I put and inline volt/amp/ watt meter on my SR 800 and with the fan set at 6 and the neat at 4, it was pulling 1800 watts. Almost every roast I do with the 800 it is rare that I put the heat over 3 and the fan over 6. That roaster will put out some serious heat and fan will blast the beans. I love the machine. I have a note book with several profiles written down but lately I have been roasting with site and temp. I have a light roast I did a few days ago and it is very good. I did a dark yesterday without using a profile. It came out just where I like it using the timer and temp gauge only. I had an 18% weight loss. Roasting coffee can become an addiction very quickly. Keep up the good work Mike. I will keep watching. Looking for the brewing video you said you were going to do soon. Jerry
Excellent video! I also find it very hectic roasting on the Popper as filter is usually in the 7-8 min range and it can be tough to monitor and record at the same time. I've found it helpful to pre script my gameplan for each roast so that i have milestone times for DE and 1C. I also find it very useful to reset the time at 1C for my desired development time so that i don't have to worry about it lapsing into cool, e.g. at 1C set the time to 4:30 for 1:30 development until cool. And lastly i recently drilled through the back and added a thermocouple sticking into the top of the bean mass. It's been really helpful to meet my milestone times if I know that DE is around 350F, 1C is around 410F, and a nice city roast for me drops at around 435F (but probably too noisy to do ROR). Sweet Maria's describes the probe installation on a video for a regular popcorn popper, but the steps are the same. And to add, I'm liking city roasts currently with around 34%/44%/22% for phases, 7-8min total roast time. I've been calling DE as I see a few beans go brown, both because these small roasts dry somewhat unevenly and it's the best my color blind eyes can do! Keep it up, we're all learning together on the Popper!
Hello @daRock1212 thanks for watching my video. Having a roasting plan is really important. When I roast with the drum roaster, behmor or hive, I have a plan and most of the time am prepared for unexpected changes to the plan. As far as the Popper, i have found it challenging to stay on a plan when I don't know how the temperatures is impacting the roast. The good news is , like you, I am now using a digital thermometer to monitor the temperatures while i roast AND i am excited that I now am able to control the roaster and follow my plan. I didn't drill into the back of the Popper, mine sits in the top. You'll see it on my next video. I've only got 5 roasts under my belt with the popper. Now that i have a way to monitor temps, i'll watch them for patterns for the events/temps. Thanks for sharing your experience with the Popper! Thats a nice phase time for your city roast. My roast for next week is similar to that one but I extended the development longer and it was a 9 minute roast. Nice job roasting and for sharing how you are working the Popper!
This is an awesome overview! I've been really trying to dial in my roasts and am on a journey trying to understand the roasting process and the Popper better. One thing I've noticed is the lack of micro adjustment on the heat dial. I use a watt meter plugged into the outlet and the Popper plugged into that. My watt reading looks a lot closer the the published chart from Marias. Even though the heat dial is stepless, I only have about 5 steps from ~250 watts to ~1100 watts. Doing small adjustments on the heat dial doesn't seem to translate into small adjustments on how many watts get actually pulled.
Yes, the popper is not the best with small adjustments. The watt meter will show you that. So, one way to roast with the popper is to with a fixed temp setting. Find a power that will get you to First Crack in 6-7 minutes. From there, lower temp a little, let crack gently roll for about 1.5 min for a nice medium roast.
Really enjoyed this video, please don't give up! Your learning experience is very helpful to watch as I am learning how to roast in general as well as specifically with the Popper.
Thanks for the encouragement Alex. I have been roasting at home for quite a few years, mostly on my Behmor and Mill City drum roasters. The air roaster is different. The biggest difference is not knowing what the temperatures are. That temperature dial is a little frustrating. BUT, I just experimented with a digital thermometer that has an extension probe so i can read temps with the popper and it worked beautifully. I will post an update on my community tab letting others know. I'm glad my videos are helping you. Thanks!
Hey, Mike! I am starting to get the hang of my Sweet Maria’s Popper and loving it. I still struggle with controlling the ratios and timing of the different phases but in spite of that I’ve been pleased with the results. I just tried some Huehuetenango for the first time since you have spoken so highly of it. Wow, I think I like it better than my Costa Rican Dota that I have been so attached to! Thank you for all you do for us home roasters. Your videos are excellent - thorough, clear, to the point, and friendly. You are a real asset to the home roasting community. You make people happy!
Hi Alice. Yea, the HueHuetenango is a great everyday coffee. There are different notes that appear each year based on the crops BUT generally I am for the ones that have apple or grape mentioned in the acidity. There will always be the chocolate and spice notes mentioned as well. If you are roasting the same coffee and batch size, consider focusing on the first event time (dry). Set your power at about the 2 O'clock setting on the dial with your air on full. Start your roast and see how long it takes to turn from green to yellow. Adjust heat accordingly. Once you have that pretty close to your goal (lets say 4 minutes) then work on timing your first crack time. You may decide that 45 seconds after dry you move your power from the 2 o'clock position to the 1:30 position so your coffee starts to crack around the seven - seven-thirty time. Once crack confidently begins move your power down to say the 1 o'clock position and then begin your cool down at the color and smell you like. This could be about one minute and thirty seconds after first crack begins. This was just an example of one way to practice timing your events. Adjust the power settings as needed to make those times. After a few roasts, you should get closer to your targets. I'm glad you like the coffee and I do appreciate your encouraging words about my videos. Thank you!
Hey, thank you! That is an excellent outline for trying to gain some control over the phases. I will do this. I think this will help. I did decide to try to push more of the development phase on my last 2 roasts. I did not care for it too much, at least when I drink the coffee black (which is not my norm). It’s okay when I add cream and sugar but it definitely tastes more roasty than I care for. Usually my development time is aroun 18% and I pushed it to 25% & 26%. Added more heat so that the total roast time wasn’t really much longer but hit first crack a little sooner than usual. The color of the bean wasn’t lots darker and, curiously, the weight loss was similar (14%) to what I often have with less development time though often it’s closer to 12%. It was interesting to me to taste the difference. Until now, the differences between roasts have not been as dramatic and not well controlled but I did this on purpose, pushed it so it was more obvious and it was. Now I know. I’m using a watt meter and I think that helps because changes on the dial are not consistent at all. Sometimes a small change on the dial makes a significant change in the wattage; other times a significant change on the dial makes no change on the wattage. I really recommend using a watt meter. Even without changing the dial, sometimes the wattage decreases over time during the roast. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!
That is great Alice. I like the experimenting and tasting you are doing to make decisions. Moisture loss in small incriments can be tasted and color by itself isn't always the determining factor in roast level. I love the watt meter and hope to use mine in a future popper video. What kind of power settings are you using during your roast?
