false reading?
Great question Agustin. The probe might have touched the bottom of the roster but as you can see in the video it was moving around in the being mass. I’m not sure this really is going to make a difference because this is an air roaster and I believe that most of the temperature reading is coming from the hot air. I don’t have any sort of proof of that but that is my assumption. If you watch the temperatures when I first turn the Roaster on you notice that they are almost immediately in the hundreds and then quickly in the 200s and so on so there’s no possible way for the bean temp to be that in the first minute. I believe it’s the air temperature. I don’t think it is possible to get just a bean temp in an air roaster. The temperature readings do help me understand what is happening with the air temperature and how that is going to influence the speed of my roast. I hope that my answer has been helpful. Thank you for watching my video!
@@VirtualCoffeeLab thank you for the response! I'm a beginner on this and I was mostly worried at the temperature of the chamber floor but I don't have experience with other roasters and roast temperature so I didn't have a reference to gauge that. It was just a worry from my experience cooking lol. Sometimes the probe sink to the bottom of the pot and it just reads way hotter than it should. Of course you know what you're doing and and double check the values with what is normal in other roasting methods. Thank you for clarifying! I'll be using this methos from now on!
No worries Agustin. The heat comes out the side bents towards the bottom so that whole area is basically getting hot along with the bean mass. It won't be a perfect temp, but it is more accurate than leaving the probe higher up.
Dennis, Where are the beans from? Panama, Colombia, Ethiopia? Also, what type of roast do you prefer? In a very general sense, you will roast Geisha similar to your other coffee but if you are trying to highlight sweetness and fruit, a medium to medium light roast is what I prefer. As far as phase percentages, a 40-45% dry phase, 35% browning phase and a 15-17% development phase. If your not sure what that means, check out my "coffee roasting essentials" playlist which talks about basic roasting principles. You might find it really helpful.
Hi Nick. Is sounds like your not getting any tart or juicy notes. How long is your total roast time? How long was your time from yellow to first crack?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab about 7:05 total time. I am running about 12 o clock for the first 4 minutes and then ramp to 1:00 for the remainder. Hit first crack at 5:30. I would say I hit DE at the 4 minute mark
Nick, you are not spending enough time in the middle phase (from dry end to first crack is too short. Here are your phase percentages: Dry - 58% Browning - 21% Development - 22% What type of coffee are you drinking?. How dark are you going? Sounds like a medium roast, not dark. I would leave your heat at 12 ocklock as you are doing and not ramp up your heat until about 45 seconds after dry, then turn your heat up to 1 oclock. This should stretch out the middle phase a little more. See how that changes things. Idealy, you want to have enough time in maillard for the beans to have their reactions for flavor . Have you had any success with the beans you are roasting?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab thank you so much for the great feedback. It is an Ethiopian Dry. All my batches have been similar even other origins. I had a feeling the middle phase was it after watching nearly all of your videos! My popper seems to run hotter than most so I’m am trying to figure out a way to stretch. I will give your recommendation a try. I like traditional light to medium which is darker than todays coffees. Maybe I will also try going to 24% development also.
oh, dry process ethiopian! OK, if you can control your roaster and time the events, try 35% middle phase and a 17% development aiming for the color you want. Dry process behave like they are already partially roasted so they like to move a little faster than a washed bean. Maybe aim your total roast time for about 8 minutes and see what happens.
Hello Erhard. Not in the sense of creating a profile and then translating it to a drum roaster. Someone else asked a similar question. They wanted to use the Popper for small batch roasting roasting compared to their other home roasting unit that roasts 1 pound per batch. The roast wasn't as uneven as my first roast seen on the review video. The Hive and my drum roaster have been the champion of even roasts so far.
It seems like as you get more familiar with the Popper, you are able to get quite a lot of versatility out of it and will be able to roast any coffee to the desired roast level with precision. I like the way you stuck with the machine to fine tune your roasts for the desired characteristics. Sounds like a real winner for beginners both in terms of price, ease getting started and capability for a first machine.
And great mod with the meat thermometer. Simple and cheap, it will help get the most out of the Popper.
Thanks for following along @slpardee10 . Yea, every roast I do with the Popper is more information about its capabilities and shortcomings. It would be a great starting place for anyone interested in home roasting. We will be seeing more roasts with the Popper . Thanks for sharing your comments!
