The folks at Sweet Maria's have addressed pretty much everything that is being mentioned in the comments and so far as well as the cons in the video. They have talked about how to add a thermocouple, adding marks to document heat levels, the ability to roast without the cover attached at all, etc. They encourage users to modify it, too. I just run a stopwatch alongside the machine and don't pay much attention to the timer. I'm still learning how to roast well but once I figure it out I'll enjoy a LOT of coffee for the money vs having spent thousands on an alternative method.
Hi Alex, thanks for pointing all of this out. I love sweet marias and they are one of my sources for coffee greens. I'm glad they made this roaster because it will give the user a chance to craft their coffee rather than just brown it. The variable temp is a game changer. I meant to mention the templates for the temperature range which are included with the instructions. I wish they would have made them as stickers. I will look into the thermocouple option. So you are using the Popper? Are you roasting with the top off or the chaff tray removed? I agree, this is probably the best option for new roasters or someone who wants more control with their heat, especially considering the 89 dollar price tag. Thank you for watching and for sharing your comments!
@@VirtualCoffeeLab I am using one, I got it a few weeks ago. This weekend I experimented with roasting without the cover/chaff collector attached and dropping a cheap (although proven accurate by comparing temp readings to my Thermoworks Thermapen) probe thermometer in the roasting chamber. Thanks for making videos, I'm learning a lot by watching!
Oh crap, I've got one of those temp probes for meats. Why didn't I think of that? Great idea Alex, I'll give that a try. Did you see the article sweet marias put out about the temp readings between 2 and 3 oclock being the same?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab I did not see that article. I saw one saying they did not see a significant difference in chamber temps with or without the cover attached, though.
Hi. I just got a Popper and am learning to use it. Sweet Maria’s has a video on RUclips where they mention the plastic top is yellow because it is a high temp material, and that is also why they are yellow on traditional popcorn poppers. They also mention a high temp shutoff (safety device) that will turn off the heat for a few seconds when the temperature reaches a certain maximum. I haven’t turned the heat up to maximum, and don’t have a thermocouple, so I don’t know if I’m hitting that threshold or not. I’ve been running my heat in the 2 o’clock position without adjusting for a light roast Today I tried something different. When I reached first crack, I put the fan speed on low to increase temperature in the chamber for a darker roast. When it reaches the cooldown phase, I put the fan back up to high to cool the beans as fast as possible. Thanks for your video!
Thanks for sharing Jason. I think the shutoff takes place at 465. I am going to more roasts and try to use a thermocouple to read temps while I roast. I'll give an update in my next video. Sounds like you are getting a shorter roast time. What was your total roast time on that dark roast and how long did it take you to get to dry? Just curious.
Wow, thank you for sharing your very first roast in the Popper Roaster. I have been using it for about 3 weeks now. I tend to do two 100g roasts, I let it cool for the 3 min, remove the beans, then run the Popper in cool down till the Popper is cool completely before using again. Some things I have noticed while roasting. The chafe will block air flow which I believe will increase temperature. The Popper does have a 30 sec. cool down if it gets to hot which annoys me. A little tweak of the temp knob can make a big difference. My next roast I will be using a headlamp instead of a flashlight. Looing forward to your next videos.
Thanks for watching and your comments mkpleco. Your tips on cool down are spot on and great advice. I have a love hate relationship with the timer. You will see that more on my next video. The weakest link on the Popper is the temperature dial. Between Sweet Marias "revised" temp readings and the "flat spot" between 2 and 3 PM, figuring out the right temps is going to take quite a few roasts. If your not sure what i'm talking about regarding the "revised temps", see sweet marias "library, most recent posts.
Hi Eduardo, thanks for watching. I have not forgot about your question about roasting for espresso. Hopefully I will have something for you soon on this.
This is one I've been curious about since it came out, so I was excited to find your video today! Everything you said makes sense, from the countdown timer, and the yellow cover. It does seem like a good next step from a regular popper. It would be nice to have such a high capacity to decrease the number of roasts. I've got to make about 400 grams of roasted coffee each week to satisfy me and my wife! I look forward to seeing you use it again. Maybe just keep your own timer for the profile and make sure it doesn't drop below 3 minutes before you're ready to cool.
That's exactly what I plan to do @thebuzzah . I will use a timer from a phone to monitor my phases. Yea, the capacity is a biggie and anyone using a regular hot air popper should seriously consider the Popper. 89 bucks plus 8 dollars for the economy UPS option they offer is a very fair price. Thanks for your comments and for watching my video.
i use a led flashlight to get better idea of the bean colors while roasting. i may try extending my total roast times, but so far, i've been thrilled at the improvement in origin flavors over my behmor. i think it's because of the much shorter cooling cycle. i've roasted a dozen or so different origins, and am getting results much closer to what the labels on the bags suggest expecting. i also tried using a variac to keep the voltage at 120 during the operation, but that was frankly a pain in the neck and i don't think my results were any better. i should have mentioned that when 1st crack really gets going, i reduce my heat to 1:00 so i can extend it. i usually stop the roast 30 to 60 seconds following the end of 1st crack. i've never gotten to 2nd crack, by preference.
Yea, the LED light would be helpful. I ordered one but it hasn't arrived yet. The cooling ability of this roaster is probably one of it's best features. I'm very happy with it's performance. I am still dropping the coffee about 15 seconds early to compensate for the cooling.
Hi I've been roasting on the Popper for about a month and a half, and I think perhaps the drum-type profile you're using may not be translating well to this fluid bed type. I'm on my 6th lb of beans, starting with very medium :), moving to light, and now playing with espresso roast. I find that for drip, I aim for DE at times 2-2:30, 1C at 5-5:30, and drop at 6:30-7:30. I find you can charge fairly aggressively at heat 1-1:30 (at least for washed), then brown at 12:30 heat. 45 s before 1C, I bump heat up to 1:00 for some momentum. I take 1C at 12:45 and then coast at 12:30 after about a min of 1C. You can see that the range of heat I use is pretty small, as the dial is sensitive (and noon is my stall heat). But after quite a few bad learning roasts, I've gotten some very enjoyable beans lately. I've added a dial sticker to make my roasts more recordable (going from 0-6 rather than clock style, as that's confusing), and I'm waiting on my thermocouple. I also find a separate timer essential. Thanks for the video!
Thanks for the comments daRock1212. Yea, the longer roast profile isn't really ideal for the air roaster. This next video I will be targeting a 8 minute roast. The air roaster is much more efficient and quicker but geeze, a dry time of 2 minutes scares me. are you getting an even roast through the bean? It the color the same in the center as it is on the outside? For the times you show above, is that for the espresso roast you are "now playing with"? What did you do for the light roast as far as times? Thanks for sharing!
I have enjoyed watching this video. Brought back memories of when I first started roasting on a popper! That thing really seems a lot more fun. But I would not go back to something like that. From popper to Behmor and now Aillio Bullet, no way I would go back, but the journey is fun none the less. Great that you found the patience to roast on that contraption!
Hello Andre, you are right. There is a journey for every hobby. That is what makes it fun. Learning, upgrading, trying different techniques or adding new accessories, it's all part of the process. I agree with your comments. Most of us would not go back BUT many are entering the hobby and some don't plan to upgrade or invest too much time learning. That is ok too. My audience for this channel is all home roasters. It's a big challenge for me because there is a wide spectrum of equipment, knowledge and quite honestly, technique as far as how someone will roast great coffee at home. Some would say that last statement about great coffee is "subjective". So, with that in mind, I make my videos so there is something for everyone. Even though the roasters are different, many of the concepts are the same. I guess you could say I'm sharing my journey in this hobby as we go along! Thanks for your comments and for watching my video Andre. I'm glad you are enjoying your Bullet. They are great roasters!
Hi Andre. I currently use a Behmor, but I am thinking of taking the Aillio Bullet plunge soon. What would you recommend for learning in transitioning from the Behmor to the Bullet? Do you use the Facebook group, and find it highly useful?
@@luigicollins3954 Hi Luigi, to be honest I did not find the transition to hard. The site I liked the most was coffeenavigated, plus the facebook group and roast world. The only thing that did not work for me was using others recipe, the weather is different and I live in canada where it’s pretty cold, so my own charge temp is much higher than the others, took me a couple of roasts to figure that one, bur everything else is a real pleasure to go from Behmor to the Bullet, from the worklow to the end results. I started with roast of 350 gr but now I do 500 gr, don’t really need more than that. I wish you all the best Luigi!
I solved the timer problem by writing down the time starting with 10 min and then 9:30 and then 9:00 etc down to 3 where I knew cool would be. If I added time (let’s say 3 min) I would write 6:00 at rye 3.00 mark and again count down in :30 increments. This allows me to write in where I want DE, 1C etc and then at those times I am waiting for that marker. BuynO also write down where they event actually occured Also, I open the lid every .30 and take the temp with the IR like you used. This gives me references. I’ve done over 30 roasts now and this has served me well. Also I should say that I pre heat my roaster to 270 before I add the beans. Lastly, I don’t like the slow movement of the beans because I think that is why the roast is so uneven. I only use 75G per roast and my drop in is a fast moving mass of beans so I don’t get the big variety that you got. As for the yellow plastic, don’t even notice it now, I’m used to it. Oh and the magnets that hold the chaff collector to the plastic lid fall out. Groan. That’s my 10 cents.