Hey, Mike! I’m still experimenting but feeling like I’m gaining a little control. In general, a wattage between 1100 and 1200 works well for me. More specifically, around 1140 puts me at dry end at between 3:30 - 4:00. I’ve been aiming for a long browning phase and will often keep it at around that wattage for most of the browning stage but bump it up to around 1200 towards the end for two reasons: often the browning stage is going on a bit too long and first crack is more audible at the higher temperature. Here is my method at this point: I am usually doing 90 gram batches. Besides that it’s a good size for the Popper* it also comes out the most even when dividing up a one pound bag of beans. I am using the coffee roasting app to track time, first crack, development, plus that paper form that you provided a link to. I have a meat thermometer in the chamber like you show in the dark roast video and have the Popper* plugged into the watt meter. I will also have my data sheet from the last batch I did and/or from one roast in particular that turned out especially well. I will track the wattage and the temperature every 30 seconds and see how it is going, compare it to the other roast sheets, and make adjustments, bumping the wattage up and down if things appear to be going too slowly or quickly. I think the watt meter really helps because the dial is so imprecise. Sometimes a very small change on the dial makes a significant change in the wattage. Other times a significant change on the dial makes no change in the wattage. Even with the dial left in the same place the wattage can change, usually decreasing. (I suspect that the heat of the coil increases the resistance.) The wattage gives me something objective and reliable to work with. The temperature and the timing lets me know if and how I want to adjust it. One recurring challenge: I forget to add time to the timer and it will go into cooling. Even if I catch it quickly the temperature in the beans will drop a bit. I strive for a steady temperature rise or at least for that not to fall. It’s not a disaster. I definitely prefer less development time, when I increased that it was too roasty for my tastes. I’m looking for a balance between not too much acidity but not getting too roasty. I’m finally branching out and trying different beans. In pursuit of developing less lemon and more sweetness, I’ve been aiming for a longer browning phase. I’m definitely achieving that! My last two batches have a browning phase of almost 50%! It’s a bit more than I was aiming for. Total roast times have been 9-10 minutes and I’m trying to rein in that browning phase. I think my goal at this point would be 40% drying, 45% browning, and 15% development with about an 8-9 minute roast. My weight loss usually hovers around 13%-14%. I have now done 20 batches on the Popper* and am feeling like I am gaining some control. Your suggestions definitely have helped give me a more methodical approach - first, try to get control over the drying phase timing and then try to get control over the browning phase. This is so much fun! Thank you so much!
Oh my goodness, I have exciting news. I had a real breakthrough today. Two days ago I roasted three small batches - two Guatemalan and one Costa Rican. I’m trying to get control over the drying phase and stretch out the browning phase. Total roast time ended up being around 9:30. The browning phases ended up longer than what I was aiming for - around 50! Development was around 15%. I tried the Costa Rican today. The whole beans always smell sweet in the jar and even the coffee in the cup smells sweet but I’ve never tasted it in the cup before - until today! Subtle but definitely there! And the lemon acidity was still there but greatly reduced. So I managed to cut back the lemon, create some sweetness, without the roasty flavor or bitterness that I don’t care for. This is the first time I have succeeded at pushing the roast in a direction and achieved a desired result. I am so excited! I can’t wait to try the Guatemalan tomorrow. That may be a bit of a long browning phase but I am happy. Thank you so much for your help and encouragement.
i think what is helping me the most from your videos is understanding the impact on brewed flavor of a given bean when adjusting the ratios of drying to browning and development. pretty sure my development times have been too long, and my drying times are much shorter than 50% unless i'm calling them incorrectly. i'll tweak some temperatures and probably drop my roast sooner. i've been enjoying almost all the 40 batches i've roasted the past couple months, but i like searching for the goldilocks profile for each of my beans.
Paul, I call the "Goldilocks" roasts "Golden" roasts. That's funny. Yea, so if you are roasting with an air roaster, times will be shorter. I still think the phase time percentages hold through to any roast applicaion like the behmor, hive, popper or sample drum roaster. So, a dry phase percentage of 40% isn't crazy. A total roast time of 6 or 7 minutes is pretty quick compared to what I am use to but it isn't too short. Well, I'm not sure about 6 minutes because i haven't done a 6 minute roast yet. Take a look at my "roasting essentials" playlist which focuses on the phase concepts if you haven't seen them yet.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab i did a couple roasts after using the bread tie trick on the dial (very useful). both were 7 minutes to drop, and 46% dry, 21% browning, and 32% development. i did a third roast that turned out 54%, 25%, and 21%. three different beans (brazil, java, and rwanda). final roast looks like a FC-, but i won't know for a day or two if specks of oil come to the surface which would indicate closer to FC.
Paul, thanks for sharing your roast phase percentages. It is great to see you are able to control your roaster. The phase percentages are important BUT just as important is the drop temperature. Or, at least how hot your roaster is. Based on what you have described, you should not be seeing any oils if you are dropping immediately after first crack. I have a feeling you are reaching 2nd crack but maybe don't realize it? This is a common thing that happens when a roaster is moving quickly through the roast, especially going into first crack and development. Are you able to hear different pitch cracks? Maybe some are cracks and others are snaps. It is almost like diagnosing a car that makes a bump or a knock.... hehe. So think about that. If you are hearing higher pitch snaps after you were first hearing cracks, you might want to slow your roast down once you reach first crack. I like the last roast you did as far as percentages go. Let me know how it tastes.
Both this video and last one are very good one. In my early days roasting, I followed the YT and modified a popper. But still I could not have a good control and gave. If I had these videos, I would have kept trying.
Hi - I tried to add this comment below to a previous comment, but for some reason it didn't take... Regarding the Popper, my roasts have either turned out with a scorched aftertaste -or- are brown but have no body. I decided to go back to the drawing board and did the following: (1) Cleaned the roast chamber with a diluted Simple Green solution as the chamber had darkened with coffee oils over the course of 30- 40 roasts since my purchase a couple months back. (2) To try to get a little more precise, I applied the paper “clock” face as you’ve done and fashioned a dial needle from a piece of a white coat hanger and affixed it to the heat dial with 2 tight rubber bands. (3) Did a lot of research and found the most enlightening video put out by Sweet Maria’s regarding the effects of doing multiple consecutive roasts. They confirmed what I was observing, namely that the Popper’s baseline temperature at the beginning of each roast was getting progressively hotter over the course of a multiple roast session. Their solution is to run a second 3-minute cooling cycle after dumping the beans… So, 6 minutes of cooling between roasts will be my standard from now on. In the video he goes through 3 consecutive roasts with the aid of a thermocouple. As you’ll see in the video, he gives times for each phase of the roast and expected temperatures for a city roast. I plan to purchase a thermocouple soon to bring more precision to my roasts. I did follow the times in the video with 3 - 100-gram roasts of an Ethiopian Sidamo natural, resulting in a wonderfully flavored cup with blueberry notes, and full-bodied mouth feel. The RUclips link is titled: Consecutive Batches with The Popper Roaster - dated 12/17/2021 ruclips.net/video/QL5OLTyme-g/видео.html
Hi Brian, thanks for your comments and I’m glad you found that video. Sorry your video was placed in “hold for review “ rather than being posted because of the links you provided. The system watches for links to prevent spam. Anyway, I’m glad you are dialing in your popper. It definitely will heat up after consecutive roasts. I always cool down for 2 - 3 minute sessions or until cool to the touch on the roasting chamber.