Thank you for the popper series 🙌🏻
Hello Adityan, you are very welcome. Thank you for watching my video! Are you roasting with a Popper?
I've had the great pleasure of roasting some Ethiopian Sidamo (Sidama) coffee recently.
I'm loving the sweet fruity flavors!
We're so blessed to have access to coffee from all around the world.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with us! God bless you, my friend!
Thanks for the encouraging words. You're welcome.
Thank you... I'm sure this will answer my previous questions!
Yes, I just replied to your question about how to roast dark coffee in the video Hot To Roast Coffee On A Hot Air Popcorn Popper.
Great video Mike
Thanks Shane. The Popper has been fun.
I've been looking forward to this episode where you show the temperature probe. I see how that is extremely helpful in managing the roast to the target profile. Will be ordering one today! I would like to see a video on a light to medium roast using the probe. Thanks for helping us with your experiences!
Hi Paul, I'm going to do more roasts with the Popper but it might be a little while. I have other topics I would like to talk about BUT I always try and craft my content so there is relevant info for all home roasters, regardless of their equipment.
Yea, the temperature probe is a visual indicator for me to know if my heat is going up or down AND to know how close i am getting to the shutoff temp. I have not charted temps with it yet. That would be fun to do So i could really know what is going on with the temps. I know I could probably do a much better medium light roast now that i can watch my temps.....
Thanks for watching and for your comments Paul!
Great video Mike, as usual! It was very encouraging to see a REAL bean temperature probe being used - a total game changer. I'm totally amazed at how quickly temperatures can be controlled in that roaster. About the only downside of the roaster for me would be the relatively small batch size. But with its ease of use and a fairly small price tag, it looks like it will appeal to many people. Two guys I know in town here both roast with air roasters, and have for years. They're quite happy with them.
Thanks for your comments Lou. Yea, air roasting is is different. transitioning from a drum to air has the same concepts but different techniques and as lucas mentiones in a commenton the "can the popper roast light" video, shorter roast times give better results. Still learning!
I use a Westbend vintage poppery. Works like a charm. I keep it simple as I feel like I’m One With the Bean, LOL! Thank you for all the extra information. I find roasting to be very cathartic and enjoy it as much as drinking my coffee. Looking forward to more videos!
Thanks for watching and for sharing how you roast Marilyn. There are many who use that type of roaster and love the roasts. It is relaxing and calming isn't it? Enjoy your home roasted coffee and thank you for sharing!
Great post.I have a Popper. I have only roasted a few times. I find it helpful to use the fan speed control. When I am trying a shorter roast, I don't get sustained cracking. When I slow down the fan speed to increase the heat getting to the beans, I get a sustained even cracking. I am using the Clever dripper, but I use the method where you add all the water first then put the coffee in. The Popper is my first roaster. Your videos are helpfu;.
Thanks for sharing Wendell. I've had a love hate relationship with the Popper until this week once I added the digital thermometer. I have not experimented with the low fan setting yet. I was able to get sustained cracking by keeping my temperature up but then gradually lowered the temp once the majority of cracking completed. How much coffee are you roasting per batch? Just curious. Also, how long is your total roast time and what type of coffee are you roasting?
I love the clever dripper. Yow long are you steeping your grounds? Thanks for watching my videos Wendell, I'm glad they have been helpful!
Thank you for your videos. I have been using a popcorn popper for a couple of years now. I ran across your videos and decided to, all be it a small upgrade in coffee roasting, I ordered the popper. I am looking forward to experimenting with the different phases and having a little control over the roast. Perhaps some day even purchase a drum roaster. But for now I like the portability of a smaller unit. I take my roasting supplies with me when we travel in our RV. The fear of running out of coffee. I do spur interest from other RVrs when I roast coffee in the RV park. I get a your crazy look. But I can no longer tolerate bad coffee. Even the popcorn popper gets you a better cup of coffee than I can buy along the way. I have learned so much from your videos. Great job.
Thank you for your comments and for watching my video. The popper has been a lot of fun for me. For the popcorn popper person, it offers a world of opportunities that they never had previously. It is small enough to travel, great point. Enjoy!
Good job thanks for the program bin
rosting on Kaldi roaster bin using stop watch. Game changer for me? We see.