I'm glad you are getting good results now JC. I've got 5 roasts under my belt with the Popper. I'm still working on getting a great cup and I appreciate your comments about how you manage the timer. I have pretty much dismissed the timer to help me keep track of my roast and have opted for my phone stopwatch. Now I just need to remember not to let the roaster go into the cool mode unexpectedly! I may lighten my load to 90 grams for future batch sizes. Thanks!
Because of time I wasn't able to do it on the video but I did grind and taste it. Like I suspected, it went a little further on the roast for my optimal liking so there was an underlying roasty flavor along with a gentle apple acidity along with some bakers chocolate and a syrupy sweetness. I roast this same coffee on my drum roaster and there were some similarities but the notes were more defined and the cup was cleaner from my drum roaster. Once I get a better understanding of what is going on with the popper and gain a bit more control I think I will be able to improve the cup. I will try and incorporate the grind/taste/comment in the next video. Thanks for your comments and for watching!
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Mike, that's exactly what happened to me when my roasts went a little too far. It was all because of not exactly determining the final phase time, based on the time up to first crack and my desired DTR (see my post above on that). As you know and have taught me, seconds are critical in that last development phase; 10 or 20 seconds have made big differences in taste of my roasts. Great comment!
Hi @Luigi Collins Hi Lou, There is an app you can use that will be helpful as far as the DTR. Doing it on the fly is difficult and this app will monitor it for you as well as act as your primary timer. Check it out at coffeeroastingtimer.github.io It could be pretty helpful. I'm trying to get one of my sons to make an app that does more than just the DTR, where it will allow you to mark various events and all the while be calculating and estimating phase percentages. But for now, you should check out that app and give it a try.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Hey, thanks for the link to the github page! What kind of app are you trying to get your sons to write? I'm thinking of writing an iOS app to help me log my roasts in more detail, similar to what you're asking for. If you're on iOS and are interested, let me know and I'll keep you updated on how it's coming along
Nice video Mike! Boy can I relate to the countdown timer and how awkward it is to use. So from Roast 1 on my Behmor, I had to record both the countdown time and the elapsed time. By the time I got to Roast 23, I decided the countdown time was totally useless and stopped recording it, recording only elapsed time. The problem with counting down is it assumes some kind of fixed-time for the roast. But as we all know, there are lots of variables and things change during the roast such that there can almost never ever be a fixed time of roasting. Also as you so perfectly showed, there is a lot of confusion when the time is 6:15 (or was that 6:45?). Your mind is always needing to subtract the displayed time from whatever time the roast started at. When using my Behmor, I start an (iPhone) stopwatch at the beginning of the roast. Then when I reach the point of first cracking, I press the Lap button on the stopwatch. At that point, my Lap 1 time is the total time for the first two phases of development (some call them the Drying Phase and the Browning Phase). I then use that Lap time and look up on a chart I made to determine what my final development phase time should be for my desired DTR. That makes it quite easy for me to get accurate DTRs on my roasts. Can you tell us what make of temperature recorder you used? And I assume you like it? I tried one once and I was unhappy with results. Thanks!
Yea, that timer is my nemesis i think. Wait till you see my next video. Oh man..... The lap time is a great idea Lou. I'll give that a try! The laser temp gun is a Etekcity Infrared Thermometer 1080, Digital Temperature Gun I bought on Amazon. BUT, on future roasts I'm going to try a meat thermometer probe to see how that works. I think i have one that could be set inside the roasting chamber to register temperatures.
This time I did not watch the video. I have no will to buy another roaster. But I appreciate all your trials, and I am sue, you found something new out, when using this roaster.
lastly, i use 91g loads because that works out for one day's worth of brewed coffee for us. i let rest for 2 days min, and use by a week's time. i've just started using small mouth canning jars and pump out the air for a vacuum seal. i keep logs of all my roasts so i can see how i twiddled with the temp and fan at different times.
Keeping logs is king. I usually roast on my drum roaster which uses artisan so all my references to events times, temp, air and drum speed changes are all logged. I'm taking notes with the popper for reference on future roasts. Thanks for the tip on the canning jars. I have heard other people do something similar. What type of coffee are you roasting?
Hello and thank you !!! I am of two divergent thoughts as a former owner... LOVED it and would say its a good entry level especially with the free beans promo.. yet alas mine had a chaff fire and melted... I upgraded to a slightly better one... USER error but, also a note these are not high end, made with easily melted plastics for a low cost item.
Hi Matthew, thanks for sharing your experience. Which unit did you have that melted and which unit did you upgrade to that is slightly better? Sweet Marias has mentioned that keeping the underside of the unit free from chaff or dust blockages is really important. Also, those who roast really dark should be careful to let the unit cool down and make sure it is kept clear of any oils/blockages. So far I have not had any problems with the Sweet Marias Popper that they released in 2021 (thankfully)
OK, so it sounds like you had one of their popcorn poppers not the new one that came out 7 months ago right? The new one has air and temperature controls. I'm just trying to clear up which model it is that melted on you. Glad you like the SR540!
I enjoyed watching your first video on the Popper. If this machine had been available early in the year when I first dived into coffee roasting, I would have bought it. Instead, I have modified a pop corn popper (actually more than one). Since I installed a thermocouple, an inexpensive Variac to control temperature, a fan speed controller, and connect to a laptop so that I can use Artisan software, I have more control of my roasts and better documentation than someone using the Popper. However, I can only roast 80 to 90 grams of coffee. I think that you did well for your first roast in the Popper, but I'm sure your next roasts will be better. I look forward to the video(s).
Chuch, you have a good thing going with your modified popcorn popper. Since you tore apart your unit, you might be able to answer my question about how the heating element works. Is it like a hair dryer where wires glow? Specifically, could you speculate if the heat can remain at a constant temp or does your popper cycle on and off? Where do you have the thermocouple placed on your unit. Does the hot air influence the bean temp? What kind of temperature range are you working with from charge to drop? IYes, have done some test roasts since this video and you are right, I have gotten a little better at controlling the roast.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Popcorn poppers have two heating elements, one significantly stronger than the other. Yes, the heating elements glow just like the heater in a hair drier or toaster. Trying not to be too technical, by using two heating elements, popcorn manufacturers can produce a voltage in the range of 19 to 24 volts to power the fan. You modify the popcorn popper by electrically separating the heater from the fan so that you can control each independent of the other. You power the fan by using a step down transformer or certain laptop adapters. As for the thermocouple, earlier this year Sweet Maria's posted a video on their website that showed how to add a thermocouple to a popcorn popper. They even sell a thermocouple that you can use on your machine. I bought the thermocouple from them and added it just in their video. Popcorn poppers have a safety feature that keeps the popper from getting too hot and catching fire. This can possibly cycle the heater and keep your machine from getting and staying hot enough to effectively roast coffee. I bypass this feature so that the popper heater does not cycle on and off. This allows the heater to slowly increase the temperature in the roasting chamber. I never leave the roast unattended and I have a fire extinguisher nearby just in case. My thermocouple is situated so that it will always be in the bean mass. With my setup, I know from experience that I am going to reach first crack at about 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Depending on the patio temperature, type of bean and how dark I want the roast to be, I usually drop my roast around 415-420 degrees. Preheating the popcorn popper would only speed up the roast, so I never preheat. My charge temperature is going to be the temperature on the patio where I roast. When I begin a roast, I use a Variac to reduce the voltage to the heating elements so I can slow down the roast and extend the drying phase. When I first started roasting I sometimes had a problem where my coffee would be cloudy. After I watched your video on the importance of the drying phase, I slowed down the roast to extend the drying phase which really helped my cloudy coffee issue. Hopefully I have answered the questions you asked.
Thanks for the detailed response Chuck. That is very helpful info. I was looking for the probe info for the Popper but you were referring to a an article they wrote about adding a probe they sell for any popcorn popper. Gotcha. Hot air roasting is different than drum roasting but the concepts are the same. I'm looking forward to experimenting with different roast profiles using the Popper. Thanks again for the info!
I have had a similar experience but I added an Arduino board for temperature control where I can pre set the temperature profile for the Popper to chase It. I have got good Control results and now I am exploring the best profile to use because we shall have differences from dram roaster's profiles. Today I am using a 12 min roasting time profile, but I want to explore some more.