Sorry to hear about that Brian. I remember reading about keeping the underside of the roaster clean and clear of chaff and other debris. I'll have to make sure I keep an eye on that. Sounds like you are roasting pretty dark, oils and all. I'm sure Sweet Marias will take care of you well.
This is the first video of yours I have watched and I am new to roasting. Very informative, thank you. I have roasted a few pounds using the Popper. Since this is my first time watching you, how would you change the times for each phase using the Popper? I would assume to shorten the drying phase I should turn up the heat and to extend the browning phase turn down the heat. Is that correct? Thanks again!
Yes, that is the general idea. The middle phase is where you want to be really careful as far as time goes. Too long and it will make your coffee boring. To short and it could make your coffee much more acidic or tart . Another consideration is to go a little longer in the development phase to balance the acidity/roasty factor. So, you can use heat to manage your roast to manipulate the phases. You could also try to change your batch size. If you liked my recipe in this video but wanted to go a little darker, you could increase your batch size by 10 grams and using the same heat input from my recipe, end up with a coffee that gets a little hotter and darker. Those are just some thoughts. What do you think? Thanks for watching my video and for subscribing!
Thanks for another interesting video. In roasting coffee with a popcorn type popper, I have difficulty determining when to mark "dry end". Perhaps it is because beans don't roast as evenly in a small popcorn type roaster as they would in a drum roaster with a larger capacity. Should I mark "dry end" when I don't see greenness in any bean, when most of the beans have lost their greenness, or in some other way? You mentioned that you need to shorten the drying phase. How will you do that? Incidentally, I like how you modified the temperature knob with the bread tie.!
I would also like to know how to shift time from the dry phase into the middle phase. Would you start hotter? Would you then drop heat going into middle? Or would you keep it the same and shorten the entire roast? Thank you for your videos!
Hi @Chuck Sigmund & @Richard Jiggler thanks for your comments and for watching my video. First, marking dry consistently is the most important part of your question Chuck. Especially because of the unevenness in the roast, you are better off marking the roast dry when most of the beans are no longer green. Let's say there are 15% stragglers that have not turned because of the slow air movement. It seems to be like that ever time we do a roast. So, as long as you mark dry using that same determination it's all good. As far as shortening the dry phase it is pretty straight forward. Each of the phases has a percentage of time totaling 100 percent. So my dry phase of 51 percent can be shortened to 45% BUT that means the 6% you just changed, has to be applied to either the middle/browning phase or the development phase. In this example you would increase your temperature during the dry phase. In my video here I ended up with a 51% dry that took 4 minutes using a setting of 12:30 on the dial .........and just a couple of hours ago I did another roast with a 45% dry and my temp set at 1:00 with a dry time of 3:30 . As you can see, increasing the heat will speed up the dry phase. BUT, that is only part of the process. In order to get those percentages, you have to change the browning phase time to take on that additional 5%of time. Does that make sense? Richard, when you make a change to the dry phase because you adjusted your heat, yes, you will have to adjust your heat during the middle phase. Changing the heat on the popper is really touchy.... So for my Popper I went from 1:00 to 1:15 and then back to 1:00 as i controlled the timing to first crack. I used a digital food thermometer that comes with an extension probe today to monitor temperatures. REALLY INTERESTING. That is how i know the change from 1:00 to 1:15 and then going back to 1:00 makes a difference. I plan on posting a message to the channel about this thermometer because it really does help see what is happening to the temps WITHOUT having to open the lid. Chuck, Yea, the bread tie was a big score and works great!!!
I found the fastest way to go into the cool mode is to turn the Temp dial all the way down which puts it into Cool mode. I’m trying the Behmor 1600 now.
Great tip Shadow 2. I just noticed that today. That is great to know, it beats continually twisting the timer knob to get to cool. The Behmor is a lot different than the Popper. Prepare for slow motion roasting with the Behmor. Don't get me wrong, some of my best roasts are with the Behmor. Enjoy!
The temperature difference might also come down to your individual home wiring. Older homes with longer thinner wires will see a larger voltage drop before getting to the roaster. This will in turn mean the total wattage their roaster can draw will be lower and in turn result in different temperatures or temperature ranges. It might be worth testing it plugged into different outlets around your house or with a long extension cord and see what temperatures you get.
Hi David, that’s a great point. I remember Sweet Maria’s mention that extension cords can influence temperatures on hot air poppers. So that makes sense that voltage can be influenced by older thinner wires in older homes. Thanks for sharing. Testing the temp base on outlets and cords could be interesting! Thanks for watching.
This is a fact, my house is older built in the 70's and has wiring that tends to give me issues getting coffee roasters up to temp as well as beer brewing gear like a robobrew type of all in one brewer. I have also had issues with power for winemaking pumps so I built a wine shed and wired it up myself with my uncles help with way better wiring and a way better breaker and more amps so i can run a bunch of stuff and not have issues with power.
Sure. From when the beans begin their roasting process, all the way through when we drop the beans out of the roaster is called the "Total Roast Time" which is 100% of the total time. We look at this roast is 3 parts: 1. Dry Phase 2. Browning Phase 3. Development Phase Each phase uses a percentage of the total roast time. By changing the percentage of time the beans spend in each of the phases, we can change the taste of the coffee. We can make is more sweet or more bitter, more fruitful/acidic or less, all based on how much time we spend in each of the roasting phases, primarily the browning and development phases. So, my coffee in this roast was a tart. This is a sign that the coffee needed to spend more time in the browning phase. I didn't want to take away time from the development phase so, instead, I took away time from the dry phase. Since I took away time from the dry phase, that means I have less time to get my beans to turn yellow so I had to increase my temperature during the drying phase. Then, when I got to the browning phase, I had to lower my energy to stretch / extend the time to longer than the previous roast. I did this and my browning phase percentage increased which removed the tart and added the sweet taste. I hope that was what you were asking Shane. Let me know and I will be glad to clarify. Thanks for watching my video!
@@shanewilson2152 Let's say you used the default time of 10 minutes for a popper roasting session, to illustrate. The last 3 minutes are cooling. The first 7 minutes equal 420 seconds, which becomes the divisor. If you determine the dry phase is complete at 3 1/2 minutes, that would equal 210 seconds which would be 50% of the total roast time. Then from the 3 1/2 minute mark to the beginning of first crack would be the browning phase elapsed time. From first crack to the beginning of cooling at 7 minutes would be the development phase time. You can lengthen or shorten the time to cooling, of course, which will change the divisor for calculating the %'s.
JC, I just used a food thermometer with a long extension probe and it worked wonderfully with the lid closed. I could see my temps constantly..... every minute temp change i made could be seen on the digital display. Pretty exciting. I'll post an update in my community tab.
