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Jason's Roasting Wall

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10:08 pm
August 22, 2010


Jason Coffee

Kansas City

Admin

posts 394

 
1

Post edited 10:14 pm – August 22, 2010 by Jason Coffee


I just started roasting yesterday and I decided tonight to start this wall to catalog my progress. I will leave the posting of well written articles to the more tenured roasters for now. (aka Neil, Jamie and possibly Matt C? Wink) Feel free to leave a comment or question.

What I did:

Tonight was my second roast of Kona. I went to Walgreens and picked up a side vented popcorn popper for $10 (I called 10 stores, I think this was the last one in Kansas City). I did notice that the beans moved around a lot more with this type of popper in comparison to the one with the screen on the bottom. I decided not to use a spoon to stir because of this and to see how it compared in flavor and color. I also decide to start with the beans in the chamber as apposed to a pre heated chamber. 

(Transparency:

My first batch tonight I ruined because I tried to use the same volume of beans I used in the first roasting video. I used 4 oz (in volume) and I thought I was going to start a fire. The beans didn't move much and the chaff seems to get trapped under the beans. I frantically dumped them in the water I had placed in the sink, tragedy avoided, phew!)

What I noticed & plan for next time:

On the second batch I used 2 oz (in volume) of beans. The beans roasted pretty unevenly. Next time I will try using my wooden spoon to move the beans around when they look uneven. It also took about 30 seconds longer for this batch to get around to first crack. The way they roasted reminded me a lot of popcorn. A few cracks about 2 minutes in and a machine gun blast of cracks about 3 minutes in. I was more prepared to cool them this time by using a medal colander and a fan. 

 

The final result looked and smelled pretty tasted but there was about 50 percent medium to dark roasted and 50 percent light. I am interested to see what this ends up tasting like tomorrow morning.

"Try new coffee, find better coffee!" – "Everyone here rocks my face off!"

1:24 am
August 23, 2010


JerryGilreath

Dixon, CA

Light Roast

posts 24

 
2

Would it make sense to do several batches then sort the beans by darkness?

6:09 am
August 23, 2010


ArtofExtraction

Indiana

Moderator

posts 268

 
3

Jason, you can use more beans than that, but I still use the wooden spoon. Until the beans start to get tan and loose a good deal of water weight they will not move all that well on their own. That is why some got over-roasted and others under roasted. I stir them until they swirl and bounce around quite well on their own. After that you should not have to stir them quite as much. It may be that the popper you just got is not as powerful as the one you first used (that is why the original Poppery popper is so popular with home roasters) and that may account for the lesser movement of beans and slower time to first crack — although my guess is the difference in not pre-heating.  I never did pre-heat, but it may lead to a more even, albeit quicker, roast, I don't know for sure — something for you to experiment with.

I will be having a moment of silence in memory of the "lost" batch. Cry

8:34 am
August 23, 2010


Jason Coffee

Kansas City

Admin

posts 394

 
4

AoE, this popper is really popular on YouTube so I thought I would try it. If anything I only spent 10 bucks to find out it's no good, I will keep you updated on that.

I am so glad that I finally started roasting. I was also thinking of messing around with the stove top popper. Any experience with that?

"Try new coffee, find better coffee!" – "Everyone here rocks my face off!"

8:58 am
August 23, 2010


ArtofExtraction

Indiana

Moderator

posts 268

 
5

I have no stove-top experience at all. Our stove does not have a range/exhaust hood so smoke is a real issue.  That's part of what led me to the Nesco. I'd love to see how it works out for you though.

2:43 pm
August 25, 2010


Jason Coffee

Kansas City

Admin

posts 394

 
6

Will do. I don't have a hood either. lol, should be interesting.

"Try new coffee, find better coffee!" – "Everyone here rocks my face off!"

10:54 pm
October 14, 2010


dfluke

Topeka,KS

Green Bean

posts 10

 
7

I have the same air popcorn popper from Walgreens. I've been using it for at least a year and a half. It will not work in colder weather.  I use 60 grams of coffee by weight. That's for a "normal" sized bean. I have to start it with a spoon, but then it gets going and I just watch it. I call this my "sample roaster" or "I'm too lazy to roast a full pound" roaster.


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