West Bend Poppery II

[gearchow]

I found a West Bend Poppery II at an estate sale on Saturday, so on Sunday, I naturally had to give it a spin.

14:41 Put 4oz beans in, turned it on and the beans didn't move very much. I was like "hunh"


15:05 Still not moving much, but that this point I actually see chaff flying off.


15:09 Still not impressed....


16:28 I actually hear first crack starting - way to fast!


18:25 Now the beans are really swirling around!


20:13 Starting to think about dumping the beans, still hear an occasional FC - but wait, is that a 2nd?


20:15 yep it was, time to cool them down!


done kind of uneven, but I drank it this morning and it was perfectly acceptable. Better then Starbucks, Pete's or Stumptown, I promise.

So if I calculate it right, that was 5:34 from start to finish. where is my variac!?





-jim

 

[JohnYaddy]

I have a pair of WBPII that I use for roasting. I got a lot of inconsistent roasts when I first started because I measured in 1/2 cup of beans and waited for the second crack. I get really good roast now after tweaking my method:
First, I don't measure anymore. I pour beans in slowly until there are enough that the vortex action almost stops. By "vortex action" I mean that when you have just a few beans inside, they spin and tumble down towards the middle from the outside. Once that little hole in the middle closes up, I stop adding beans. It seems like this allows the all the beans to pass through the hot spots, rather than a few getting really hot, and others staying pretty cool on top. This also seems to help a lot of the chaff blow off, instead of staying stuck inside.
I also dump into my colander just after the first crack. This gets rid of a lot of chaff and also seems to help the air flow. After that, I wait until I get the darkness I want, then dump and cool.
Although I mentioned I don't measure anymore, I've found that using a little more than a 1/4 cup of beans seems to be a good starting point. Kinda like grind settings, the amount of beans you can add and still get a consistent roast will vary by variety.
The only downside to this method is that it takes a little longer to roast, since each batch is on the small side. Worth it if you don't want to spring hundreds of dollars for a real roaster and have the patience.