by Sam Hampton
Simply the point out of a West Bend Poppery or Poppery 2 despatched shivers up my backbone after I first began to search for poppers by which to roast espresso. The data I surveyed on the web appeared to level solely in a single path. One may roast in different poppers, however should you didn’t roast within the correct popper you have been both from Missouri or simply plain backward.
As I began to significantly research the roasting blogs and the outcomes folks have been getting with different popcorn popper roasters, the shivers diminished. I slowly got here to understand that a lot of the WB Poppery articles have been written a number of years in the past when the nice, outdated, correct poppers have been nonetheless available.
Opposite to the recommendation of Tom of Candy Maria’s, some of us have been utilizing the bottom-hole poppers and getting nice roast outcomes. I attempted utilizing a number of and discovered by trial and error what needed to be carried out to get them to work. I additionally began a seek for all of the poppers that have been obtainable within the present market on the native thrift shops and at a price of fewer than ten {dollars}. Many classic poppers can be found on eBay, and so they have a median worth of round $50.00. If I had been certain of what I wanted and easy methods to roast espresso, the value would have been a discount. Since I used to be simply studying to roast, I couldn’t justify the expense. I made a decision to see what I may purchase in a two-month interval for 50 {dollars}.
Under are the outcomes of eight weeks of searching (July, August, and September 2014) for an appropriate espresso roasting popcorn popper.
The Popper Crop
- Hamilton Seaside Popaire 2 $3.99 at Saver’s 1250 watts 7/15/2014, used, $4.00, display screen backside in chamber 4.5”, Modified: by-passed thermostat and fuse
- West Bend at Saver’s $4.00 Mannequin 309H or 5209 1450 watts 7/22/2014, close to new, $4.00, strong chamber 4.5”, Modification None: Very Good Roaster
- Pesto PopCornNow Plus at Salvation Military $3.50 Mannequin 482004 1440 watts 7/24/2014, close to new, $3.50, heart gap, chamber 4.5”, Modifications None: Nice Corn Popper
- Presto Orville Redenbacher at Goodwill $4.00 Mannequin 4821 1440 watts 7/25/2014, new in field, $4.00, heart gap, chamber 4.5”, Modified: display screen within the chamber, by-passed thermostat and fuse
- Presto Scorching Air Popper “Little Pink” Mannequin 4848 $4.00 1240 watts Steven’s Creek Thrift Retailer 7/25/2014, new in field, $4.00, heart gap, chamber 3.5”, Modified: separated the principle coil from fan and coil, two plugs
- Nostalgia at Saver’s $6.00, 1040 watts, 8/4/2014, close to new, $6.00, strong chamber 4.5”, Modifications none: slung popcorn throughout
- WindMere, Saver’s Redwood Metropolis, $7.00, 8/12/2014, new in field, $7.00, strong chamber 3.5”, Modified: by-passed thermal fuse and thermostat
- West Bend Poppery 2, 1200 watts, $7.00 at Saver’s SJ 7/22/2014, very used, $7.00, strong chamber 4.5” Modified: separated the principle coil from fan and coil, two plugs
- Sunbeam 5052, Savers SJ, $5.00, 1200 watts, 8/25/2014, close to new, $5.00, strong chamber 3.5”, Modified: eliminated chamber thermostat
- Rival PP25, 1200 watt at Salvation Military, $2.99, 8/27 (had no prime for popper), new (no lid), strong chamber 4.5”, Modifications: Eliminated the bi-metal tab from the thermostat. This unit is pretty much as good because the WB Poppery 2.
Whole Value of All Poppers: $47.50. The entire poppers above will roast espresso. Most will roast with out modification.
From the itemizing above, you possibly can see that some poppers must be modified to roast espresso. If the popper has a thermostat on the within chamber wall, greater than probably it must be eliminated. Popcorn solely wants about 350 levels F to pop. Espresso must stand up to about 480 levels F to roast. Some poppers have a thermostat within the circuit above the heating coils, if the thermostat journeys to chop quick your roast, the bi-metal disk needs to be eliminated. If the popper overheats and the thermal fuse blows, it’ll must be bypassed or changed.