Yea, the thermometer probe thing works great and seems accurate with no lid lifting. You will see it work on my next video . Pretty sweet and only 13 bucks
Great video Mike! Seeing your experience here with needing to lengthen the Browning Phase time, I am wondering how I can accomplish the same thing on the Behmor. I am currently pre-heating most often to about 220 F, and I don't think I can go much beyond 230 F or so without shutting down the roaster. So if I cannot pre-heat much higher, and I am already starting the roast at 100% heat, can you suggest any ways I could shorten the Drying Time? Thanks!
if you aren't already increasing the drum speed in manual mode, you might try that too. it tends to raise the beans closer to the heating elements. just remember to change the drum speed back to low/normal after a few minutes in drying phase, unless you are also ready to change the temp from 100% to either 75 or 50 percent in the manual mode, once you near first crack, or else the roast might get away from you.
@@pdmoerma Thanks Paul, your reply was a good reminder to me to start doing that, and I just did it on a roast a couple of hours ago. We'll see how that tastes!
Actually, a paper towel is quite abrasive and will scratch up the plastic over time. It is full of wood fibers. 100% cotton is the way to go. Those microfiber cloths are pretty good too. But an old all cotton t-shirt is the easiest to find. Watch out for cotton/polyester blends. Polyester will scratch.
So you are content with the result, especially in comparison with the results on your drum roaster? So you can use thie roaster for planing and tweaking profiles?!
No, I don't believe the Popper roasts as good as my drum roaster. I do think that with practice I could roast some really good coffee with the Popper. No, I don't think the Popper would allow me to transfer a profile to my drum roaster because it is an air roaster rather than a drum roaster. I do think i could use "Concepts" from my popper profile and apply them to other roasters. For example, testing phase percentages on the popper might be helpful but not translating temperatures. I am speculating here Erhard. My experience with the Popper is still pretty new.
Nevertheless, great admiration for your expertise, you do it all with passion and seriouness! I will not buy a popper roaster-shipping to Austria is as expensive as the roaster itself! But whenever you should visit Vienna or Graz, I would be glad if you could deliver one. Invitation valid for the rest of my life!
Hello Arturo, thanks for watching my video. Depending on the coffee, the desired roast level/temp and total roast time, my answers might be different. How is your coffee tasting? What is the total roast time of this roast you are talking about? A shorter dry percentage like 45 and a longer maillard like 35 might be interesting to try. See if you notice a difference. Are you able to measure temps? I used a food digital thermometer for the popper in another video. There is no right or wrong with exact percentages Arturo. I believe there are principles that help produce great tasting coffee and I talk about those here on this channel. Your coffee might taste good. Exploring other percentage profiles will help you understand how your changes affect the flavor of the coffee. In General, I usually start with a 50/30/20 for a coffee i want to learn about. If it is a high density coffee I might change my percentages. Same with a low density bean. Thanks for your questions!
@@VirtualCoffeeLab thanks for answering ! I currently use a thermocouple. For the drying phase 3 minutes with strong air flow, then maillard until 5:30, what I do is reduce the air flow so that it reaches fc, because I usually experience a slow toasting. I notice my little sweet coffee and tobacco
Not sure you said what type of coffee you are roasting but the 57.21.21 sounds like what you are tasting. If you want to try and get more of a complex cup with more flavor you might want to try and lengthen the middle browning phase like I mentioned. I would be interested to see what you experience.
Thanks for the video. I'm only a minute in and the audio is pretty distracting. There's a lot of gain feedback. Maybe you can lower the noise floor with some tweeking?
Hi Nick, I was experimenting with a wireless microphone. One of my goals is to be able to roast talk at the same time rather than narrating after the fact. Because i turn away from the camera and I move around the roaster, a wireless mic is my only option. I have two issues, one you experienced which i am able to improve, the other is the ambient noise of the roaster and fan while I am talking. They compete against each other. So, more work to do on that. Sorry about the audio quality. I really try to offer clear audio but obviously missed the mark on that video. I'm using the Rode 2 wireless so if you have any suggestions, let me know. I was thinking of connecting a lapel mic to the rode, maybe reducing the distortion?
Hi M D, I did another roast today while testing an external thermometer with a probe which worked wonderfully by the way. So I weighed out 91 grams of coffee and did a 7:38 roast with a 45/36/19 roast and it was uneven. I think that is just because it is a lighter roast and the popper does not give enough air movement early on in the roast? Again, this is for a medium/light roast profile. What are your results again?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab I've been having trouble with the popper not agitating @ 100-gram loads (physically had to pick it up and shake it to get movement), I subsequently tried 90 grams resulting in a little better agitation, then today @80 grams... much better cyclonic action. I went with 3 minutes on 1 o'clock for drying, then turned it down to 12:30 for 4 minutes browning; added another 1:30 minutes - at 1 o'clock until cracking finished = development. Much more even coloring. I'll cup it tomorrow to see about taste (fingers crossed). Note: this was a smaller bean from Kenya.
@@briansparks8256 sorry for the late rply. Unless it is a new message, reply's to other people comments to show up in my RUclips comments box. Glad i found this message. So in the beginning of the roast, especially the first minute or so, the bean movement is slow. Going to a lower load like 80 or 90 is best. I learned that after doing my first video.. As far as going into the cooling mode during development, I was kind of surprised you did that. Are you using a temperature probe? Hmmm, just noticed you may have edited your message because you said at first crack you turned it down to cooling for another 1:30 of development? How did it taste?
My recommendation would be to not follow this video for roasting light. It results in a really bland and flat cup that will taste bready. I would follow what comes in the instruction manual and doing much quicker roasts. You can’t do a long roast in an air roaster like you can in a drum roaster. 5 to 7 minutes has been a good time range for me depending on the coffee and type of flavors I’m trying to extract.
Hi Lucas, thanks for your comments. My roast was 55 seconds longer than sweet marias range and I would tend to agree that a shorter roast time would most likely produce a better cup. My cup wasn't bready or bland but it was not as complex as my drum roaster. Most likely to the efficiency of the air roasting method compared to a drum roaster. As always, I never say "this is how to do it" and will continue to learn and share my experiences. I appreciate your comments and watching my video. Would you please share your times ? I would like to try your roast profile to compare for taste. Also, can you share your roasting environment info??? like inside, outside, temps or if you are in a high altitude. This just helps me as far as if our environments differ much. I'm also curious how you are brewing this? Thanks for sharing
I put and inline volt/amp/ watt meter on my SR 800 and with the fan set at 6 and the neat at 4, it was pulling 1800 watts. Almost every roast I do with the 800 it is rare that I put the heat over 3 and the fan over 6. That roaster will put out some serious heat and fan will blast the beans. I love the machine. I have a note book with several profiles written down but lately I have been roasting with site and temp. I have a light roast I did a few days ago and it is very good. I did a dark yesterday without using a profile. It came out just where I like it using the timer and temp gauge only. I had an 18% weight loss. Roasting coffee can become an addiction very quickly. Keep up the good work Mike. I will keep watching. Looking for the brewing video you said you were going to do soon. Jerry
You bet Jerry. Thanks for sharing and watching!