Hi John. Thanks for your comment. Yea, monitoring development with the app is a big help. So is monitoring temps!
I just had my first adventure with the Popper. Oh my! 😅 I also had a wattmeter to go with it.
First I reviewed your videos and also Sweet Maria’s. In their video, using a wattmeter, they were roasting at about 925 - 950 watts. I found it difficult to maintain at that range, the dial was kind of hair-trigger and would go from 7xx watts to 975 with barely moving the dial. I also used a meat thermometer probe as you did here but paid more attention to the wattmeter. I was aiming for something midway between your light/medium and what you did on this video. I was shooting for an 8 minute roast of about 44%/36%/20. Hahaha! I plotted it out oh so carefully but you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men . . .
My drying phase was 6:30 minutes, almost twice what I’d planned! As it progressed, I’m not even certain I got a proper first crack. I *thought* I was hearing it. I did glance at the thermometer but I’m not certain that I ever got over 400F. At 12:20 I decided it was first crack. I did use the software on my phone to try to shoot for the 20% development phase but then something unexpected happened: I heard a change of sound and the temperature started dropping. Panic! I thought that maybe I tripped an overload and it cut out the heat because it had gone on for so long. Even though I’d added time earlier I totally forgot at that point that what had happened was I ran out of roasting time. So total roast time ended up being approximately 14:03.
There is so much to think about and pay attention to when you’re really new at this. It’s a little overwhelming. My percentages ended up being 46%/41%/13%, more or less. Started with 90 grams, ended up with 79g, a weight loss of 12.22%. It doesn’t look bad and I bit down on a bean. It tasted nice and was brown all the way through. I’ll give it a couple of days and won’t have any expectations.
I’ll try again tomorrow and give it more heat. It will get easier. I do think that the wattmeter may be a good addition and I’ll pay better attention to the thermometer. I’ve got an IR thermometer and see how hot it gets when it’s given more power.
Now to get a burr grinder. I swore in the beginning I wouldn’t but now I’m thinking if I’m going through the trouble of roasting I should give my coffee the best chance it has to shine. I think I may have to break down and buy one new. What have I gotten myself into?!?! 😂
Great comments and thank you for sharing your roasting journey. I’m looking forward to hearing how it tastes. Once you get used to the popper, try a total roast time between 7-8 minutes and see what that tastes like. 👍
Is there a way to record the roast data from the coffee timer? Than you for the excellent video sir 👍
Hello Nick. I'm glad you enjoyed my video. The only way I know to record your data using the coffee roasting timer app I used in this video is by manually recording the event times and moisture loss. You could reach out to the developer and ask but I'm not sure how active they are in their support. It is a free app.
It might be better to record your times and temperatures using this Roasting Log Worksheet - viewer, Mike G. graciously shared his coffee roasting worksheet as seen in my video which can be found here: th-cam.com/video/IL3cSLS9g_Y/w-d-xo.html
and the google doc is here:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dhcEMDZvG-Rytswq6ZutOzc-ztCLgqRZiAYxv3wVbGA/template/preview
BUT this was used for fluid bed roasters. I forgot what type of roaster you were using. Was it a popper?
BTW very interesting video. Didn’t know you could do that much on that popper. What program did you use to track the roast?
For the money, the popper is a great option. You have full control over time and temperature and the added plus to insert a probe to monitor temperatures is very helpful. One weakness is the lower capacity the popper can handle compared to the Gene Cafe. The link to the program I used to monitor development is found in the description of my video but I will post it here as well. coffeeroastingtimer.github.io/
Thanks for doing so much research on the popper! I am a newbie at roasting and started with Sweet Marie's Stovepop popper. I thought it would be a cheap intro to coffee roasting. My coffee is terrible, either tart and underdeveloped or flat and tasteless. I've tossed out many pounds of coffee beans. In your opinion and with your experience do you think the Popper will be a better option for a struggling rookie?
Absolutely. There is a learning curve to roast good coffee but the Popper is capable. I'm a fan. You can do it David!
I just ordered the Popper from SM as well as the thermometer from Amazon. I have been roasting on a Behmor 1600+ for about 4 years, but I am excited to give air roasting a try. I am also going to give roasting decaf a try since my daughter-in-law is pregnant and doesn't want to drink regular coffee.