@@marciosanglard8695 The Popper I use popcorn poppers for roasting and they are very similar to The Popper. Originally I had planned to use an Arduino to totally automate the coffee roasting process. However, I decided against it for several reasons. One, I was going to use the Arduino to turn on and off an SCR connected to the heater to control the temperature. Since I am using Artisan software on my laptop, I figured the rapid turning on and off of the heater by the SCR would cause the temperature line in Artisan to have extreme spikes. Two, I have modified three popcorn poppers to roast coffee. They all output a different wattage. I would have to use different profiles for each of the roasters for the same coffee. Three, each coffee roasts differently. A roast profile for an Ethiopian coffee would be different than one for a Colombian coffee. Since I roast different coffees, I found it easier just to use Artisan to monitor my roasts and make real time adjustments manually using a Variac to control the temperature.
from about 11:35 to 12 elapsed time, your heat cut off because of the overheat protection. there's a change in the pitch of the fan when that happens. i have about 35 roasts on my popper. i've kept my roast times closer to 7 minutes, which is what sweet marias suggested for light to medium roasts. 10 minutes including the 3 minutes for cooling. i start at 1:30 on temp for first two minutes, then drop the fan speed to low which increases the bean chamber temp because of less air flow. i usually get first crack outliers at 3 to 3:30,
Paul, thanks for sharing. Man you have a good ear. I went and listened to the video right here 19:42 and a few seconds later i heard the pitch change. That is what i have been hearing all along. So, I want to avoid that cutoff. The shorter roast is a good recommendation as others have said. Yes, I have also watched the sweet marias videos. I have already made my video for this coming week before many of the comments had been made about this video. It is a shorter roast and as you will see, that timer hates me. I was using a separate timer by the way. I think my target roast time was seven and a half minutes and I ended up droping at seven fourty-seven. So, I'm learning as I go. My biggest goal is to be able to control my phase times so I give enough time in the middle phase for the mailliard reactions to take place. I don't want to fly through this phase. That is why i'm trying to carefully adjust my heat. So you are doing 7 minute roasts but first crack outliers are at 3-3.5 minutes? That means your getting about a 3 minute development time on the 3 minute roast right?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab yes, as measured from when first crack is seriously beginning until i end the heat and begin the cooling, is generally 3 minutes minimum. my time to dry is between 2 1/2, so I may be getting less browning time than what you aim for. as to what i roast, i've done a couple dozen origins, mostly centrals and africans (esp ethiopian), including dry and wet process, and a couple peaberry batches. i give them an enjoyability grade when it comes time to drink. this morning i'm having an ethiopia dry process roasted to FC, with just specks of oil on the surface after resting two days. i've been experimenting with different levels of roast until/unless i find the perfect one for me, then i stick with that. i'm not sure that vacuum sealing the jars of roasted beans makes a noticeable difference yet, but i find it enjoyable to do anyway.
The timer is mildly frustrating. Using your own timer would probably be the best bet. I’m a fan of using my phone timer when I use my heat gun and flour sifter roaster.
I use my phone as well for manual roasting. I just happen to be using my phone for the second camera so the timer wasn't available. I will definitely be using a phone timer for the next one. I should have known better but thought I would give it a try. As you could see, my brain wasn't able to do the calculations accurately enough, especially since you end up moving the timer because it only runs for 7 minutes. So, one way would be to reset the timer at each event BUT for me, I'm just going to use my phone. Thanks for watching and for your comment.
Hmm, I did a live stream that asked the question “what is the best home coffee roaster for you?“ It really depends on your situation. For low budget, pay old used bread maker, and a heat gun might be a great option. For somebody who wants to roast over a stove top, the hive roaster is a great option. Both of these roasting devices can be purchased for under 100 bucks
I'm not so sure I would want the Popper over the Behmor. I'm not super experiences with air roasting. Most of my time has been spend on drum roasters including the Behmor. The biggest issue I have,with the Popper, other than capacity, is the temperature stability. I have been hearing a sound pitch change during roasting that kind of sounds like the heat kicking on and off. I can't confirm that because when I felt the air, it wasn't blowing cold, still hot so I'm wondering what that was all about. I have done a couple of other experimental roasts since the video and dialing in a temperature to aim for a specific time is a bit challenging. More on that in my next video. Realistically, it is a different style of roasting and may just come down to personal choice between the two. Personally I think the Behmor is the better machine and a more substantial one (materials) as well. BUT for 89 bucks it is becoming a popular choice for home coffee roasters. Thanks for your comment and for watching!
have you tried the fresh roast SR series? how do these compare? i dont want any chaff in my kitchen, it looked like 50% of it still comes out of the marias popper, that's a deal breaker.
Thanks for watching my video. I have not roasted on a “Freah Toast” roaster. They are air roasters similar to the Popper except they roast in the tube where you can clearly see the beans. It does appear the fresh roast contains most of the chaff while the popper still has some chaff escape. I wouldn’t say 50% but regardless, if chaff is a deal breaker then you already have your answer. You might consider finding another place to roast in the house? That would open up more options for you. The fresh roast 850 I think allows you to roast 8 ounces of coffee while the smaller unit limits yiu to 4 ounces, about the same as the popper. There are many people who live the fresh roast. What are you currently using to roast?
I thought that too M D. The reason why they don't put a temp on is it will vary depending on your home power, speifically if I use an extension cord. They indicate this could alter the amount of electricity coming to the unit and the power will not be the same. I think they should have added incremental reference lines to make things easier. Since this video, I have addes some tape I can write on for reference points. Thanks for your comment and for watching!
I forgot to mention this in my video but Sweet Marias includes two "templates" you can use for the temperature dial. They don't have temps but they have markings. One is a series of incremental lines and the other represents the clock positions from 12 - 3. They don't stick onto the unit, but you can make something to apply, like the tape, that will work. It would have been nice if these were stickers we could apply ourselves.
One thing about the IR gun is it measures solid surfaces. Sweet Maria's could have added a thermocouple to measure air temperature, but they were likely trying to keep the cost down.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab temperature does not correlate with dial position properly because It depends on elapsed time, energy is being introdussed to the system.
@@marciosanglard8695 I'm not sure what you mean Marcio. Can you explain more about "elapsed time". Are you talking about beans taking on heat over time?
Hi Luke. Thanks for your question and for watching my video. I don't store "Ground" coffee. I leave my roasted coffee in whole bean form until I am ready to brew the coffee. Then, I measure out the exact amount of coffee for a single serving. I store my whole beans in a couple of different types of containers. One is a vacuum sealed canister made by fellows. It helps keep the coffee fresh. I also use ziplock bags to store my roasted. beans. I share my coffee with family so I split my roast up into a few bags to share. This helps keep the coffee fresh. All of my fresh roasted coffee is consumed within 10 days.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Yes, if after it starts you can turn it to the right to increase more time based on your preferance or at any time during the roast you can add time based on what you are seeing. What do you think about the jiawanshun coffee roaster it's electric where you get temperature control and time control with an automatic spiner that rotates the coffee.
Hi @slpardee10, the roaster cools down pretty quick. With beans in the roaster cooling, it takes about 30 seconds to go from 400 ish temperatures down 150 degrees. Cool air is blowing directly on the beans. In my video at the 22:10 mark i say it is still hot but not hot enough to burn my hand. This is after 1 minute in the cool mode. After 3 minutes the beans are still pretty warm but not hot.
I don't have a grind chart Tom. Sorry about that. Depending on your budget there are some great options. Also, depending on your brew method will also help . If you are grinding for espresso then that will limit the options as well. I would recommend a burr grinder, not a blade. I have used a baratza, bodum and fellows grinders. I currently have the fellows and am very happy with it. I would watch some James Hoffman and Kyle Rowsell videos. They do product reviews and specialize in brewing.
Thanks for this video, Mike. I am preparing to transition away from my Behmor to a Kaffelogic air roaster, but my Kaffelogic won’t be in the states for at least another month. I’ve been looking at SM’s Popper as a “stand-in” until I receive my Kaffelogic. Do you think this roaster makes it easy to transition into hot air roasting?
Hi Dustin. Congrats on the new roaster. What are you going to do with the Behmor? I would stick with the Behmor before considering the popper. At least for the end result. I think you said you had your roasts dialed in pretty good with the Behmor right? Ok, now that I’ve kind of jabbed you a little for leaving your Behmor (hahaha) I think the kaffelogic is a programmable roaster while the popper is totally manual. I’m not sure you would benefit from the popper experience as any type of preparation for the Kaffelogic. That’s my two cents. The popper is a good entry level machine, especially for the money. Even with that fact, I would put the freshroast and behmore ahead of the popper. So, what’s going on with the Behmor? The kaffelogic sounds pretty cool but man you are loosing on batch size. Are you looking for more consistency and more automation?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Thanks for your detailed response, Mike. My plan is to sell the Behmor if I can find an interested party. Worst case scenario, I may just keep it as a backup. I’ve been getting solid and consistent results out of my Behmor-in part thanks to what you’ve shared in your videos-but I’m at a point where I keep bumping up against the machine’s shortcomings. Especially for dry process coffees and brighter/acidic African coffees, the Behmor just isn’t cutting it for me no matter what I try. The Behmor does really well with certain coffees and not so much with others, in my experience. Even as I’ve gotten used to my workflow for manual mode, it’s gotten me thinking about faster, hotter roasts for certain coffees. I decided on the Kaffelogic because of its logging software/profile building, ability to do consecutive batches, and its optional Boost kit, which will let me do batches of up to 200g. It is a trade off from the larger batches of the Behmor, but I think the ability to do back to back roasts with minimal fuss and cleanup will make up for it. I usually do 1/2 lb batches on my Behmor anyway. When I was trying to make up my mind on what to upgrade to, the Kaffelogic seemed like the best of both worlds: A range of automated profiles, but with enough built-in flexibility to dive deeper into roasting theory and those small changes to temps, time, ROR, fan and heat settings, etc. And the issue of consistency, like you’d mentioned. I think another part of it is that I wanted to get a feel for how different air roasting is from the Behmor style of roasting and monitoring things. Especially after seeing your videos on the Popper, it got me thinking about how this Guatemalan coffee I have *could* taste different than what I’ve been able to do on the Behmor. Curiosity more than anything, I guess. Sorry for such the long response. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions and providing your input. You’ve given me more things to consider!