Excellent video! I also find it very hectic roasting on the Popper as filter is usually in the 7-8 min range and it can be tough to monitor and record at the same time. I've found it helpful to pre script my gameplan for each roast so that i have milestone times for DE and 1C. I also find it very useful to reset the time at 1C for my desired development time so that i don't have to worry about it lapsing into cool, e.g. at 1C set the time to 4:30 for 1:30 development until cool. And lastly i recently drilled through the back and added a thermocouple sticking into the top of the bean mass. It's been really helpful to meet my milestone times if I know that DE is around 350F, 1C is around 410F, and a nice city roast for me drops at around 435F (but probably too noisy to do ROR). Sweet Maria's describes the probe installation on a video for a regular popcorn popper, but the steps are the same.
And to add, I'm liking city roasts currently with around 34%/44%/22% for phases, 7-8min total roast time. I've been calling DE as I see a few beans go brown, both because these small roasts dry somewhat unevenly and it's the best my color blind eyes can do! Keep it up, we're all learning together on the Popper!
Hello @daRock1212 thanks for watching my video. Having a roasting plan is really important. When I roast with the drum roaster, behmor or hive, I have a plan and most of the time am prepared for unexpected changes to the plan. As far as the Popper, i have found it challenging to stay on a plan when I don't know how the temperatures is impacting the roast. The good news is , like you, I am now using a digital thermometer to monitor the temperatures while i roast AND i am excited that I now am able to control the roaster and follow my plan. I didn't drill into the back of the Popper, mine sits in the top. You'll see it on my next video. I've only got 5 roasts under my belt with the popper. Now that i have a way to monitor temps, i'll watch them for patterns for the events/temps. Thanks for sharing your experience with the Popper!
Thats a nice phase time for your city roast. My roast for next week is similar to that one but I extended the development longer and it was a 9 minute roast. Nice job roasting and for sharing how you are working the Popper!
This is an awesome overview! I've been really trying to dial in my roasts and am on a journey trying to understand the roasting process and the Popper better.
One thing I've noticed is the lack of micro adjustment on the heat dial. I use a watt meter plugged into the outlet and the Popper plugged into that. My watt reading looks a lot closer the the published chart from Marias. Even though the heat dial is stepless, I only have about 5 steps from ~250 watts to ~1100 watts. Doing small adjustments on the heat dial doesn't seem to translate into small adjustments on how many watts get actually pulled.
Yes, the popper is not the best with small adjustments. The watt meter will show you that. So, one way to roast with the popper is to with a fixed temp setting. Find a power that will get you to First Crack in 6-7 minutes. From there, lower temp a little, let crack gently roll for about 1.5 min for a nice medium roast.
Really enjoyed this video, please don't give up! Your learning experience is very helpful to watch as I am learning how to roast in general as well as specifically with the Popper.
Thanks for the encouragement Alex. I have been roasting at home for quite a few years, mostly on my Behmor and Mill City drum roasters. The air roaster is different. The biggest difference is not knowing what the temperatures are. That temperature dial is a little frustrating. BUT, I just experimented with a digital thermometer that has an extension probe so i can read temps with the popper and it worked beautifully. I will post an update on my community tab letting others know.
I'm glad my videos are helping you. Thanks!
Hey, Mike! I am starting to get the hang of my Sweet Maria’s Popper and loving it. I still struggle with controlling the ratios and timing of the different phases but in spite of that I’ve been pleased with the results. I just tried some Huehuetenango for the first time since you have spoken so highly of it. Wow, I think I like it better than my Costa Rican Dota that I have been so attached to! Thank you for all you do for us home roasters. Your videos are excellent - thorough, clear, to the point, and friendly. You are a real asset to the home roasting community. You make people happy!
Hi Alice. Yea, the HueHuetenango is a great everyday coffee. There are different notes that appear each year based on the crops BUT generally I am for the ones that have apple or grape mentioned in the acidity. There will always be the chocolate and spice notes mentioned as well.
If you are roasting the same coffee and batch size, consider focusing on the first event time (dry). Set your power at about the 2 O'clock setting on the dial with your air on full. Start your roast and see how long it takes to turn from green to yellow. Adjust heat accordingly.
Once you have that pretty close to your goal (lets say 4 minutes) then work on timing your first crack time. You may decide that 45 seconds after dry you move your power from the 2 o'clock position to the 1:30 position so your coffee starts to crack around the seven - seven-thirty time. Once crack confidently begins move your power down to say the 1 o'clock position and then begin your cool down at the color and smell you like. This could be about one minute and thirty seconds after first crack begins.
This was just an example of one way to practice timing your events. Adjust the power settings as needed to make those times. After a few roasts, you should get closer to your targets.
I'm glad you like the coffee and I do appreciate your encouraging words about my videos. Thank you!
Hey, thank you! That is an excellent outline for trying to gain some control over the phases. I will do this. I think this will help.
I did decide to try to push more of the development phase on my last 2 roasts. I did not care for it too much, at least when I drink the coffee black (which is not my norm). It’s okay when I add cream and sugar but it definitely tastes more roasty than I care for. Usually my development time is aroun 18% and I pushed it to 25% & 26%. Added more heat so that the total roast time wasn’t really much longer but hit first crack a little sooner than usual. The color of the bean wasn’t lots darker and, curiously, the weight loss was similar (14%) to what I often have with less development time though often it’s closer to 12%. It was interesting to me to taste the difference. Until now, the differences between roasts have not been as dramatic and not well controlled but I did this on purpose, pushed it so it was more obvious and it was. Now I know.
I’m using a watt meter and I think that helps because changes on the dial are not consistent at all. Sometimes a small change on the dial makes a significant change in the wattage; other times a significant change on the dial makes no change on the wattage. I really recommend using a watt meter. Even without changing the dial, sometimes the wattage decreases over time during the roast.
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!
That is great Alice. I like the experimenting and tasting you are doing to make decisions. Moisture loss in small incriments can be tasted and color by itself isn't always the determining factor in roast level. I love the watt meter and hope to use mine in a future popper video. What kind of power settings are you using during your roast?
Hey, Mike! I’m still experimenting but feeling like I’m gaining a little control. In general, a wattage between 1100 and 1200 works well for me. More specifically, around 1140 puts me at dry end at between 3:30 - 4:00. I’ve been aiming for a long browning phase and will often keep it at around that wattage for most of the browning stage but bump it up to around 1200 towards the end for two reasons: often the browning stage is going on a bit too long and first crack is more audible at the higher temperature.
Here is my method at this point: I am usually doing 90 gram batches. Besides that it’s a good size for the Popper* it also comes out the most even when dividing up a one pound bag of beans. I am using the coffee roasting app to track time, first crack, development, plus that paper form that you provided a link to. I have a meat thermometer in the chamber like you show in the dark roast video and have the Popper* plugged into the watt meter. I will also have my data sheet from the last batch I did and/or from one roast in particular that turned out especially well. I will track the wattage and the temperature every 30 seconds and see how it is going, compare it to the other roast sheets, and make adjustments, bumping the wattage up and down if things appear to be going too slowly or quickly.
I think the watt meter really helps because the dial is so imprecise. Sometimes a very small change on the dial makes a significant change in the wattage. Other times a significant change on the dial makes no change in the wattage. Even with the dial left in the same place the wattage can change, usually decreasing. (I suspect that the heat of the coil increases the resistance.) The wattage gives me something objective and reliable to work with. The temperature and the timing lets me know if and how I want to adjust it.
