Roasting Coffee Beans in a Popcorn Popper

Here's how we roasted our 1st batch of green coffee beans in our Popcorn Popper !
We experimented with some green 'monsoon malabar' beans. These particular beans are an Indian bean and are stored until the monsoon season starts. Then they are exposed to the wind and rain of the monsoon where upon they enlarge dramatically. Apparently, this particular type of bean is a bit tricky to roast.

To start with I simply used the same amount of coffee beans as you would popcorn and poured them into the main drum of the popcorn maker. My popper has an integral measuring scoop which is really handy to get the correct amount into the unit. I guess more or less beans will affect the roasting times. We will just have to experiment to try and get the best amount. One downside of using a popper instead of a proper coffee roasting machine, is that the batch sizes are very small. I understand its not advisable to roast more than once a day otherwise you will seriously shorten the life of your popper.

When you turn the popper on, the green beans will swirl around, this ensures that the beans are cooked reasonably even. The dedicated roasters are designed in such a way that the beans are roasted more evenly – some have auger designs and others have rotating drums – the list goes on.

Quite a lot of smoke is created during roasting so unless you want all your smoke alarms going off I'd suggest you do it outside. A cooker hood that vents to outside might be sufficient to take the smoke away but I just go outside. I really cant stress enough not to leave the popcorn maker unattended while roasting, it does get hot... On my model, the top has started melting slightly so I don't roast with it attached now. It is also important that the vents for the hot air in the popcorn maker chamber are on the sides, not on the base. As the beans are roasting, 'chaff' from the beans is released. If the vents are on the sides, they will not get clogged up with chaff – if the vents are on the base then they almost definitely will and could potentially start a fire.

After 2-3 minutes a loud cracking noise can be heard from the beans, this is moisture leaving the bean. The beans should be starting to darken now. At this stage you should be watching the beans very closely as they change colour. I understand any time after this stage you can stop the roast until the desired colour is achieved. I personally like the beans to be dark so I listen out for the second crack (this is when the beans' oils rise to the surface, covering the beans with an oily sheen) At this stage there is usually lots of smoke. The second crack is usually reserved for darker roasts.
With my Monsoon Malabar beans there is between 1½-2 mins between the 1st and 2nd cracks. This makes the total roasting time about 5-6 minutes.When the time comes where the colour looks right, you need to quickly turn off the popper and tip the contents into a large colander to cool down the beans. Preferably, pour the contents from one colander to another to help the cooling process as the beans carry on roasting even after you turn off the popper. When the beans are cool store them in a dark place in a non airtight container to 'degass'. I've been grinding the beans 24 hours after the roasting and they were really good but again this time is down to personal preference.

And that's it.........Home roasted coffee beans in about 5 minutes - it doesnt get fresher.

Contributions from expert roasters would be really good for any tips and advice.

Please be careful, we accept no responsibility for any roasting related accidents. The above article is based on my experience only and if you decide to try for yourself, you do so at your own risk.....

Be warned you will probably damage your popper prematurely by roasting coffee beans. Don't say I didnt warn you.

If you prefer, please visit www.specialselections.co.uk for all your roasted coffee needs. Check the site regularly, if we get enough feedback we will be selling home coffee roasting gift sets.

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