I can tell you are excited and I know that feeling of being ready for the next step. Keep me posted on your coffee journey Dustin. I'm going to the SCA national event in Portland in a few weeks. While i'm there i will be taking a couple of roasting workshops. I'm excited to learn more and roast better. One thing that really blows me away is how significant grinding & brewing methods are as it relates to taste. This is another area I continue to improve personally. have you dialed in your brewing equipment and process?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab That's really exciting! I'm sure you'll learn a ton of things that you can bring back to apply to your roasts, and hopefully share with us! As far as brewing, it's always a work in progress, but I am usually happy with my results. My go-to brewers are the Clever and the Hario Mugen. They're both very forgiving and tend to highlight body and sweetness, which is more of what I tend to favor in my coffees. I've also been messing around with creating my own water recipes, and that has been a real eye-opener as well. Thanks again, and I hope SCA is a fruitful experience!
Because of time I wasn't able to do it on the video but I did grind and taste it. Like I suspected, it went a little further on the roast for my optimal liking so there was an underlying roasty flavor along with a gentle apple acidity along with some bakers chocolate and a syrupy sweetness. I roast this same coffee on my drum roaster and there were some similarities but the notes were more defined and the cup was cleaner from my drum roaster. My next video will include a tasting of that roast. Once I get a better understanding of what is going on with the popper and gain a bit more control I think I will be able to improve the cup. I am shortening my roast profile. This upcoming video does have a shorter roast profile. I'm learning more quirks about this roaster like the temperature cutoff. Thanks for asking Chuck.
Hello @MisterKee , No smoke BUT that is because I don't roast dark. If I were to go towards second crack there would be lots of smoke. So, on the next video you will see me roast in the kitchen with no hood fan on...
Not liking the implementation of controls on this roaster. Digital temp control is essential. The timer... I'm actually looking for a more controllable and consistent air roasting machine. This does not qualify.
I haven't given up on this roaster yet. It has it's quirks and eventually I will get to the bottom of the whole temperature thing. What air roaster are you considering?
Hi Randy, thanks for your question. As far as total roast time, I wasn't sure what that would be on this test roast so I had a couple of contingencies between 8-10 minutes. You can see in my video I went longer with a total roast time of 13:12. That is way too long. When I roast coffee I break my roast into 3 phases (periods of time) Dry Phase Browning Phase Development Phase With regards to phase times, I made a video that introduces this roasting approach titled "3 Tips for new home coffee roasters). That shares most of my reason how I broke down my roast times. As far as that specific roast, i was attempting to learn how to control my roaster and so my goal of 50% dry phase, 30% browning and 20% development was my goal. I knew this profile would be drinkable and a starting point/reference for future roasts. I ended up with 47.5% dry, 31.5% Browning and 23% Development. The total roast time was longer than I had hoped. Ideally I'm thinking of a total roast time between 8-9 minutes for a medium roast on an air roaster. The air roasting is new to me. Yea, i did roast for a while on a hot air popper, but not for long before I moved to a Behmor 1600. I hope that makes sense. not sure if you were asking about total roast time or the phases so if you need a more specific answer please let me know.
Whoa. Just heard you say the price: $89 That’s amazing. Drastically less than the Fresh Roast and as someone who has a FR I would definitely grab the Popper over that.
Yea, it is priced right. I'm still not 100% confident about the temperature consistency but the Popper will tick the right box for a lot of people who don't want to "hack" a hot air popcorn popper nor spend a lot of money.
The timer takes some getting used to. I run a 'stopwatch' app coincident with the running of the popper so I don't have to math out where I am in the roast. You may also want to increase the initial heat setting to '2 pm' as Tom from Sweet Maria's suggests ( ruclips.net/video/QTLFpgspLe8/видео.html ). He mentions that a good target for first crack should be between 5-6 minutes. I found this tip to be very helpful. I'm aiming to hear that sound around 5 mins and can increase/decrease heat/fan as needed to get there -- the beans seem to respond almost immediately to any heat changes (air popper efficiency perhaps). Then a couple of minutes more from 1st crack to finish for a total roast time (the default roast time) of 7 minutes and -- done! It's a pretty good little roasting machine for under $100.
Thanks for sharing Urbanson Crusoe. Agreed on the timer. I'm using a phone stopwatch. Which app are you using with your phone? Just curious if it is this one coffeeroastingtimer.github.io I've used that on a few roasts and it is helpful if you don't want to calculate the development on the fly. As far as using 2PM, Sweet Maria's posted last week they realized the unit they tested produced the same temperatures when their dial was set at 2 and 3PM range which is basically full power. I just looked for the blog article on their site and I don't find the article anymore? Anyway, I'm not sure my roaster behaves like that because I have a lower temp at 2 than 3. If I had my Popper set on 2PM, at the very beginning, I would hit first crack in about 4 minutes. I did a roast this week with the knob set on 12:30 setting which got me to dry end at 4 minutes and if I bump my heat a little, I hit first crack at 6 minutes with a drop time of 7:30. Thanks for watching my video!
i made it seem harder than it is, sorry about that.. There are programs that do it on the fly like artisan. You can buy a probe/kit from sweet marias and then use the free artisan software.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Oh I was kind of joking - I'm blond and math isn't my forte..lol. Anyway I literally just finished roasting my first-ever batch of coffee using a Wearever Popcorn Pumper. Colombia Inza beans from SM. Took a bit less than 10 minutes but I learned so much in the past few days from your videos and how important RoR is and not to rush the process. I stopped the air popper a couple of times for about one minute each time so the beans wouldn't get to FC too fast. The beans look great but I guess I'll find out tomorrow when I use them in a drip brewer. You're my Mr. Miyagi - but for coffee roasting instead of karate!
Wow, Mr. Miyagi ? I'm glad you are learning. Please share how the roast tastes. I'm interested to see how your "stopping" technique impacted the flavor. Also, do you happen to know your roast phase times? There is a lot of people who stop their poppers in mid roast to slow it down and I've always wondered if that might negatively influence the roast. As a drum roaster guy, all I can visualize right how is a plumeting rate of rise which is never a good thing when it comes to drum roasting. So, how long did it take to dry? How long did it take to get to first crack? Thanks for sharing!
Hello Music Man, timers are helpful when you want to measure phase percentages. You can manipulate the flavor profile based on the amount of time you spend in the middle/browning phase and development. Smell and sight are really important and I'm glad you are relying on those for information about your roast. Thanks for watching my videos and your comment.
hmmm. My mistake, which i corrected in future roasts was to rely on the "Countdown" timer for roast time. I've been using a stopwatch timer from a phone and it is easier for me to work out the calculations.
The folks at Sweet Maria's have addressed pretty much everything that is being mentioned in the comments and so far as well as the cons in the video. They have talked about how to add a thermocouple, adding marks to document heat levels, the ability to roast without the cover attached at all, etc. They encourage users to modify it, too. I just run a stopwatch alongside the machine and don't pay much attention to the timer. I'm still learning how to roast well but once I figure it out I'll enjoy a LOT of coffee for the money vs having spent thousands on an alternative method.
Hi Alex, thanks for pointing all of this out. I love sweet marias and they are one of my sources for coffee greens. I'm glad they made this roaster because it will give the user a chance to craft their coffee rather than just brown it. The variable temp is a game changer. I meant to mention the templates for the temperature range which are included with the instructions. I wish they would have made them as stickers. I will look into the thermocouple option. So you are using the Popper? Are you roasting with the top off or the chaff tray removed? I agree, this is probably the best option for new roasters or someone who wants more control with their heat, especially considering the 89 dollar price tag. Thank you for watching and for sharing your comments!
@@VirtualCoffeeLab
I am using one, I got it a few weeks ago. This weekend I experimented with roasting without the cover/chaff collector attached and dropping a cheap (although proven accurate by comparing temp readings to my Thermoworks Thermapen) probe thermometer in the roasting chamber. Thanks for making videos, I'm learning a lot by watching!