I would encourage you to try an EA type decaf coffee. I am enjoying some this week and it is delicious. Congrats on the grandchild by the way :-)
The Popper is a pretty cool and inexpensive air roaster that offers control. I'll be interested to hear what you think about that compared to the Behmor.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Thanks!
I didn't get the name of the app you are using ,where can i get it , and yes sorry your video was very informative thank you for putting it out for us to see
Hi Brian, the link is in the video description. No worries, the Coffee Roasting Timer App can be found here: coffeeroastingtimer.github.io/
Thanks for your encouraging comments.
Any ideas on getting a thermometer into the Gene Cafe roaster for a more accurate temperature? Could you do videos on the Gene Cafe and Geisha beans.
Hello Dennis, thanks for watching my my video. I don't know of a way to get a thermometer into the Gene Cafe. It is a closed system and appears to be no way to place a probe because of the rotating design. I would need to buy a Gene Cafe in order to do some roasts and at this time, I don't have plans to do that. Sorry.
Having said that, my videos focus on roasting concepts that can apply to the Genie Cafe. Specifically the roast phase percentages. I would encourage you to consider these, experiment with them and see if you can notice improvements in your end result.
Thank you for another informative video. I noticed that the temperature when you reached first crack was higher than the temperature you reach first crack with on your drum roaster and was generally in line with when I reach first crack on my popcorn popper. I also noticed that you manipulated your heat to try and fit the roast into the roasting profile that you desired. Wouldn't this skew the ROR? If so, would it negatively affect the taste of the coffee?
Noting how you used the temperature probe, you could use a MASTECH MS6514 Digital Thermometer and be able to use Artisan Coffee Roasting software with The Popper.
Great observations Chuck. So let's address ROR. For these roasts, I only used the thermometer to help me monitor a temperature range. I was trying to avoide the overheat shutdown as well as pace my roast between phases. I could potentially focus on ROR with the Popper BUT as you noticed, I was trying to make my times and temps. Very little adjustments to the popper temp dial can make big differences in temperature changes so, in order to conquer the ROR challenge, I would need to spend a lot more time on the Popper. Will it make a difference in taste? Probably. Will it ruin the coffee? It didn't with my cup. Yes, it could have been better but it was pretty good. Especially for being my 5th roast on the Popper. I would need to connect to artisan, like you mentioned and for my experiments and demonstrations, I am looking to simply control my roast times and phases.
I think your question really opens up something I intentionally have not focused on much with the manual and smaller roasting devices, which is the ROR topic. Most people using these devices are trying to control their roast and make the times. Even the hive roaster, which I love, would be difficult to have a consistent ROR slope. I think the goal of working through the phases is a better way to learn about flavor impacts than ROR. I do have videos that discuss ROR while using artisan on my drum roaster and it is an important topic while advancing our skill set. Truthfully, my manual Mill City drum roaster is great but having a perfectly descending ror is very difficult for me. I still get some rollercoastering. It could be my artisan settings or my probe, I'm not sure.
Have you roasted two similar roasts and had one with a better ROR slope come through as the better cup when drinking? Can you taste the difference? I'm just curious. I appreciate your question and in theory, yes, absolutely, a descending ROR is our goal and can improve cup quality. Can this be worked through on the Popper? I'm not sure. Actually, now that I think of it, there is a guy here on this thread who has some sort of electrical widget that controls heat to provide a descending ROR? I just looked for it but can't find the reference.....
Thinking a little more, temp readings will be different because of probes and in this case probably because of the way the probe was placed in the chamber. Like I mentioned in the video, I believe I was reading air temps not beam temp on the popper. On the drum roaster with minimal airflow I am getting more of the bean temp.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab That’s a very interesting discussion, popper type roasters would require higher temperatures than drum roasters? I would expect not considering higher convection heat transfer at the popper. But in my experience with a modified popcorn popper with automated temperature control, I had to set higher temperatures than typical drum roaster profiles to have sound FCs. It happened at 8 min and 215 ºC. I think I had good ROR curves, but I didn’t have evaluated the influence of that to the quality at the cup.
