The Poppery II - What Not To Do!

[gvillegrrl]

My motto has always been: "If you can't serve as a shining example at least be useful as a dire warning," and I generally tend to be more useful as the latter rather than the former.

So my first two attempts at this home roasting business were under roasted ; I was afraid of scorching the greens and pulled them early (6 and 9 minutes), ending up with brew that was palatable but certainly nothing to write home about. My third go (details below) was perfect (or at least perfection as I know it thus far).

I've been roasting the Nica Mama Mina for all these little experiments, and had just a little bit left in the bottom of the bag. Someone said they thought 3/4 c. roasts I'd been doing might possibly be causing the heat to build up too quickly and, as it so happened, I had only 1/2 c. left in the bag, sooo...I started out with that.

The beans moved on their own immediately, so I left the lid on the popper and didn't bother stirring. But after 13 minutes there had been no snaps, crackles or pops of any sort. I reasoned it wasn't building up enough heat with the smaller amount of beans; the hot air was just blowing out too freely. Seems reasonable, right? So I had the brilliant idea of putting a hot pad on top of the popper to hold in some heat, and then let them go another four minutes (for a total of 20), watching and listening vigilantly for signs of color change and cracking.

Uh, yeah, turns out that wasn't such a good idea and I should have been watching what was going on underneath the hotp ad - namely that I was melting the plastic popper lid.

My findings from this very scientific experiment are A) 1/2 c. is too little to roast in a Poppery II because the heat won't build up enough to do anything except turn out baked beans, and B) don't ever put a hot pad on top to hold in extra heat because you'll burn down the house.

So here's the recap of my perfect third roast which I will try to emulate from now on:

10:02 - Plugged in Poppery 2 w/lid off and started stirring 3/4 c. Nica Mama Mina microlot. Ambient temp 71F.
10:03:30 - Chaff began flying and beans "stirring" themselves. Replaced plastic lid.
10:05 - Aroma beginning to come out a bit, beans yellowing and turning tan.
10:07 - Color and aroma darkening slightly; some beans still fairly green/yellow.
10:07:15 - First crack heard (distinctive pop, followed by silence for 20 seconds or so, before commencing in earnest).
10:08 - Number of pops increasing, steady, and quite audible, much like popcorn. Smell becoming somewhat smokey without actually giving off smoke.
10:09 - Beans expanding and opening (I can see the difference in the volume in the popper); pops slowing.
10:10 - Pops ceased.
10:11 - Second crack begins. Quite audible but less "pop" and more "snap and crackle." Increased volume of beans causes a few to jump ship. Color, according to Tom's chart, is now "Full City roast".
10:12 - Cracking very rapidly now - more so than in FC stage. Color darkening. First signs of smoke visible.
10:13 - Still cracking, to the point a few little bits are popping off the rounded surface of the beans. A golfer would call them "divots." Possibly not a good sign. Beans are now smoking.
10:13:15 - Fire alarm engaged, which seemed like a good time to quit roasting.

[martin]

Martin chuckles. If you can laugh after that - I'm sure I heard you, don't try to deny it - you will go far in this obsession!

[gvillegrrl]

Martin chuckles. If you can laugh after that - I'm sure I heard you, don't try to deny it - you will go far in this obsession!

One thing I have learned in life - out of sheer necessity - is to laugh at the dumb stuff I do. Believe me, I have dumb down to an art.

On the bright side, I think the lid is still usable and I am currently drinking one very yummy cup of coffee.

I will not be deterred!

[ljguitar]

...On the bright side, I think the lid is still usable and I am currently drinking one very yummy cup of coffee.

Hi gville....
Lots of us who began with poppers put an empty can (tin) with both ends cut out of it into the mouth of the popper as a ''chimney'' and got rid of the plastic top.

It allowed a couple things, one of which was a larger load (which speeds up the roasting) because the beans would still circulate well, though this is a good out-of-doors activity since chaff goes everywhere.


`

[gvillegrrl]

...On the bright side, I think the lid is still usable and I am currently drinking one very yummy cup of coffee.

Hi gville....
Lots of us who began with poppers put an empty can (tin) with both ends cut out of it into the mouth of the popper as a ''chimney'' and got rid of the plastic top.

It allowed a couple things, one of which was a larger load (which speeds up the roasting) because the beans would still circulate well, though this is a good out-of-doors activity since chaff goes everywhere.


`

I'm enjoying all the experimenting, so I'll try the can, too. Besides, one more meltdown and I won't have a choice anyway!

How much coffee, by volume, can you put in the Poppery II utilizing the can rather than the plastic lid? Also, I have read where quite a few folks on here are quite intent on slowing down the roast, rather than speeding it up. What are your thoughts on that?

Thanks!

[whindbagg]

How much coffee, by volume, can you put in the Poppery II utilizing the can rather than the plastic lid? Also, I have read where quite a few folks on here are quite intent on slowing down the roast, rather than speeding it up. What are your thoughts on that?

Thanks!

My experience (not necessarily transferable to your situation-your mileage may vary) is that playing with the batch size has drastic effects on the time it takes for a roast to reach your desired roast level. In fact, I now use it as the primary means of controlling the length of the roast, over the use of extension cords, using the cover, stirring, shutting the thing on and off, etc. So I have had to live with having to do multiple batches. The can as chimney idea was to keep the beans from popping out and escaping.
The only real modification I've made is to make the vents at the bottom of the chamber wider. This had the effect of making the airflow cooler and extending the roast time. The downside is that a batch size of less than 1/5 cup or so will stall, so I try to make sure I have enough green beans at the end of a bag to make a full batch.

It doesn't sound like you're having a problem with short roast times, however. You seem to have lucked out with your machine.

So, to recap: larger batch sizes get hot faster, smaller batch sizes take longer, and may stall altogether depending on your machine.