Oh crap, I've got one of those temp probes for meats. Why didn't I think of that? Great idea Alex, I'll give that a try. Did you see the article sweet marias put out about the temp readings between 2 and 3 oclock being the same?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab I did not see that article. I saw one saying they did not see a significant difference in chamber temps with or without the cover attached, though.
Hi. I just got a Popper and am learning to use it. Sweet Maria’s has a video on RUclips where they mention the plastic top is yellow because it is a high temp material, and that is also why they are yellow on traditional popcorn poppers.
They also mention a high temp shutoff (safety device) that will turn off the heat for a few seconds when the temperature reaches a certain maximum. I haven’t turned the heat up to maximum, and don’t have a thermocouple, so I don’t know if I’m hitting that threshold or not.
I’ve been running my heat in the 2 o’clock position without adjusting for a light roast
Today I tried something different. When I reached first crack, I put the fan speed on low to increase temperature in the chamber for a darker roast. When it reaches the cooldown phase, I put the fan back up to high to cool the beans as fast as possible.
Thanks for your video!
Thanks for sharing Jason. I think the shutoff takes place at 465. I am going to more roasts and try to use a thermocouple to read temps while I roast. I'll give an update in my next video. Sounds like you are getting a shorter roast time. What was your total roast time on that dark roast and how long did it take you to get to dry? Just curious.
Wow, thank you for sharing your very first roast in the Popper Roaster. I have been using it for about 3 weeks now. I tend to do two 100g roasts, I let it cool for the 3 min, remove the beans, then run the Popper in cool down till the Popper is cool completely before using again.
Some things I have noticed while roasting.
The chafe will block air flow which I believe will increase temperature.
The Popper does have a 30 sec. cool down if it gets to hot which annoys me.
A little tweak of the temp knob can make a big difference.
My next roast I will be using a headlamp instead of a flashlight.
Looing forward to your next videos.
Thanks for watching and your comments mkpleco. Your tips on cool down are spot on and great advice. I have a love hate relationship with the timer. You will see that more on my next video. The weakest link on the Popper is the temperature dial. Between Sweet Marias "revised" temp readings and the "flat spot" between 2 and 3 PM, figuring out the right temps is going to take quite a few roasts. If your not sure what i'm talking about regarding the "revised temps", see sweet marias "library, most recent posts.
Interesting ! Enjoyed the video and looking forward on the following videos on this Popper! Thanks again!
Hi Eduardo, thanks for watching. I have not forgot about your question about roasting for espresso. Hopefully I will have something for you soon on this.
This is one I've been curious about since it came out, so I was excited to find your video today! Everything you said makes sense, from the countdown timer, and the yellow cover. It does seem like a good next step from a regular popper. It would be nice to have such a high capacity to decrease the number of roasts. I've got to make about 400 grams of roasted coffee each week to satisfy me and my wife! I look forward to seeing you use it again. Maybe just keep your own timer for the profile and make sure it doesn't drop below 3 minutes before you're ready to cool.
That's exactly what I plan to do @thebuzzah . I will use a timer from a phone to monitor my phases. Yea, the capacity is a biggie and anyone using a regular hot air popper should seriously consider the Popper. 89 bucks plus 8 dollars for the economy UPS option they offer is a very fair price. Thanks for your comments and for watching my video.
i use a led flashlight to get better idea of the bean colors while roasting. i may try extending my total roast times, but so far, i've been thrilled at the improvement in origin flavors over my behmor. i think it's because of the much shorter cooling cycle. i've roasted a dozen or so different origins, and am getting results much closer to what the labels on the bags suggest expecting. i also tried using a variac to keep the voltage at 120 during the operation, but that was frankly a pain in the neck and i don't think my results were any better. i should have mentioned that when 1st crack really gets going, i reduce my heat to 1:00 so i can extend it. i usually stop the roast 30 to 60 seconds following the end of 1st crack. i've never gotten to 2nd crack, by preference.
Yea, the LED light would be helpful. I ordered one but it hasn't arrived yet. The cooling ability of this roaster is probably one of it's best features. I'm very happy with it's performance. I am still dropping the coffee about 15 seconds early to compensate for the cooling.
Another great video Mike, keep up the great work. I enjoy watching your videos.
Thanks, will do Shane! I appreciate the encouragement
Hi I've been roasting on the Popper for about a month and a half, and I think perhaps the drum-type profile you're using may not be translating well to this fluid bed type. I'm on my 6th lb of beans, starting with very medium :), moving to light, and now playing with espresso roast. I find that for drip, I aim for DE at times 2-2:30, 1C at 5-5:30, and drop at 6:30-7:30. I find you can charge fairly aggressively at heat 1-1:30 (at least for washed), then brown at 12:30 heat. 45 s before 1C, I bump heat up to 1:00 for some momentum. I take 1C at 12:45 and then coast at 12:30 after about a min of 1C. You can see that the range of heat I use is pretty small, as the dial is sensitive (and noon is my stall heat). But after quite a few bad learning roasts, I've gotten some very enjoyable beans lately. I've added a dial sticker to make my roasts more recordable (going from 0-6 rather than clock style, as that's confusing), and I'm waiting on my thermocouple. I also find a separate timer essential. Thanks for the video!
Thanks for the comments daRock1212. Yea, the longer roast profile isn't really ideal for the air roaster. This next video I will be targeting a 8 minute roast. The air roaster is much more efficient and quicker but geeze, a dry time of 2 minutes scares me. are you getting an even roast through the bean? It the color the same in the center as it is on the outside?
For the times you show above, is that for the espresso roast you are "now playing with"? What did you do for the light roast as far as times?
Thanks for sharing!
I have enjoyed watching this video. Brought back memories of when I first started roasting on a popper! That thing really seems a lot more fun. But I would not go back to something like that. From popper to Behmor and now Aillio Bullet, no way I would go back, but the journey is fun none the less. Great that you found the patience to roast on that contraption!
Hello Andre, you are right. There is a journey for every hobby. That is what makes it fun. Learning, upgrading, trying different techniques or adding new accessories, it's all part of the process. I agree with your comments. Most of us would not go back BUT many are entering the hobby and some don't plan to upgrade or invest too much time learning. That is ok too.
My audience for this channel is all home roasters. It's a big challenge for me because there is a wide spectrum of equipment, knowledge and quite honestly, technique as far as how someone will roast great coffee at home. Some would say that last statement about great coffee is "subjective". So, with that in mind, I make my videos so there is something for everyone. Even though the roasters are different, many of the concepts are the same. I guess you could say I'm sharing my journey in this hobby as we go along!
Thanks for your comments and for watching my video Andre. I'm glad you are enjoying your Bullet. They are great roasters!
Hi Andre. I currently use a Behmor, but I am thinking of taking the Aillio Bullet plunge soon. What would you recommend for learning in transitioning from the Behmor to the Bullet? Do you use the Facebook group, and find it highly useful?
@@luigicollins3954 Hi Luigi, to be honest I did not find the transition to hard. The site I liked the most was coffeenavigated, plus the facebook group and roast world. The only thing that did not work for me was using others recipe, the weather is different and I live in canada where it’s pretty cold, so my own charge temp is much higher than the others, took me a couple of roasts to figure that one, bur everything else is a real pleasure to go from Behmor to the Bullet, from the worklow to the end results. I started with roast of 350 gr but now I do 500 gr, don’t really need more than that.
I wish you all the best Luigi!
I solved the timer problem by writing down the time starting with 10 min and then 9:30 and then 9:00 etc down to 3 where I knew cool would be. If I added time (let’s say 3 min) I would write 6:00 at rye 3.00 mark and again count down in :30 increments. This allows me to write in where I want DE, 1C etc and then at those times I am waiting for that marker. BuynO also write down where they event actually occured
Also, I open the lid every .30 and take the temp with the IR like you used. This gives me references.
I’ve done over 30 roasts now and this has served me well.
Also I should say that I pre heat my roaster to 270 before I add the beans.
Lastly, I don’t like the slow movement of the beans because I think that is why the roast is so uneven. I only use 75G per roast and my drop in is a fast moving mass of beans so I don’t get the big variety that you got.
As for the yellow plastic, don’t even notice it now, I’m used to it. Oh and the magnets that hold the chaff collector to the plastic lid fall out. Groan.
That’s my 10 cents.
I'm glad you are getting good results now JC. I've got 5 roasts under my belt with the Popper. I'm still working on getting a great cup and I appreciate your comments about how you manage the timer. I have pretty much dismissed the timer to help me keep track of my roast and have opted for my phone stopwatch. Now I just need to remember not to let the roaster go into the cool mode unexpectedly! I may lighten my load to 90 grams for future batch sizes. Thanks!
I would certainly like to see you grind, taste, and review this roast.
Because of time I wasn't able to do it on the video but I did grind and taste it. Like I suspected, it went a little further on the roast for my optimal liking so there was an underlying roasty flavor along with a gentle apple acidity along with some bakers chocolate and a syrupy sweetness. I roast this same coffee on my drum roaster and there were some similarities but the notes were more defined and the cup was cleaner from my drum roaster.