One recurring challenge: I forget to add time to the timer and it will go into cooling. Even if I catch it quickly the temperature in the beans will drop a bit. I strive for a steady temperature rise or at least for that not to fall. It’s not a disaster.
I definitely prefer less development time, when I increased that it was too roasty for my tastes. I’m looking for a balance between not too much acidity but not getting too roasty. I’m finally branching out and trying different beans. In pursuit of developing less lemon and more sweetness, I’ve been aiming for a longer browning phase. I’m definitely achieving that! My last two batches have a browning phase of almost 50%! It’s a bit more than I was aiming for. Total roast times have been 9-10 minutes and I’m trying to rein in that browning phase. I think my goal at this point would be 40% drying, 45% browning, and 15% development with about an 8-9 minute roast. My weight loss usually hovers around 13%-14%.
I have now done 20 batches on the Popper* and am feeling like I am gaining some control. Your suggestions definitely have helped give me a more methodical approach - first, try to get control over the drying phase timing and then try to get control over the browning phase.
This is so much fun! Thank you so much!
Oh my goodness, I have exciting news. I had a real breakthrough today. Two days ago I roasted three small batches - two Guatemalan and one Costa Rican. I’m trying to get control over the drying phase and stretch out the browning phase. Total roast time ended up being around 9:30. The browning phases ended up longer than what I was aiming for - around 50! Development was around 15%. I tried the Costa Rican today. The whole beans always smell sweet in the jar and even the coffee in the cup smells sweet but I’ve never tasted it in the cup before - until today! Subtle but definitely there! And the lemon acidity was still there but greatly reduced. So I managed to cut back the lemon, create some sweetness, without the roasty flavor or bitterness that I don’t care for. This is the first time I have succeeded at pushing the roast in a direction and achieved a desired result. I am so excited! I can’t wait to try the Guatemalan tomorrow. That may be a bit of a long browning phase but I am happy. Thank you so much for your help and encouragement.
i think what is helping me the most from your videos is understanding the impact on brewed flavor of a given bean when adjusting the ratios of drying to browning and development. pretty sure my development times have been too long, and my drying times are much shorter than 50% unless i'm calling them incorrectly. i'll tweak some temperatures and probably drop my roast sooner. i've been enjoying almost all the 40 batches i've roasted the past couple months, but i like searching for the goldilocks profile for each of my beans.
Paul, I call the "Goldilocks" roasts "Golden" roasts. That's funny. Yea, so if you are roasting with an air roaster, times will be shorter. I still think the phase time percentages hold through to any roast applicaion like the behmor, hive, popper or sample drum roaster. So, a dry phase percentage of 40% isn't crazy. A total roast time of 6 or 7 minutes is pretty quick compared to what I am use to but it isn't too short. Well, I'm not sure about 6 minutes because i haven't done a 6 minute roast yet.
Take a look at my "roasting essentials" playlist which focuses on the phase concepts if you haven't seen them yet.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab i did a couple roasts after using the bread tie trick on the dial (very useful). both were 7 minutes to drop, and 46% dry, 21% browning, and 32% development. i did a third roast that turned out 54%, 25%, and 21%. three different beans (brazil, java, and rwanda). final roast looks like a FC-, but i won't know for a day or two if specks of oil come to the surface which would indicate closer to FC.
Paul, thanks for sharing your roast phase percentages. It is great to see you are able to control your roaster. The phase percentages are important BUT just as important is the drop temperature. Or, at least how hot your roaster is. Based on what you have described, you should not be seeing any oils if you are dropping immediately after first crack. I have a feeling you are reaching 2nd crack but maybe don't realize it? This is a common thing that happens when a roaster is moving quickly through the roast, especially going into first crack and development. Are you able to hear different pitch cracks? Maybe some are cracks and others are snaps. It is almost like diagnosing a car that makes a bump or a knock.... hehe. So think about that. If you are hearing higher pitch snaps after you were first hearing cracks, you might want to slow your roast down once you reach first crack. I like the last roast you did as far as percentages go. Let me know how it tastes.
Both this video and last one are very good one. In my early days roasting, I followed the YT and modified a popper. But still I could not have a good control and gave. If I had these videos, I would have kept trying.
Yea, the popper is a pretty nice little roaster you don't have to modify. I may have purchased the Popper instead of the Behmor back in the day.
Hi - I tried to add this comment below to a previous comment, but for some reason it didn't take... Regarding the Popper, my roasts have either turned out with a scorched aftertaste -or- are brown but have no body. I decided to go back to the drawing board and did the following: (1) Cleaned the roast chamber with a diluted Simple Green solution as the chamber had darkened with coffee oils over the course of 30- 40 roasts since my purchase a couple months back. (2) To try to get a little more precise, I applied the paper “clock” face as you’ve done and fashioned a dial needle from a piece of a white coat hanger and affixed it to the heat dial with 2 tight rubber bands. (3) Did a lot of research and found the most enlightening video put out by Sweet Maria’s regarding the effects of doing multiple consecutive roasts. They confirmed what I was observing, namely that the Popper’s baseline temperature at the beginning of each roast was getting progressively hotter over the course of a multiple roast session. Their solution is to run a second 3-minute cooling cycle after dumping the beans… So, 6 minutes of cooling between roasts will be my standard from now on. In the video he goes through 3 consecutive roasts with the aid of a thermocouple. As you’ll see in the video, he gives times for each phase of the roast and expected temperatures for a city roast. I plan to purchase a thermocouple soon to bring more precision to my roasts. I did follow the times in the video with 3 - 100-gram roasts of an Ethiopian Sidamo natural, resulting in a wonderfully flavored cup with blueberry notes, and full-bodied mouth feel. The RUclips link is titled: Consecutive Batches with The Popper Roaster - dated 12/17/2021 ruclips.net/video/QL5OLTyme-g/видео.html
Hi Brian, thanks for your comments and I’m glad you found that video. Sorry your video was placed in “hold for review “ rather than being posted because of the links you provided. The system watches for links to prevent spam.
Anyway, I’m glad you are dialing in your popper. It definitely will heat up after consecutive roasts. I always cool down for 2 - 3 minute sessions or until cool to the touch on the roasting chamber.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab The fan just died on mine... only 2 months old... we'll see how their 1- year guarantee works.
Sorry to hear about that Brian. I remember reading about keeping the underside of the roaster clean and clear of chaff and other debris. I'll have to make sure I keep an eye on that. Sounds like you are roasting pretty dark, oils and all. I'm sure Sweet Marias will take care of you well.
Fantastic videos! I'm hooked!
Glad you like them! Collin. Thanks for watching.
Subscribed! Excited to watch and learn with you. Can’t wait to get my new roaster.
Thanks Jason, what are you roasting with? Which new roasters? The popper?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab yeah I have a whirlypop. I ordered a bullet but it’s sitting on a dock waiting to get through customs.
