First time roasting beans.

[Wid]

9-10 minutes to 1c is pretty late on an air popper. I shoot for that with bigger batches on my bullet, but I get great results with 453g roasts with a 9 minute total roast time (~212C final temp, 1c ~6:30). Lighter roasts go even quicker.

The comment about needing to stir the beans is moot when the whole point of the air popper is that the airflow circulates the beans. That's how I decided my batch size on them: if the airflow wasn't spinning the beans in the chamber, I'd remove beans until it started to.



In my opinion, the best thing about an actual roaster is the larger batch size. There are some roasts I will never forget, but hopefully one day reproduce, that I did with an air popper. An Ethiopia Yirgacheffe with a straight up blueberry pancake taste that would be insulted if I called it "notes." Deep chocolate Guatemala Huehuetanango that made me wonder if I'd swapped my cup out for an unsweetened mocha.

I definitely get more repeatable roasts on my current setup. It's way less of a chore to roast for other people now. It's really cool to be able to tweak different parameters. I'm very happy with my roaster...

But the steps between air popper and $3k roaster had me looking back constantly. Air poppers make fantastic coffee!

My roaster progression, for context:

Many different air poppers
iRoast 2
Gene Cafe CBR-101
Aillio Bullet R1 v2

Edit: I forgot to mention that I love your cooling setup. It took me years to try using a fan, because flipping my beans around in a mesh strainer was "good enough."

My wonderful girlfriend tried using an old fan underneath the same strainer, and it cut cooling time in half for 1/4lb batches.

To my point, the air popper is making some really nice coffee. I’m finding I like a medium to darker roast. The light roast is a tad to acidic for me. A bit to fruity for my likes.

Have to figure where the point of diminishing returns are.

 

[APBinNCA]

Yep, batch size seems to be the #1 reason mentioned on coffee forums for upgrading. Whether from a popper or from a smaller roaster. I would think with a popper and it's small batch size you could pre-measure 3 batches and take them out and roast them back to back and combine them as they come off. That way you have enough coffee for a week. My roaster is supposed to do 8oz, but I have reduced it down to 1/3lb and it solved all the problems I was having. I am wishing I spent a bit(double) more and got the Bullet now, but my roast times are short enough to do 4-6 roasts at a time.

One thing to consider with lighter roast coffee, or any coffee that you don't completely love, is trying different brew methods. Try different doses, more and less, as well. If all else fails, make a blend.

 

[Wid]

Yep, batch size seems to be the #1 reason mentioned on coffee forums for upgrading. Whether from a popper or from a smaller roaster. I would think with a popper and it's small batch size you could pre-measure 3 batches and take them out and roast them back to back and combine them as they come off. That way you have enough coffee for a week. My roaster is supposed to do 8oz, but I have reduced it down to 1/3lb and it solved all the problems I was having. I am wishing I spent a bit(double) more and got the Bullet now, but my roast times are short enough to do 4-6 roasts at a time.

One thing to consider with lighter roast coffee, or any coffee that you don't completely love, is trying different brew methods. Try different doses, more and less, as well. If all else fails, make a blend.

I came back here to say, I tried the Yemen Haraaz light roast in a French press this morning and it had the sour taste to it. Just now I did a fine grind and used a pour over, can’t hardly believe it’s the same bean. It’s so smooth and creamy now. I can now say it’s a nice coffee. No sour notes at all.

Been drinking coffee for decades and now I’m just now learning some of the small nuances in coffee.

 

[APBinNCA]

I hate to say it and I am a broken record, but I would buy a Baratza grinder before any other coffee equipment. In fact, I did over a decade ago. There are better grinders and there are fancier grinders, but for consistency and repairability it's hard to beat a Baratza(under $1k). I upgraded mine last year and was still able to call them and get help and parts.

 

[Wid]

I hate to say it and I am a broken record, but I would buy a Baratza grinder before any other coffee equipment. In fact, I did over a decade ago. There are better grinders and there are fancier grinders, but for consistency and repairability it's hard to beat a Baratza(under $1k). I upgraded mine last year and was still able to call them and get help and parts.

Ordered an Encore.

 

[Dnallehekaj]

Back to back roasting on air poppers makes them fail even faster, at least in my experience. I blew through two poppers before I considered letting them cool down between roasts. The next few still failed, but much more slowly.

To be fair, it could also be because I got them from thrift stores, yard sales, and estate sales and I had no info on their previous use. Prolonged overheating kills engines and PC's, so I'll err on the side of cooling.

@Wid letting your coffee rest also drastically changes the brew you get. I try to roast at least 4 days ahead of time, because that has been a sweet spot for my light and medium roasts. Sometimes roasts can hold on to unpleasant notes for over a week, then blow me away when I give them one more chance before tossing them as a failure. It's both wonderful and frustrating haha!

There are many variables. The new grinder will definitely improve your brews, once you learn it!