Once I get a better understanding of what is going on with the popper and gain a bit more control I think I will be able to improve the cup.
I will try and incorporate the grind/taste/comment in the next video. Thanks for your comments and for watching!
@@VirtualCoffeeLab A pleasure. Thanks, Mike. Looking forward to see future vids on this machine & its results.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Mike, that's exactly what happened to me when my roasts went a little too far. It was all because of not exactly determining the final phase time, based on the time up to first crack and my desired DTR (see my post above on that). As you know and have taught me, seconds are critical in that last development phase; 10 or 20 seconds have made big differences in taste of my roasts. Great comment!
Hi @Luigi Collins Hi Lou, There is an app you can use that will be helpful as far as the DTR. Doing it on the fly is difficult and this app will monitor it for you as well as act as your primary timer. Check it out at coffeeroastingtimer.github.io It could be pretty helpful. I'm trying to get one of my sons to make an app that does more than just the DTR, where it will allow you to mark various events and all the while be calculating and estimating phase percentages. But for now, you should check out that app and give it a try.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Hey, thanks for the link to the github page! What kind of app are you trying to get your sons to write? I'm thinking of writing an iOS app to help me log my roasts in more detail, similar to what you're asking for. If you're on iOS and are interested, let me know and I'll keep you updated on how it's coming along
Nice video Mike! Boy can I relate to the countdown timer and how awkward it is to use. So from Roast 1 on my Behmor, I had to record both the countdown time and the elapsed time. By the time I got to Roast 23, I decided the countdown time was totally useless and stopped recording it, recording only elapsed time. The problem with counting down is it assumes some kind of fixed-time for the roast. But as we all know, there are lots of variables and things change during the roast such that there can almost never ever be a fixed time of roasting. Also as you so perfectly showed, there is a lot of confusion when the time is 6:15 (or was that 6:45?). Your mind is always needing to subtract the displayed time from whatever time the roast started at.
When using my Behmor, I start an (iPhone) stopwatch at the beginning of the roast. Then when I reach the point of first cracking, I press the Lap button on the stopwatch. At that point, my Lap 1 time is the total time for the first two phases of development (some call them the Drying Phase and the Browning Phase). I then use that Lap time and look up on a chart I made to determine what my final development phase time should be for my desired DTR. That makes it quite easy for me to get accurate DTRs on my roasts.
Can you tell us what make of temperature recorder you used? And I assume you like it? I tried one once and I was unhappy with results. Thanks!
Yea, that timer is my nemesis i think. Wait till you see my next video. Oh man.....
The lap time is a great idea Lou. I'll give that a try!
The laser temp gun is a Etekcity Infrared Thermometer 1080, Digital Temperature Gun I bought on Amazon. BUT, on future roasts I'm going to try a meat thermometer probe to see how that works. I think i have one that could be set inside the roasting chamber to register temperatures.
You are very accurate, and doing a great videos, thanks keep going 👍
Thank you for your comments. I am glad you like my videos. I've got a new popper video coming out later this week.
This time I did not watch the video. I have no will to buy another roaster. But I appreciate all your trials, and I am sue, you found something new out, when using this roaster.
Thanks Erhard!.
lastly, i use 91g loads because that works out for one day's worth of brewed coffee for us. i let rest for 2 days min, and use by a week's time. i've just started using small mouth canning jars and pump out the air for a vacuum seal. i keep logs of all my roasts so i can see how i twiddled with the temp and fan at different times.
Keeping logs is king. I usually roast on my drum roaster which uses artisan so all my references to events times, temp, air and drum speed changes are all logged. I'm taking notes with the popper for reference on future roasts.
Thanks for the tip on the canning jars. I have heard other people do something similar. What type of coffee are you roasting?
Hello and thank you !!!
I am of two divergent thoughts as a former owner...
LOVED it and would say its a good entry level especially with the free beans promo.. yet alas mine had a chaff fire and melted... I upgraded to a slightly better one...
USER error but, also a note these are not high end, made with easily melted plastics for a low cost item.
Hi Matthew, thanks for sharing your experience. Which unit did you have that melted and which unit did you upgrade to that is slightly better? Sweet Marias has mentioned that keeping the underside of the unit free from chaff or dust blockages is really important. Also, those who roast really dark should be careful to let the unit cool down and make sure it is kept clear of any oils/blockages. So far I have not had any problems with the Sweet Marias Popper that they released in 2021 (thankfully)
@@VirtualCoffeeLab popper was the unit and
Now have a SR540
OK, so it sounds like you had one of their popcorn poppers not the new one that came out 7 months ago right? The new one has air and temperature controls. I'm just trying to clear up which model it is that melted on you. Glad you like the SR540!
I had the same one reviewed here
Thanks for your feedback Matthew.
I enjoyed watching your first video on the Popper. If this machine had been available early in the year when I first dived into coffee roasting, I would have bought it. Instead, I have modified a pop corn popper (actually more than one). Since I installed a thermocouple, an inexpensive Variac to control temperature, a fan speed controller, and connect to a laptop so that I can use Artisan software, I have more control of my roasts and better documentation than someone using the Popper. However, I can only roast 80 to 90 grams of coffee. I think that you did well for your first roast in the Popper, but I'm sure your next roasts will be better. I look forward to the video(s).
Chuch, you have a good thing going with your modified popcorn popper. Since you tore apart your unit, you might be able to answer my question about how the heating element works. Is it like a hair dryer where wires glow? Specifically, could you speculate if the heat can remain at a constant temp or does your popper cycle on and off?
Where do you have the thermocouple placed on your unit. Does the hot air influence the bean temp? What kind of temperature range are you working with from charge to drop?
IYes, have done some test roasts since this video and you are right, I have gotten a little better at controlling the roast.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab
Popcorn poppers have two heating elements, one significantly stronger than the other. Yes, the heating elements glow just like the heater in a hair drier or toaster. Trying not to be too technical, by using two heating elements, popcorn manufacturers can produce a voltage in the range of 19 to 24 volts to power the fan. You modify the popcorn popper by electrically separating the heater from the fan so that you can control each independent of the other. You power the fan by using a step down transformer or certain laptop adapters.
As for the thermocouple, earlier this year Sweet Maria's posted a video on their website that showed how to add a thermocouple to a popcorn popper. They even sell a thermocouple that you can use on your machine. I bought the thermocouple from them and added it just in their video.
Popcorn poppers have a safety feature that keeps the popper from getting too hot and catching fire. This can possibly cycle the heater and keep your machine from getting and staying hot enough to effectively roast coffee. I bypass this feature so that the popper heater does not cycle on and off. This allows the heater to slowly increase the temperature in the roasting chamber. I never leave the roast unattended and I have a fire extinguisher nearby just in case.
My thermocouple is situated so that it will always be in the bean mass. With my setup, I know from experience that I am going to reach first crack at about 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Depending on the patio temperature, type of bean and how dark I want the roast to be, I usually drop my roast around 415-420 degrees.
Preheating the popcorn popper would only speed up the roast, so I never preheat. My charge temperature is going to be the temperature on the patio where I roast. When I begin a roast, I use a Variac to reduce the voltage to the heating elements so I can slow down the roast and extend the drying phase. When I first started roasting I sometimes had a problem where my coffee would be cloudy. After I watched your video on the importance of the drying phase, I slowed down the roast to extend the drying phase which really helped my cloudy coffee issue.
Hopefully I have answered the questions you asked.
Thanks for the detailed response Chuck. That is very helpful info. I was looking for the probe info for the Popper but you were referring to a an article they wrote about adding a probe they sell for any popcorn popper. Gotcha.
Hot air roasting is different than drum roasting but the concepts are the same. I'm looking forward to experimenting with different roast profiles using the Popper. Thanks again for the info!
I have had a similar experience but I added an Arduino board for temperature control where I can pre set the temperature profile for the Popper to chase It. I have got good Control results and now I am exploring the best profile to use because we shall have differences from dram roaster's profiles. Today I am using a 12 min roasting time profile, but I want to explore some more.
@@marciosanglard8695 The Popper
I use popcorn poppers for roasting and they are very similar to The Popper. Originally I had planned to use an Arduino to totally automate the coffee roasting process. However, I decided against it for several reasons. One, I was going to use the Arduino to turn on and off an SCR connected to the heater to control the temperature. Since I am using Artisan software on my laptop, I figured the rapid turning on and off of the heater by the SCR would cause the temperature line in Artisan to have extreme spikes. Two, I have modified three popcorn poppers to roast coffee. They all output a different wattage. I would have to use different profiles for each of the roasters for the same coffee. Three, each coffee roasts differently. A roast profile for an Ethiopian coffee would be different than one for a Colombian coffee. Since I roast different coffees, I found it easier just to use Artisan to monitor my roasts and make real time adjustments manually using a Variac to control the temperature.
from about 11:35 to 12 elapsed time, your heat cut off because of the overheat protection. there's a change in the pitch of the fan when that happens. i have about 35 roasts on my popper. i've kept my roast times closer to 7 minutes, which is what sweet marias suggested for light to medium roasts. 10 minutes including the 3 minutes for cooling. i start at 1:30 on temp for first two minutes, then drop the fan speed to low which increases the bean chamber temp because of less air flow. i usually get first crack outliers at 3 to 3:30,
Paul, thanks for sharing. Man you have a good ear. I went and listened to the video right here 19:42 and a few seconds later i heard the pitch change. That is what i have been hearing all along. So, I want to avoid that cutoff. The shorter roast is a good recommendation as others have said. Yes, I have also watched the sweet marias videos.