@Marcio Sanglard When I was roasting on the popper, my temps displayed were higher than my drum roaster. On a dark roast coffee i usually don't go past 410 f but at 13:50 in the video, you can see I am over 433 degrees. Like I mentioned earlier, we are reading air temperatures, not necessarily bean temperatures. At least that is what I think I am seeing?
Great work! This profile is very close to the espresso profiles I've been playing with on the Popper. I'm at a roughly 10 min roast with phases at 33%/45%/22%, and similarly at med to med-dark but no 2C (16% weight reduction). My rationale is to cook out the water a bit faster to allow more caramelization in the browning phase (leveraged from your past videos!). The espresso on a Pavoni and Robot have been quite good, with much more good brightness than a reference espresso from my local roaster, but still balanced and supporting a 2:1 espresso. If you have the equipment, I think you may like your roast as an espresso!
Thanks for sharing that @daRock121. Yea, I haven't really shared weight loss as part of my roasting toolbag. At one point I was documenting all of my moisture loss and it almost always came out around 14%. Then again, I wasn't roasting dark and my ending temperatures were within a couple of degrees.
Are you using moisture loss as your way of determining roast level? How do you think density plays into that? Just cuious to hear your thoughts if you care to share.
Yes, I have an old cuisinart espresso maker which is buried somewhere in the basement. Not really a fan of that unit. I primarily enjoy filtered coffee. I am asking for a MokaPot for Christmas. Not really espresso but headed in that direction.
The whole topic of "Espresso Roast" has always baffled me. Some think it has to be a dark roast. Others say you can use regular single origin coffee that is fruity (you mentioned brightness). My friend owns a 3rd wave coffee shop and he uses a blend of African and Guatemalan coffee for his espresso. At some point there will be a video, once I get a better grasp of the topic.
I've never really paid any attention to "espresso roasts" and just throw whatever beans I want into my espresso machine, so I'm not really clear what the difference is either. I read somewhere that starting with a lower charge temp and doing a slightly longer, more gentle roast makes the coffee easier to extract, which would be relevant to a lighter roast espresso, I guess, but I haven't played around with it too much in my own roasting and kind of just use the same roast for whatever brew method.
That's my point I guess @MmMmGood, the term "espresso roast" or "espresso beans" is confusing. The coffee I roasted in this video wasn't meant to be an espresso roast BUT many people think an espresso bean is one that is well developed and leans towards the darker side. I'm going to address this in a future video but I'm with you, it is a brew method, and using the same beans is a widely used practice for specialty coffee.
My problem with owning the Popper is its low capacity to roast coffee. One full roast will cover one and a half pots at my house. You would have to roast every other day.
Roasting capacity is an issue. So, what size roaster is best for you?
For me to invest in a roaster, I would want a machine that can handle a pound at the time. @@VirtualCoffeeLab
Interesting video. I am going to try the app when I roast next time on the Behmor.
Thanks again for another interesting informative video!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hope you enjoy the timer app Eduardo. Here is the url in case you missed it - coffeeroastingtimer.github.io/
Thanks for this series! I just got into home roasting and don't have time to get too serious right now (two kids under 3 years). A few questions as I consider this option against the Fresh Roast SR800...
1) How is the smoke output? (I noticed you looked pretty comfortable doing it indoors, but I'm not sure if you had a hood or exhaust kicking it out.)
2) I'm a native Michigander now in exile in Wisconsin. If I have to roast in my garage in winter, do you think this will hold up in Midwest winter ambient temps?
3) Head-to-head, what might make the SR800 preferable to this?
Thanks in advance for any reply you can give. Cheers from across Lake Michigan!
Hi Aaron, welcome to the world of home roasting. I have not used an sr800 so I can’t say for sure. But, I have an sr540 which is the little sister to the 800. I just got it as a gift from my family! Hands down I had a better experience with the sr540. And, if you get the extension tube….. oh baby, game changer. Visibility of the beans is better and I really really appreciate the digital reference for fan and power. The poppers dial is less than exact.
As far as smoke goes, the biggest factor will be how dark you go. I’ve been roasting with the sr540 with no hood fan. I roast medium to medium light and usually don’t get anywhere near second crack. If you have a hood fan you should be good.