 

[Wid]

I’ve been trying to make some in advance to let the beans rest a few days. Today was just a mistake on my part for not researching how to make a light roast.

 

[Wid]

Today I did some Ethiopia Yirgacheffe. This might be one of the quicker roasting beans I’ve done. Total time was only 5:00.89 with first crack very early at 2:26. Did two batches and both were within tenths of a second for first crack.

I probed the hot air popper and got a temp of 328°F.

Went a little darker than was planned but still looked and smelled good.

If nothing else I’m have a good time doing it and the coffee still taste better than store bought stuff. I’ll use the air popper for a while before I upgrade. To what, who knows.

 

[APBinNCA]

Strange question, how many pots of coffee are you getting out of each roast? I assume you are adjusting up or down to try not to have leftover beans if it is close? Considering the comment above, have you looked around for used poppers so you can make several roasts without over heating it?

 

[Wid]

Strange question, how many pots of coffee are you getting out of each roast? I assume you are adjusting up or down to try not to have leftover beans if it is close? Considering the comment above, have you looked around for used poppers so you can make several roasts without over heating it?

Each roast is only about 4 ounces. I don’t want to get a collection of air poppers. When this thing bites the dust I’ll get a real roaster of some kind.

 

[APBinNCA]

I guess I forgot to mention, but it's not uncommon to weigh your coffee before and after roasting. It's not an absolute, but it can give you some idea of your roast level(along with visual clues). There are charts online, expressed in % weight lost. For me, 4 ounce batches would end up just short of three pots of coffee and I would have to downsize the amount of coffee to hit 3. Or make two roasts to hit 5.

 

[Lightcs1776]

Each roast is only about 4 ounces. I don’t want to get a collection of air poppers. When this thing bites the dust I’ll get a real roaster of some kind.

I wouldn't discount a popper. I know quite a few people who have used a popper with great success. Don't expect a huge change just by changing what you roast with.

 

[Wid]

I’ve been enjoying this more than I’d thought. Ended up getting a new Encore grinder then this. Hoping to do a batch tomorrow.

 

[APBinNCA]

So funny, I was thinking you might enjoy that machine as a next step up! I believe it's two big advantages are batch size and ability to hear the cracks. Consider not roasting the amount specified to start with, they are usually rated too high and it makes it harder to control the process. I am just guessing, but 1/2lb. might be an easily divisible number to start with. I was literally about to post on here and ask how the Encore is going.?

 

[Wid]

So funny, I was thinking you might enjoy that machine as a next step up! I believe it's two big advantages are batch size and ability to hear the cracks. Consider not roasting the amount specified to start with, they are usually rated too high and it makes it harder to control the process. I am just guessing, but 1/2lb. might be an easily divisible number to start with. I was literally about to post on here and ask how the Encore is going.?

The Encore is a very nice machine. Really even grinds so far. Much quieter than the Cuisinart. I gave that to my sister in law.

 

[APBinNCA]

Did you have a look at the short video on Sweet Maria's about your new roaster?

 

[Wid]

Did you have a look at the short video on Sweet Maria's about your new roaster?

I’ve watched multiple videos. There and the ones from where I bought it, Captains Coffee. They have quite a few that are in good detail. Took notes to refer to while I’m learning the roaster.

 

[Wid]

First roast with the SR 800. Did just under 8 oz of Sumatra Mandheling. Tried to keep the beans rolling and not flying around. Not the most constant in color, it’ll be a learning process.

First crack was around the 6:45 mark and the beans were pulled <10. Did the cool down in a home made cooler. Next time I’m going to use the machine to see how it does.

 

[APBinNCA]

I noticed in my reading yesterday that the capacity is 8oz, you might want to go all the way down to 1/3lb. Along with heat 8 or 9, it should extend your time before first crack. That will give the beans time to develop more evenly and allow them to move around I guess. If you missed it, there is a temp probe mod that sounds easy enough.

 

[Wid]

I noticed in my reading yesterday that the capacity is 8oz, you might want to go all the way down to 1/3lb. Along with heat 8 or 9, it should extend your time before first crack. That will give the beans time to develop more evenly and allow them to move around I guess. If you missed it, there is a temp probe mod that sounds easy enough.

In reading and looking on line (YouTube) it is said to look for first crack from 6 to 7 minutes. Yellowing in the 2 minute mark and getting a greening a bit after. Not sure about doing any modding with only a couple batches done. I think I’d like to get used to it stock first.

Here is a more detailed log on the second batch. The numbers represent fan/power. Timer was set to 20 minutes just so I don’t run out of time as was recommended.

Ethiopian Yirgacheffe

185 grams

Fan Power Time
9-3-20

2:00 yellowing
8-4
3:00
5-6
3:45
6-6
4:10
7-6
5:10
6-6
6:30
6-7
First crack 7 minutes 7:50 went to cool down.

End weight 155 grams

Medium/Dark
Cool down 10:50 total time