This is the first video of yours I have watched and I am new to roasting. Very informative, thank you. I have roasted a few pounds using the Popper. Since this is my first time watching you, how would you change the times for each phase using the Popper? I would assume to shorten the drying phase I should turn up the heat and to extend the browning phase turn down the heat. Is that correct? Thanks again!
Yes, that is the general idea. The middle phase is where you want to be really careful as far as time goes. Too long and it will make your coffee boring. To short and it could make your coffee much more acidic or tart . Another consideration is to go a little longer in the development phase to balance the acidity/roasty factor. So, you can use heat to manage your roast to manipulate the phases. You could also try to change your batch size. If you liked my recipe in this video but wanted to go a little darker, you could increase your batch size by 10 grams and using the same heat input from my recipe, end up with a coffee that gets a little hotter and darker. Those are just some thoughts. What do you think?
Thanks for watching my video and for subscribing!
Thanks for another interesting video. In roasting coffee with a popcorn type popper, I have difficulty determining when to mark "dry end". Perhaps it is because beans don't roast as evenly in a small popcorn type roaster as they would in a drum roaster with a larger capacity. Should I mark "dry end" when I don't see greenness in any bean, when most of the beans have lost their greenness, or in some other way? You mentioned that you need to shorten the drying phase. How will you do that? Incidentally, I like how you modified the temperature knob with the bread tie.!
I would also like to know how to shift time from the dry phase into the middle phase. Would you start hotter? Would you then drop heat going into middle? Or would you keep it the same and shorten the entire roast? Thank you for your videos!
Hi @Chuck Sigmund & @Richard Jiggler thanks for your comments and for watching my video. First, marking dry consistently is the most important part of your question Chuck. Especially because of the unevenness in the roast, you are better off marking the roast dry when most of the beans are no longer green. Let's say there are 15% stragglers that have not turned because of the slow air movement. It seems to be like that ever time we do a roast. So, as long as you mark dry using that same determination it's all good.
As far as shortening the dry phase it is pretty straight forward. Each of the phases has a percentage of time totaling 100 percent. So my dry phase of 51 percent can be shortened to 45% BUT that means the 6% you just changed, has to be applied to either the middle/browning phase or the development phase. In this example you would increase your temperature during the dry phase. In my video here I ended up with a 51% dry that took 4 minutes using a setting of 12:30 on the dial .........and just a couple of hours ago I did another roast with a 45% dry and my temp set at 1:00 with a dry time of 3:30 . As you can see, increasing the heat will speed up the dry phase. BUT, that is only part of the process. In order to get those percentages, you have to change the browning phase time to take on that additional 5%of time. Does that make sense?
Richard, when you make a change to the dry phase because you adjusted your heat, yes, you will have to adjust your heat during the middle phase. Changing the heat on the popper is really touchy.... So for my Popper I went from 1:00 to 1:15 and then back to 1:00 as i controlled the timing to first crack.
I used a digital food thermometer that comes with an extension probe today to monitor temperatures. REALLY INTERESTING. That is how i know the change from 1:00 to 1:15 and then going back to 1:00 makes a difference. I plan on posting a message to the channel about this thermometer because it really does help see what is happening to the temps WITHOUT having to open the lid.
Chuck, Yea, the bread tie was a big score and works great!!!
I found the fastest way to go into the cool mode is to turn the Temp dial all the way down which puts it into Cool mode. I’m trying the Behmor 1600 now.
Great tip Shadow 2. I just noticed that today. That is great to know, it beats continually twisting the timer knob to get to cool. The Behmor is a lot different than the Popper. Prepare for slow motion roasting with the Behmor. Don't get me wrong, some of my best roasts are with the Behmor. Enjoy!
The temperature difference might also come down to your individual home wiring. Older homes with longer thinner wires will see a larger voltage drop before getting to the roaster. This will in turn mean the total wattage their roaster can draw will be lower and in turn result in different temperatures or temperature ranges. It might be worth testing it plugged into different outlets around your house or with a long extension cord and see what temperatures you get.
Hi David, that’s a great point. I remember Sweet Maria’s mention that extension cords can influence temperatures on hot air poppers. So that makes sense that voltage can be influenced by older thinner wires in older homes. Thanks for sharing. Testing the temp base on outlets and cords could be interesting! Thanks for watching.
This is a fact, my house is older built in the 70's and has wiring that tends to give me issues getting coffee roasters up to temp as well as beer brewing gear like a robobrew type of all in one brewer. I have also had issues with power for winemaking pumps so I built a wine shed and wired it up myself with my uncles help with way better wiring and a way better breaker and more amps so i can run a bunch of stuff and not have issues with power.
Really enjoyed your video again Mike.
Could you please explain the % method, please Mike.
Sure. From when the beans begin their roasting process, all the way through when we drop the beans out of the roaster is called the "Total Roast Time" which is 100% of the total time. We look at this roast is 3 parts:
1. Dry Phase
2. Browning Phase
3. Development Phase
Each phase uses a percentage of the total roast time. By changing the percentage of time the beans spend in each of the phases, we can change the taste of the coffee. We can make is more sweet or more bitter, more fruitful/acidic or less, all based on how much time we spend in each of the roasting phases, primarily the browning and development phases.
So, my coffee in this roast was a tart. This is a sign that the coffee needed to spend more time in the browning phase. I didn't want to take away time from the development phase so, instead, I took away time from the dry phase. Since I took away time from the dry phase, that means I have less time to get my beans to turn yellow so I had to increase my temperature during the drying phase. Then, when I got to the browning phase, I had to lower my energy to stretch / extend the time to longer than the previous roast.
I did this and my browning phase percentage increased which removed the tart and added the sweet taste.
I hope that was what you were asking Shane. Let me know and I will be glad to clarify.
Thanks for watching my video!
@@VirtualCoffeeLab thanks heaps Mike really appreciated your quick response and help.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab could you please explain how you work out the % for each phase thanks Mike.
Would appreciate that also
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Hi again Mike, do you have an instagram site.
@@shanewilson2152 Let's say you used the default time of 10 minutes for a popper roasting session, to illustrate. The last 3 minutes are cooling. The first 7 minutes equal 420 seconds, which becomes the divisor. If you determine the dry phase is complete at 3 1/2 minutes, that would equal 210 seconds which would be 50% of the total roast time. Then from the 3 1/2 minute mark to the beginning of first crack would be the browning phase elapsed time. From first crack to the beginning of cooling at 7 minutes would be the development phase time. You can lengthen or shorten the time to cooling, of course, which will change the divisor for calculating the %'s.
I lift my lid every .30 and take a temp with laser gun and also I preheat to 270 before I add beans
I agree, I think you need some kind of a preheat to help you get to the yellow point.
JC, I just used a food thermometer with a long extension probe and it worked wonderfully with the lid closed. I could see my temps constantly..... every minute temp change i made could be seen on the digital display. Pretty exciting. I'll post an update in my community tab.
I’m gonna have to get one and try it. Lifting that lid and lasering the beans is fun and all but….