A router velocity management may give you management over the roasting time by decreasing the velocity of the fan and the warmth from the heater coil. Extra sophisticated modifications can break up the fan and heating coils into two separate circuits and independently management every to offer nonetheless extra roasting management. These modifications take extra expertise to make use of and obtain a superb espresso bean roast.
When selecting a popper, consideration must be given to the depth of the roasting chamber, doing so can prevent from the blowout issues. A chamber that’s 4.5 inches deep will usually roast 90 grams of inexperienced beans and have sufficient room for the roasted beans to increase with out blowing out of the popper. A 3.5-inch chamber is greater than probably going to want a soup can chimney extender to maintain the beans from blowing out. A chimney extender is an empty soup can with each ends reduce out and positioned on prime of the roasting chamber. I made a customized extender out of aluminum flashing that enables my thermometer to be positioned on the within wall of the roasting chamber. I added a chaff catcher constituted of display screen wire to suit on prime of the aluminum extender. It really works very nicely and makes cleanup lots simpler.
Studying To Roast
With any new popcorn roaster one makes use of to roast espresso, you must be taught to make use of it. If the beans don’t transfer once you put them within the roasting chamber, stir them with a wood spoon or use fewer beans. If the temperature rise is sluggish, partially cowl the highest of the roasting chamber. Fastidiously observe the beans. Look on the web for solutions to your roasting issues and adapt your strategies to get the easiest out of your new popper.
No modifications have been needed at first for roasting with the Rival PP25. However in time, the popper thermostat did begin to shut off the popper after a roast. This may be averted by permitting time in between the batches or cooling the popper by putting it in entrance of a fan for a couple of minutes between roasts. I solved this drawback by eradicating the bi-metal tab on the thermostat. Should you take away the bi-metal security tab, simply keep in mind that YOU at the moment are the protection function of the roaster. Security precautions and procedures at the moment are in your area for the secure operation of the roaster.
Upkeep
An occasional cleansing and vacuuming of the roaster chamber will scale back the gathering of chaff particles within the fan and heating components. Disassembly and inspection of the heating and fan components also needs to be carried out periodically.
The Wacky One Star Popper
One factor I’ve come to note about popcorn popper evaluations is that the worst popcorn poppers could make the very best espresso bean roasters; for instance, the Rival PP25 I bought for $2.99 was lampooned by an eBay reviewer because the worst popcorn popper ever made. One other reviewer stated you wanted to put on physique armor to make use of this popper, because it slung sizzling popcorn kernels everywhere in the kitchen and scared the dickens out of the canine. Any popper that may do that’s made for roasting the heavier inexperienced espresso beans. The Rival PP25 I bought didn’t have a prime cowl, so I received just a little additional low cost. I didn’t want the highest cowl as I exploit the poppers with no prime cowl. I think about that was why the brand new popper was donated to a thrift retailer, because it couldn’t be offered with out the highest cowl and measuring cup. It was model new however had no field.
I’ve discovered to buy very slowly when on the lookout for poppers. The Rival PP25 was on a prime shelf and didn’t seem like a popcorn popper. I handed by it a number of instances and began to go away the shop, however my curiosity pulled me again, and I picked up the unit. I had assumed it was some type of facial mister because it didn’t have the traditional popper prime and was surrounded by hair dryers. I used to be shocked when it turned out to be a popcorn popper. I enquired in regards to the prime and received a reduction as a result of it was lacking.
Getting again to the evaluations on the Rival PP25, there was not one constructive evaluate on this popper. Scorching popcorn everywhere in the kitchen was the cry. This popper works pretty much as good as or higher than the West Bend Poppery 2. A strong fan with 1200 watts will transfer 90 grams of inexperienced espresso from begin to end very proficiently. It confirmed my suspicions that the worst sizzling popcorn-throwing poppers make the very best espresso bean roaster. Take what you learn in evaluations with a grain of salt; it would simply savor your espresso roasting.