I have already made my video for this coming week before many of the comments had been made about this video. It is a shorter roast and as you will see, that timer hates me. I was using a separate timer by the way. I think my target roast time was seven and a half minutes and I ended up droping at seven fourty-seven. So, I'm learning as I go. My biggest goal is to be able to control my phase times so I give enough time in the middle phase for the mailliard reactions to take place. I don't want to fly through this phase. That is why i'm trying to carefully adjust my heat.
So you are doing 7 minute roasts but first crack outliers are at 3-3.5 minutes? That means your getting about a 3 minute development time on the 3 minute roast right?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab yes, as measured from when first crack is seriously beginning until i end the heat and begin the cooling, is generally 3 minutes minimum. my time to dry is between 2 1/2, so I may be getting less browning time than what you aim for. as to what i roast, i've done a couple dozen origins, mostly centrals and africans (esp ethiopian), including dry and wet process, and a couple peaberry batches. i give them an enjoyability grade when it comes time to drink. this morning i'm having an ethiopia dry process roasted to FC, with just specks of oil on the surface after resting two days. i've been experimenting with different levels of roast until/unless i find the perfect one for me, then i stick with that. i'm not sure that vacuum sealing the jars of roasted beans makes a noticeable difference yet, but i find it enjoyable to do anyway.
The timer is mildly frustrating. Using your own timer would probably be the best bet. I’m a fan of using my phone timer when I use my heat gun and flour sifter roaster.
I use my phone as well for manual roasting. I just happen to be using my phone for the second camera so the timer wasn't available. I will definitely be using a phone timer for the next one. I should have known better but thought I would give it a try. As you could see, my brain wasn't able to do the calculations accurately enough, especially since you end up moving the timer because it only runs for 7 minutes. So, one way would be to reset the timer at each event BUT for me, I'm just going to use my phone. Thanks for watching and for your comment.
What do you think is the best overall Roaster. There is always one product out there that is value and quality.
Hmm, I did a live stream that asked the question “what is the best home coffee roaster for you?“ It really depends on your situation. For low budget, pay old used bread maker, and a heat gun might be a great option. For somebody who wants to roast over a stove top, the hive roaster is a great option. Both of these roasting devices can be purchased for under 100 bucks
What about the MSM Coffe Popper ? @@VirtualCoffeeLab
If I hadn't purchased a Behmor 6 months ago after mulling it over for a year, I would have jumped on this without a second thought.
I'm not so sure I would want the Popper over the Behmor. I'm not super experiences with air roasting. Most of my time has been spend on drum roasters including the Behmor. The biggest issue I have,with the Popper, other than capacity, is the temperature stability. I have been hearing a sound pitch change during roasting that kind of sounds like the heat kicking on and off. I can't confirm that because when I felt the air, it wasn't blowing cold, still hot so I'm wondering what that was all about. I have done a couple of other experimental roasts since the video and dialing in a temperature to aim for a specific time is a bit challenging. More on that in my next video.
Realistically, it is a different style of roasting and may just come down to personal choice between the two. Personally I think the Behmor is the better machine and a more substantial one (materials) as well. BUT for 89 bucks it is becoming a popular choice for home coffee roasters.
Thanks for your comment and for watching!
have you tried the fresh roast SR series? how do these compare? i dont want any chaff in my kitchen, it looked like 50% of it still comes out of the marias popper, that's a deal breaker.
Thanks for watching my video. I have not roasted on a “Freah Toast” roaster. They are air roasters similar to the Popper except they roast in the tube where you can clearly see the beans. It does appear the fresh roast contains most of the chaff while the popper still has some chaff escape. I wouldn’t say 50% but regardless, if chaff is a deal breaker then you already have your answer. You might consider finding another place to roast in the house? That would open up more options for you. The fresh roast 850 I think allows you to roast 8 ounces of coffee while the smaller unit limits yiu to 4 ounces, about the same as the popper.
There are many people who live the fresh roast. What are you currently using to roast?
Your temp readings is something Sweet Maria’s should add to the dial.
It’s a common sense detail that clearly wasn’t thought of.
I thought that too M D. The reason why they don't put a temp on is it will vary depending on your home power, speifically if I use an extension cord. They indicate this could alter the amount of electricity coming to the unit and the power will not be the same.
I think they should have added incremental reference lines to make things easier. Since this video, I have addes some tape I can write on for reference points.
Thanks for your comment and for watching!
I forgot to mention this in my video but Sweet Marias includes two "templates" you can use for the temperature dial. They don't have temps but they have markings. One is a series of incremental lines and the other represents the clock positions from 12 - 3. They don't stick onto the unit, but you can make something to apply, like the tape, that will work. It would have been nice if these were stickers we could apply ourselves.
One thing about the IR gun is it measures solid surfaces. Sweet Maria's could have added a thermocouple to measure air temperature, but they were likely trying to keep the cost down.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab temperature does not correlate with dial position properly because It depends on elapsed time, energy is being introdussed to the system.
@@marciosanglard8695 I'm not sure what you mean Marcio. Can you explain more about "elapsed time". Are you talking about beans taking on heat over time?
How do you store your ground coffee?
Hi Luke. Thanks for your question and for watching my video. I don't store "Ground" coffee. I leave my roasted coffee in whole bean form until I am ready to brew the coffee. Then, I measure out the exact amount of coffee for a single serving. I store my whole beans in a couple of different types of containers. One is a vacuum sealed canister made by fellows. It helps keep the coffee fresh. I also use ziplock bags to store my roasted. beans. I share my coffee with family so I split my roast up into a few bags to share. This helps keep the coffee fresh. All of my fresh roasted coffee is consumed within 10 days.
Even though the timer starts at 10 minutes you can modify that. Once it starts you can increase the timer.
Interesting, I’ll have to try that. Mine seemed to go from 0:00 to 10:00 or if turned the other way 0:01?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Yes, if after it starts you can turn it to the right to increase more time based on your preferance or at any time during the roast you can add time based on what you are seeing. What do you think about the jiawanshun coffee roaster it's electric where you get temperature control and time control with an automatic spiner that rotates the coffee.
Jon, I’m not a fan of the jiawanshu. It doesn’t roast fast enough from what I’ve seen. 12-2.0 minute roast time?
So, how cool did the beans get? Did you do the whole 3 minute cool down? And were the beans room temp or warm or very warm? Thanks.
Hi @slpardee10, the roaster cools down pretty quick. With beans in the roaster cooling, it takes about 30 seconds to go from 400 ish temperatures down 150 degrees. Cool air is blowing directly on the beans. In my video at the 22:10 mark i say it is still hot but not hot enough to burn my hand. This is after 1 minute in the cool mode.
After 3 minutes the beans are still pretty warm but not hot.
Do you have grind charts on any of your videos and recommendations on grinders?
I don't have a grind chart Tom. Sorry about that. Depending on your budget there are some great options. Also, depending on your brew method will also help . If you are grinding for espresso then that will limit the options as well. I would recommend a burr grinder, not a blade. I have used a baratza, bodum and fellows grinders. I currently have the fellows and am very happy with it.
I would watch some James Hoffman and Kyle Rowsell videos. They do product reviews and specialize in brewing.
Thanks for this video, Mike. I am preparing to transition away from my Behmor to a Kaffelogic air roaster, but my Kaffelogic won’t be in the states for at least another month. I’ve been looking at SM’s Popper as a “stand-in” until I receive my Kaffelogic. Do you think this roaster makes it easy to transition into hot air roasting?
Hi Dustin. Congrats on the new roaster. What are you going to do with the Behmor?
I would stick with the Behmor before considering the popper. At least for the end result. I think you said you had your roasts dialed in pretty good with the Behmor right?
Ok, now that I’ve kind of jabbed you a little for leaving your Behmor (hahaha) I think the kaffelogic is a programmable roaster while the popper is totally manual. I’m not sure you would benefit from the popper experience as any type of preparation for the Kaffelogic. That’s my two cents. The popper is a good entry level machine, especially for the money. Even with that fact, I would put the freshroast and behmore ahead of the popper.
So, what’s going on with the Behmor?
The kaffelogic sounds pretty cool but man you are loosing on batch size. Are you looking for more consistency and more automation?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab
Thanks for your detailed response, Mike. My plan is to sell the Behmor if I can find an interested party. Worst case scenario, I may just keep it as a backup.