I plan on having a series of videos with the ser549 which will cover basics, then some mods like the extension tube and then probes. First one will be available tomorrow. Enjoy your Wisconsin exile.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab thanks for the reply! It sounds like you would recommend either of the Fresh Roast models over the Popper, if one can afford it. Am I interpreting you correctly?
@@aaronvoss9501 With only a few roasts on the SR540, I would say it is easier to control than the popper because of the digital display and the great visibility. I have not used the fresh roast enough yet to offer a critical comparison to the popper. I know I didn't exactly answer your question. The popper is a great value at half the price of the 540
How strange... Today I tried using a meat thermometer probe and the probe actually restricts the bean movement, as of the probe is just too heavy and everything remains static. Have you ecountered this issue?
No, my thermometer moves around with the beans until they start lifting a little. When the roast first starts, the coffee doesn’t move much, with or without the probe, then after a minute or so it begins to lighten up and move.
When you say browning phase - do you mean when its starting to yellow, or when its starting to brown? I know thats kind of a dumb question but lol.
Hi Json,
That is a great question.
The dry phase takes place from the beginning of the roast (charge) until yellow/dry end.
The browning phase takes place from dry end (the end of the dry phase) until first crack.
The development phase takes place from first crack until you end the roast (drop)
@@VirtualCoffeeLab ah ok. So yellowing is the mid point between ending of the drying phase and going into browning basically. Makes sense, thanks.
Sorry for any confustion Json. When there is no green in the bean color, it is now Yellow and that is the end of the drying phase and the beginning of the browning phase.
Really enjoying your videos. Regarding the voltage of your house wiring - I question whether an extension cord is going to cause any significant voltage drop. How far is the outlet from your panel? Much farther than an extension cord. How far is your panel from the transformer on the pole? Much further still. It’s generally not recommended to use extension cords with heat generating devices because they draw a lot of amperage and that causes heat. If one does use an extension cord, a heavy duty cord would be the best choice. A flimsy lamp cord type extension cord would not be a good idea. More significant, I think, is what voltage are you getting from the power company and how consistent is it? Is it 110v or 120v or somewhere in between? A voltmeter could tell you what is the voltage at the panel, at the outlet, and at the end of an extension cord.
I really appreciate the detail you go into regarding the phases and their affect on the flavor. I’m just starting out and still using a popcorn popper but perhaps eventually I’ll upgrade to one of these. Your videos are really well done. They are informative, detailed, and engaging. Thank you.
Thanks @OldMotherLogo . The extension cord was a sweet Maria’s suggestion I mentioned. I don’t use one when I roast with a hot air popcorn popper. See this link www.sweetmarias.com/nostalgia-electric-popcorn-popper.html
I do have a wall meter that measures my volts which is 120v.
Thanks for watching, sharing and I am glad my videos have been helpful for you.
I think I accidentally posted this in the wrong video! There was mention of extension cords and voltage drop but it doesn’t look like it was here. I apologize. My skepticism about it stems from working as a construction electrician for 13 years. I could be wrong.
I’m holding out for a Hive but today found a Maria’s popper used, with the upgraded motor, online, so I’m looking forward to experimenting with that in the not too distant future.
I think you will really pleased with the control you will gain with the popper compared to the hot air popcorn popper.
I received my Popper yesterday and tried a roast last night. I did a 9 minute roast in my kitchen. Is roasting in the kitchen without an outdoor exhust harmful?
Congrats on the popper Conrad. I did not need a fan while doing my roasts but I am not roasting dark. If you have a hood fan in your kitchen, roast under that. If you are roasting dark, you may need to get creative. “harmful”? Are you concerned about smoke or carcinogens?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Thank you for your quick reply. I do like to attempt a dark roast following this video. My concern is if there are any toxic gases or carcinogens like from second hand tobacco smoke. Thanks
I honestly don't know. Exhausting any smoke is always best practice.
It saddens me that the old Hearthware air roaster is no longer in production. If someone developed a chaff catcher for this Popper, we might come close!
Yea, Chaff does come out of the roaster but for 90 bucks........
@@VirtualCoffeeLab
I agree it’s a bargain!
How do you know the top of the thermometer probe is not touched the bottom of the popper? Wouldn't the bottom floor be way hotter than the air+beans and give you a false reading?
Great question Agustin.