I think about the Rival PP25 as one of many 4 finest poppers I’ve. The Popaire2, the West Bend 5209, and the West Bend Poppery 2 rank up there with it. All 4 poppers work with out modification. Getting previous the second crack and wanting extra management over the roasting time and temperature can be the one issues for modifying these poppers.
The High 4 Poppers in My Crop
My favourite will most likely all the time be the Popaire 2. It was my first good discover and led me to many profitable roasts. The West Bend poppers are undoubtedly nice espresso bean roasters. The Rival is correct up there with them. These poppers are well worth the funding of money and time to accumulate and get a superb roast. The payoff is in lots of good cups of freshly brewed espresso that simply match into your life-style. Roasting espresso must be a pleasure, not a burden.
Popaire 2
West Bend Poppery 2
West Bend 5209
Rival PP25
Three Sturdy Contenders
Sunbeam 5052 has a 3.5” chamber
WindMere has a 3.5” chamber
Nostalgia
The one downside to the Sunbeam and WindMere is the depth of the roasting chamber. A chimney extender is required to maintain the beans from blowing out. The identical goes for the Nostalgia; despite the fact that it has a deeper chamber, the fan may be very robust and popcorn flies everywhere. With just a little ingenuity and modification, these poppers will carry out many good roasts and produce espresso that may make you marvel why you didn’t begin roasting sooner.
Gap within the Backside of the Roasting Chamber
Presto Scorching Air Popper “Little Pink” has a 3.5” chamber
Presto PopCornNow Plus
Presto Orville Redenbacher
The three poppers above are on probably the most “NOT RECOMMENDED” lists for roasting espresso. The Orville Redenbacher is nearly similar to the Presto PopLite and each are actually robust espresso roasters. I did a modification to the Orville Redenbacher popper by including a display screen to the underside of the roasting chamber to stop scorching the beans in early roasting. I used to be making an attempt to roast too many beans; scorching might be minimized by roasting solely 90 grams.
The Presto “Little Pink” was modified by separating the fan from the principle heating coil. The alteration works completely. It’s a nice popper with each fan and warmth management if used together with a router management and dimmer change. The PopCornNow popper has a distinct heating ingredient and fan unit than the PopLite and Orville Redenbacher poppers however performs the roasting perform with model. I’ve restricted espresso roasting expertise with the PopCornNow as a espresso roaster; it’s so good at popping corn, we designated it to the corn popping function completely.
Temperature Is a Bonus to a Roasting Profile
I’m completely against modifications or drilling holes in something until it’s completely needed. I exploit a thermometer to evaluate how nicely my beans are roasting. I made a small wood jig to carry my pocket thermometer within the chamber after I began roasting. I received a greater temperature registering system utilizing a multi-meter with a digital readout. The kind Okay probe makes it simpler to maintain the probe within the chamber and is far more correct than a one-inch pocket thermometer. Making a hanger for a Okay probe solely requires an outdated wire coat hanger. It’s straightforward to connect earlier than roasting and to detach earlier than dumping when the roast is over.
Multi-meter with Okay probe connected
Okay kind temperature probe connected to wire clip
Chimney constituted of flashing backside
Wire clip with Okay-type probe within the roast chamber
Once I look again at this assortment, I’ve stopped shivering. Many good roasters are available on the market and available for a nominal value at present. My $50.00 was nicely spent, however maintain on a second. I nonetheless have $2.50 left in my price range. Does anybody know the place I may decide up a West Bend Poppery 1 for $2.50?
Blissful roasting, and thanks on your consideration. S.H.
Sources
Hacking the Orville Redenbacher Scorching Air Popper to Roast Espresso – Tutorial on modifying the PopLite to roast espresso.
Roasting Espresso in a Popcorn Popper – Tutorial on the roasting course of for a popcorn popper.
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