I’ve been getting solid and consistent results out of my Behmor-in part thanks to what you’ve shared in your videos-but I’m at a point where I keep bumping up against the machine’s shortcomings. Especially for dry process coffees and brighter/acidic African coffees, the Behmor just isn’t cutting it for me no matter what I try. The Behmor does really well with certain coffees and not so much with others, in my experience. Even as I’ve gotten used to my workflow for manual mode, it’s gotten me thinking about faster, hotter roasts for certain coffees.
I decided on the Kaffelogic because of its logging software/profile building, ability to do consecutive batches, and its optional Boost kit, which will let me do batches of up to 200g. It is a trade off from the larger batches of the Behmor, but I think the ability to do back to back roasts with minimal fuss and cleanup will make up for it. I usually do 1/2 lb batches on my Behmor anyway.
When I was trying to make up my mind on what to upgrade to, the Kaffelogic seemed like the best of both worlds: A range of automated profiles, but with enough built-in flexibility to dive deeper into roasting theory and those small changes to temps, time, ROR, fan and heat settings, etc. And the issue of consistency, like you’d mentioned.
I think another part of it is that I wanted to get a feel for how different air roasting is from the Behmor style of roasting and monitoring things. Especially after seeing your videos on the Popper, it got me thinking about how this Guatemalan coffee I have *could* taste different than what I’ve been able to do on the Behmor. Curiosity more than anything, I guess.
Sorry for such the long response. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions and providing your input. You’ve given me more things to consider!
I can tell you are excited and I know that feeling of being ready for the next step. Keep me posted on your coffee journey Dustin. I'm going to the SCA national event in Portland in a few weeks. While i'm there i will be taking a couple of roasting workshops. I'm excited to learn more and roast better.
One thing that really blows me away is how significant grinding & brewing methods are as it relates to taste. This is another area I continue to improve personally. have you dialed in your brewing equipment and process?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab That's really exciting! I'm sure you'll learn a ton of things that you can bring back to apply to your roasts, and hopefully share with us! As far as brewing, it's always a work in progress, but I am usually happy with my results. My go-to brewers are the Clever and the Hario Mugen. They're both very forgiving and tend to highlight body and sweetness, which is more of what I tend to favor in my coffees. I've also been messing around with creating my own water recipes, and that has been a real eye-opener as well. Thanks again, and I hope SCA is a fruitful experience!
Like others curious how it tastes now @ 3 days?
Because of time I wasn't able to do it on the video but I did grind and taste it. Like I suspected, it went a little further on the roast for my optimal liking so there was an underlying roasty flavor along with a gentle apple acidity along with some bakers chocolate and a syrupy sweetness. I roast this same coffee on my drum roaster and there were some similarities but the notes were more defined and the cup was cleaner from my drum roaster.
My next video will include a tasting of that roast.
Once I get a better understanding of what is going on with the popper and gain a bit more control I think I will be able to improve the cup. I am shortening my roast profile. This upcoming video does have a shorter roast profile. I'm learning more quirks about this roaster like the temperature cutoff.
Thanks for asking Chuck.
Great video! Did you find that it created a lot of smoke?
Hello @MisterKee , No smoke BUT that is because I don't roast dark. If I were to go towards second crack there would be lots of smoke. So, on the next video you will see me roast in the kitchen with no hood fan on...
Not liking the implementation of controls on this roaster.
Digital temp control is essential.
The timer...
I'm actually looking for a more controllable and consistent air roasting machine. This does not qualify.
I haven't given up on this roaster yet. It has it's quirks and eventually I will get to the bottom of the whole temperature thing. What air roaster are you considering?
How do you break down your roast times.
Hi Randy, thanks for your question.
As far as total roast time, I wasn't sure what that would be on this test roast so I had a couple of contingencies between 8-10 minutes. You can see in my video I went longer with a total roast time of 13:12. That is way too long.
When I roast coffee I break my roast into 3 phases (periods of time)
Dry Phase
Browning Phase
Development Phase
With regards to phase times, I made a video that introduces this roasting approach titled "3 Tips for new home coffee roasters). That shares most of my reason how I broke down my roast times. As far as that specific roast, i was attempting to learn how to control my roaster and so my goal of 50% dry phase, 30% browning and 20% development was my goal. I knew this profile would be drinkable and a starting point/reference for future roasts. I ended up with 47.5% dry, 31.5% Browning and 23% Development. The total roast time was longer than I had hoped. Ideally I'm thinking of a total roast time between 8-9 minutes for a medium roast on an air roaster. The air roasting is new to me. Yea, i did roast for a while on a hot air popper, but not for long before I moved to a Behmor 1600.
I hope that makes sense. not sure if you were asking about total roast time or the phases so if you need a more specific answer please let me know.
Whoa. Just heard you say the price: $89
That’s amazing. Drastically less than the Fresh Roast and as someone who has a FR I would definitely grab the Popper over that.
Yea, it is priced right. I'm still not 100% confident about the temperature consistency but the Popper will tick the right box for a lot of people who don't want to "hack" a hot air popcorn popper nor spend a lot of money.
My fr is lightyears better than my now dead popper .. just saying
So random.... I think I'll stick with my popcorn popper.
Thanks for your comment and for watching.
The timer takes some getting used to. I run a 'stopwatch' app coincident with the running of the popper so I don't have to math out where I am in the roast. You may also want to increase the initial heat setting to '2 pm' as Tom from Sweet Maria's suggests ( ruclips.net/video/QTLFpgspLe8/видео.html ). He mentions that a good target for first crack should be between 5-6 minutes. I found this tip to be very helpful. I'm aiming to hear that sound around 5 mins and can increase/decrease heat/fan as needed to get there -- the beans seem to respond almost immediately to any heat changes (air popper efficiency perhaps). Then a couple of minutes more from 1st crack to finish for a total roast time (the default roast time) of 7 minutes and -- done! It's a pretty good little roasting machine for under $100.
Thanks for sharing Urbanson Crusoe. Agreed on the timer. I'm using a phone stopwatch. Which app are you using with your phone? Just curious if it is this one coffeeroastingtimer.github.io
I've used that on a few roasts and it is helpful if you don't want to calculate the development on the fly.
As far as using 2PM, Sweet Maria's posted last week they realized the unit they tested produced the same temperatures when their dial was set at 2 and 3PM range which is basically full power. I just looked for the blog article on their site and I don't find the article anymore? Anyway, I'm not sure my roaster behaves like that because I have a lower temp at 2 than 3. If I had my Popper set on 2PM, at the very beginning, I would hit first crack in about 4 minutes.
I did a roast this week with the knob set on 12:30 setting which got me to dry end at 4 minutes and if I bump my heat a little, I hit first crack at 6 minutes with a drop time of 7:30.
Thanks for watching my video!
Called - "Speaking Timer Voice Stopwatch" - gives an audio readout of the time as it elapses in 30 second intervals
Ugh, too much math in roasting coffee. Don't think I'll ever be able to do it!
i made it seem harder than it is, sorry about that.. There are programs that do it on the fly like artisan. You can buy a probe/kit from sweet marias and then use the free artisan software.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Oh I was kind of joking - I'm blond and math isn't my forte..lol. Anyway I literally just finished roasting my first-ever batch of coffee using a Wearever Popcorn Pumper. Colombia Inza beans from SM. Took a bit less than 10 minutes but I learned so much in the past few days from your videos and how important RoR is and not to rush the process. I stopped the air popper a couple of times for about one minute each time so the beans wouldn't get to FC too fast. The beans look great but I guess I'll find out tomorrow when I use them in a drip brewer. You're my Mr. Miyagi - but for coffee roasting instead of karate!
Wow, Mr. Miyagi ? I'm glad you are learning. Please share how the roast tastes. I'm interested to see how your "stopping" technique impacted the flavor. Also, do you happen to know your roast phase times? There is a lot of people who stop their poppers in mid roast to slow it down and I've always wondered if that might negatively influence the roast. As a drum roaster guy, all I can visualize right how is a plumeting rate of rise which is never a good thing when it comes to drum roasting. So, how long did it take to dry? How long did it take to get to first crack? Thanks for sharing!
From the thumbnail I though this was an electric razor ...
Nice. Norelco.
I don’t use a timer. I use my eyes, ears and nose.
Hello Music Man, timers are helpful when you want to measure phase percentages. You can manipulate the flavor profile based on the amount of time you spend in the middle/browning phase and development. Smell and sight are really important and I'm glad you are relying on those for information about your roast. Thanks for watching my videos and your comment.
14:56 logic math vs real math
hmmm. My mistake, which i corrected in future roasts was to rely on the "Countdown" timer for roast time. I've been using a stopwatch timer from a phone and it is easier for me to work out the calculations.
the easy way i do it outside, 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
Thank you for sharing
thanks for your reply hugs wheelchair larry@@VirtualCoffeeLab