Yea, the thermometer probe thing works great and seems accurate with no lid lifting. You will see it work on my next video . Pretty sweet and only 13 bucks
What app do you use? I’m just starting out
Hi Mark, as far as timers go I use the coffee roasting timer on GitHub found here: coffeeroastingtimer.github.io
Great video Mike! Seeing your experience here with needing to lengthen the Browning Phase time, I am wondering how I can accomplish the same thing on the Behmor. I am currently pre-heating most often to about 220 F, and I don't think I can go much beyond 230 F or so without shutting down the roaster. So if I cannot pre-heat much higher, and I am already starting the roast at 100% heat, can you suggest any ways I could shorten the Drying Time? Thanks!
Great question Lou. The only way I can think of would be to roast a smaller batch size. You might want to experiment with that.
if you aren't already increasing the drum speed in manual mode, you might try that too. it tends to raise the beans closer to the heating elements. just remember to change the drum speed back to low/normal after a few minutes in drying phase, unless you are also ready to change the temp from 100% to either 75 or 50 percent in the manual mode, once you near first crack, or else the roast might get away from you.
@@pdmoerma Thanks Paul, your reply was a good reminder to me to start doing that, and I just did it on a roast a couple of hours ago. We'll see how that tastes!
Actually, a paper towel is quite abrasive and will scratch up the plastic over time. It is full of wood fibers.
100% cotton is the way to go. Those microfiber cloths are pretty good too. But an old all cotton t-shirt is the easiest to find. Watch out for cotton/polyester blends. Polyester will scratch.
Good point slpardee10 . I did soak and soap it with water and it is one of the soft ones but a microfiber would be better
So you are content with the result, especially in comparison with the results on your drum roaster? So you can use thie roaster for planing and tweaking profiles?!
No, I don't believe the Popper roasts as good as my drum roaster. I do think that with practice I could roast some really good coffee with the Popper.
No, I don't think the Popper would allow me to transfer a profile to my drum roaster because it is an air roaster rather than a drum roaster. I do think i could use "Concepts" from my popper profile and apply them to other roasters. For example, testing phase percentages on the popper might be helpful but not translating temperatures. I am speculating here Erhard. My experience with the Popper is still pretty new.
Nevertheless, great admiration for your expertise, you do it all with passion and seriouness! I will not buy a popper roaster-shipping to Austria is as expensive as the roaster itself! But whenever you should visit Vienna or Graz, I would be glad if you could deliver one.
Invitation valid for the rest of my life!
Special delivery just for you Erhard. I would love to do that. It would give me an excuse to bring my skis😀
Hello, I!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! , in short: 45% dried in 3 minutes; 40% maillard; and 15% development, is that correct? normally what I see is 57, 21,21%
Hello Arturo, thanks for watching my video. Depending on the coffee, the desired roast level/temp and total roast time, my answers might be different. How is your coffee tasting? What is the total roast time of this roast you are talking about?
A shorter dry percentage like 45 and a longer maillard like 35 might be interesting to try. See if you notice a difference. Are you able to measure temps? I used a food digital thermometer for the popper in another video.
There is no right or wrong with exact percentages Arturo. I believe there are principles that help produce great tasting coffee and I talk about those here on this channel. Your coffee might taste good. Exploring other percentage profiles will help you understand how your changes affect the flavor of the coffee. In General, I usually start with a 50/30/20 for a coffee i want to learn about. If it is a high density coffee I might change my percentages. Same with a low density bean.
Thanks for your questions!
@@VirtualCoffeeLab thanks for answering !
I currently use a thermocouple. For the drying phase 3 minutes with strong air flow, then maillard until 5:30, what I do is reduce the air flow so that it reaches fc, because I usually experience a slow toasting.
I notice my little sweet coffee and tobacco
Not sure you said what type of coffee you are roasting but the 57.21.21 sounds like what you are tasting. If you want to try and get more of a complex cup with more flavor you might want to try and lengthen the middle browning phase like I mentioned. I would be interested to see what you experience.
Thanks for the video. I'm only a minute in and the audio is pretty distracting. There's a lot of gain feedback. Maybe you can lower the noise floor with some tweeking?
Hi Nick, I was experimenting with a wireless microphone. One of my goals is to be able to roast talk at the same time rather than narrating after the fact. Because i turn away from the camera and I move around the roaster, a wireless mic is my only option. I have two issues, one you experienced which i am able to improve, the other is the ambient noise of the roaster and fan while I am talking. They compete against each other. So, more work to do on that. Sorry about the audio quality. I really try to offer clear audio but obviously missed the mark on that video. I'm using the Rode 2 wireless so if you have any suggestions, let me know. I was thinking of connecting a lapel mic to the rode, maybe reducing the distortion?
but can it make corn?
HaHaHa Matt, I know it can pop it! I've been loving the Hive digital display man, it is a great little roaster!
I wonder if you use less green beans if you’d get a more even roast.
Hi M D, I did another roast today while testing an external thermometer with a probe which worked wonderfully by the way. So I weighed out 91 grams of coffee and did a 7:38 roast with a 45/36/19 roast and it was uneven. I think that is just because it is a lighter roast and the popper does not give enough air movement early on in the roast? Again, this is for a medium/light roast profile. What are your results again?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab I haven’t used this unit so I can’t say.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab I've been having trouble with the popper not agitating @ 100-gram loads (physically had to pick it up and shake it to get movement), I subsequently tried 90 grams resulting in a little better agitation, then today @80 grams... much better cyclonic action. I went with 3 minutes on 1 o'clock for drying, then turned it down to 12:30 for 4 minutes browning; added another 1:30 minutes - at 1 o'clock until cracking finished = development. Much more even coloring. I'll cup it tomorrow to see about taste (fingers crossed). Note: this was a smaller bean from Kenya.
@@briansparks8256 sorry for the late rply. Unless it is a new message, reply's to other people comments to show up in my RUclips comments box. Glad i found this message. So in the beginning of the roast, especially the first minute or so, the bean movement is slow. Going to a lower load like 80 or 90 is best. I learned that after doing my first video.. As far as going into the cooling mode during development, I was kind of surprised you did that. Are you using a temperature probe? Hmmm, just noticed you may have edited your message because you said at first crack you turned it down to cooling for another 1:30 of development? How did it taste?
My recommendation would be to not follow this video for roasting light. It results in a really bland and flat cup that will taste bready. I would follow what comes in the instruction manual and doing much quicker roasts.
You can’t do a long roast in an air roaster like you can in a drum roaster. 5 to 7 minutes has been a good time range for me depending on the coffee and type of flavors I’m trying to extract.
Hi Lucas, thanks for your comments. My roast was 55 seconds longer than sweet marias range and I would tend to agree that a shorter roast time would most likely produce a better cup. My cup wasn't bready or bland but it was not as complex as my drum roaster. Most likely to the efficiency of the air roasting method compared to a drum roaster. As always, I never say "this is how to do it" and will continue to learn and share my experiences. I appreciate your comments and watching my video.
Would you please share your times ? I would like to try your roast profile to compare for taste. Also, can you share your roasting environment info??? like inside, outside, temps or if you are in a high altitude. This just helps me as far as if our environments differ much. I'm also curious how you are brewing this?
Thanks for sharing