Lionel

[gvillegrrl]

My experience (not necessarily transferable to your situation-your mileage may vary) is that playing with the batch size has drastic effects on the time it takes for a roast to reach your desired roast level. In fact, I now use it as the primary means of controlling the length of the roast, over the use of extension cords, using the cover, stirring, shutting the thing on and off, etc. So I have had to live with having to do multiple batches. The can as chimney idea was to keep the beans from popping out and escaping.
The only real modification I've made is to make the vents at the bottom of the chamber wider. This had the effect of making the airflow cooler and extending the roast time. The downside is that a batch size of less than 1/5 cup or so will stall, so I try to make sure I have enough green beans at the end of a bag to make a full batch.

It doesn't sound like you're having a problem with short roast times, however. You seem to have lucked out with your machine.

So, to recap: larger batch sizes get hot faster, smaller batch sizes take longer, and may stall altogether depending on your machine.

Lionel

I quickly found that just 1/4 c. less stalled the roast entirely. I'll drink the stuff but it's not great (though I'm hoping another 24 hours mellowing time might improve it). So I went back to the 3/4 c. this morning (a Costa Rica Herbazu Red Honey) and took it out on the porch so I wouldn't set off the alarm again. This, too, stalled; undoubtedly due to ambient temp of 45-50 degrees w/a bit of a breeze. Did a second roast inside, once again setting off the fire alarm, despite the fact that I covered the thing with a dish towel before commencing (poor dog), which went through its paces perfectly.

I'm learning!

[ljguitar]

...How much coffee, by volume, can you put in the Poppery II utilizing the can rather than the plastic lid? Also, I have read where quite a few folks on here are quite intent on slowing down the roast, rather than speeding it up. What are your thoughts on that?

I like to have a roast in a popper hit 1st at 7-8 minutes minimum, and then stretch to about 10 total...

Some ways to slow it up a little are to add a 50 foot extension cord (to cut voltage) but if you don't need that, then a heavy duty rheostat (a heavy duty dimmer knob mounted to a box with an AC outlet) to dial it down some is about $20...

I just looked it up and they sell them at Harbor Freight Stores as a ''Router Speed Control'' for 15amp systems for $19.99. Add one of those to your roaster and you can regulate the speed/heat back just a bit.

When I was roasting with a popcorn popper I'd start it and start pouring 1/2 cup of beans in, and then add beans till they were circulating but a bit slow. It was great way to know I was at the limits of the roaster.

As with other fluid bed roasters, a smaller bean mass will hold less heat and slow you down, and a larger mass will hold heat better and ramp up. If you start out full-speed, as the beans lose weight (they will lift higher) you can throttle is back a bit, and when it hits 1st crack just turn it down to where the beans are still trickling in the roaster and moving, but not as fast as full-speed.

This is similar to using a variac...and actually a good way to regulate the batch.

Hope this helps...



`

[whindbagg]

Did a second roast inside, once again setting off the fire alarm, despite the fact that I covered the thing with a dish towel before commencing (poor dog), which went through its paces perfectly.

I'm learning!

As the Swedish Chef once observed, "Yumpin' Yimminy!"

I have a super-sensitive smoke detector like that. It would go off when I was pan-searing steak, broiling, quite a few things would set it off. Being a more recent design, taking power from internal wiring and an internal battery, I have to remove it from it's mounting plate, unplug the disconnect, and pull the battery.

Being porous, I'm not surprised the dishtowel didn't work. If you want to risk it, I'd try covering it with something non-porous, like saran wrap or some other plastic wrap. Or you may want to set a window fan in the window and set it to exhaust, then position the roaster in front of it. For better airflow through the area, open a window in another part of the house to allow for a better draft across the roaster. Of course, this is only acceptable if you don't mind the higher heating bills or are renting and the landlord pays for the heat .

There are more sophisticated venting solutions if you don't mind playing shop. There are some good ideas here:

http://www.homeroasters.org/php/forum/v ... ead_id=270

This site is the best I've seen regarding all the mods you can do. It is pretty comprehensive as to all the different ways you can mess with a Poppery to club it into submission .

Good luck!

Lionel

[gvillegrrl]

I like to have a roast in a popper hit 1st at 7-8 minutes minimum, and then stretch to about 10 total...

Some ways to slow it up a little are to add a 50 foot extension cord (to cut voltage) but if you don't need that, then a heavy duty rheostat (a heavy duty dimmer knob mounted to a box with an AC outlet) to dial it down some is about $20...

I just looked it up and they sell them at Harbor Freight Stores as a ''Router Speed Control'' for 15amp systems for $19.99. Add one of those to your roaster and you can regulate the speed/heat back just a bit.

When I was roasting with a popcorn popper I'd start it and start pouring 1/2 cup of beans in, and then add beans till they were circulating but a bit slow. It was great way to know I was at the limits of the roaster.

As with other fluid bed roasters, a smaller bean mass will hold less heat and slow you down, and a larger mass will hold heat better and ramp up. If you start out full-speed, as the beans lose weight (they will lift higher) you can throttle is back a bit, and when it hits 1st crack just turn it down to where the beans are still trickling in the roaster and moving, but not as fast as full-speed.

This is similar to using a variac...and actually a good way to regulate the batch.

Hope this helps...



`

Thanks for all the great info, LJ! There's a Harbor Freight about 5 minutes from me, so I will keep notes re your instructions on file in case I need to make adjustments. At this point, slowing down my roast doesn't seem to be a problem (though I do have a long extension cord if need be). If I use 3/4 c. of greens, rather than a lesser amount, the roasting seems to be a no-brainer. If I cut back on that amount at all, it stalls; more, and the beans jump ship.

Hope you're having a great day!