The probe might have touched the bottom of the roster but as you can see in the video it was moving around in the being mass. I’m not sure this really is going to make a difference because this is an air roaster and I believe that most of the temperature reading is coming from the hot air. I don’t have any sort of proof of that but that is my assumption.
If you watch the temperatures when I first turn the Roaster on you notice that they are almost immediately in the hundreds and then quickly in the 200s and so on so there’s no possible way for the bean temp to be that in the first minute. I believe it’s the air temperature.
I don’t think it is possible to get just a bean temp in an air roaster.
The temperature readings do help me understand what is happening with the air temperature and how that is going to influence the speed of my roast.
I hope that my answer has been helpful. Thank you for watching my video!
@@VirtualCoffeeLab thank you for the response! I'm a beginner on this and I was mostly worried at the temperature of the chamber floor but I don't have experience with other roasters and roast temperature so I didn't have a reference to gauge that. It was just a worry from my experience cooking lol. Sometimes the probe sink to the bottom of the pot and it just reads way hotter than it should. Of course you know what you're doing and and double check the values with what is normal in other roasting methods. Thank you for clarifying! I'll be using this methos from now on!
No worries Agustin. The heat comes out the side bents towards the bottom so that whole area is basically getting hot along with the bean mass. It won't be a perfect temp, but it is more accurate than leaving the probe higher up.
I thought my first comment posted but I have a Gene Cafe. How do you roast Geisha beans?
Dennis, Where are the beans from? Panama, Colombia, Ethiopia? Also, what type of roast do you prefer? In a very general sense, you will roast Geisha similar to your other coffee but if you are trying to highlight sweetness and fruit, a medium to medium light roast is what I prefer. As far as phase percentages, a 40-45% dry phase, 35% browning phase and a 15-17% development phase. If your not sure what that means, check out my "coffee roasting essentials" playlist which talks about basic roasting principles. You might find it really helpful.
So does the chaff just blow out all over the place?
There is some chaff that comes out of the roaster but most of it is caught in the chaff collector.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab oh there is a chaff collector. I could not see it.
My coffee on the popper is coming with a drying mouth feel. Any ideas what this is and how to correct?
Hi Nick. Is sounds like your not getting any tart or juicy notes. How long is your total roast time? How long was your time from yellow to first crack?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab about 7:05 total time. I am running about 12 o clock for the first 4 minutes and then ramp to 1:00 for the remainder. Hit first crack at 5:30. I would say I hit DE at the 4 minute mark
Nick, you are not spending enough time in the middle phase (from dry end to first crack is too short. Here are your phase percentages:
Dry - 58%
Browning - 21%
Development - 22%
What type of coffee are you drinking?. How dark are you going? Sounds like a medium roast, not dark.
I would leave your heat at 12 ocklock as you are doing and not ramp up your heat until about 45 seconds after dry, then turn your heat up to 1 oclock. This should stretch out the middle phase a little more. See how that changes things. Idealy, you want to have enough time in maillard for the beans to have their reactions for flavor . Have you had any success with the beans you are roasting?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab thank you so much for the great feedback. It is an Ethiopian Dry. All my batches have been similar even other origins. I had a feeling the middle phase was it after watching nearly all of your videos! My popper seems to run hotter than most so I’m am trying to figure out a way to stretch. I will give your recommendation a try. I like traditional light to medium which is darker than todays coffees. Maybe I will also try going to 24% development also.
oh, dry process ethiopian! OK, if you can control your roaster and time the events, try 35% middle phase and a 17% development aiming for the color you want. Dry process behave like they are already partially roasted so they like to move a little faster than a washed bean. Maybe aim your total roast time for about 8 minutes and see what happens.
So you can imagine to use this apparatus as a sample roaster? This roast looks very uneven!
Hello Erhard. Not in the sense of creating a profile and then translating it to a drum roaster. Someone else asked a similar question. They wanted to use the Popper for small batch roasting roasting compared to their other home roasting unit that roasts 1 pound per batch.
The roast wasn't as uneven as my first roast seen on the review video. The Hive and my drum roaster have been the champion of even roasts so far.
the easy way i do it out side, i do it by color not by time . i use a pan to water to cool the beans. Let dry and de= gas wheelchair larry
Thanks for your comment Todd
I really dig the addition of the software and thermometer!
🌡 📱
Me too 👌