Features: Can produce any roast style, from City roasts to Dark French/Spanish roasts. But lighter roasts are more difficult with this method. Air roasting produces even roasts with less effort, but if you like doing things the "olde tyme way", you may enjoy this! Beans can be observed during the roast since half the Whirley-Pop lid is hinged and flips up. The Stainless Steel popper has a plastic window which is great for visibility but will warp or melt if you roast too hot/too fast. This method roasts by conduction, more like old shop roasting. Can roast 8 oz of coffee at a time. Much more effort required than a roasting appliance ore even an air popper because you have to sit and crank. And if you don't like this roast method, the the stovetop poppers are incredible popcorn poppers!

What You Need: Whirley-Pop (previously known as the Felknor Theatre II) or Back to Basics Stainless Steel poppe, or another similarly designed device, gas stove (electric with larger burner OK too), thermometer is mandatory for this method, a metal colander or two for cooling, and oven mitt.

Stovetop roasting takes some practice. There are more variables than other methods since you set the heat and provide the agitation. But the results can be outstanding and the 1/2 lb. batch is nice. It sometimes seems like a 3-handed act: before you start, try a dry-run by adding green coffee without any heat, and agitate it. In the course of the roast, agitation gets easier as the coffee loses weight and expands.

Instructions:

• Turn on your stovetop exhaust fan, or open a kitchen window. Have all your supplies within reach.
• Measure out about 8-9 ounces of coffee by weight, or about 12 ounces by volume.
• Use a low flame / medium electric burner setting. NEVER use highest heat settings/flame -you'll melt your popper! See the tip below about using a heat-diffusing cast iron pan if necessary. Heat until thermometer reads about 400 degrees. PLEASE NOTE: A thermometer is going to give an incurrate reading when the inside of the popper is shiny and reflective, so use a LOWER heat until the popper is broken in and seasoned. Remember that if the window starts to melt or warp - you are roasting too hot!

• Put your beans in the chamber and start your medium paced, steady cranking. Thermometer will drop to around 350. Don't let it drop much below 300, or get much above 400 except at the end. These temps are Òstarting pointsÓ; you will ultimately personalize the process once you have done it a few times. And remember, you are measuring the air temperature in the popper, and the actual temperature on the bottom will be higher. DO NOT ROAST BY TEMPERATURE ALONE - watch the beans and popper to be sure the roast is moving neither too fast, nor too slow.
• Around 6 minutes you should hear the "first crack" and see roast smoke. Wait 1 minute and slightly reduce the heat, not so much that the roast stalls, but enough so that the roast does not progress too quickly. Start checking the roast by flipping back the lid (or checking the window) at about 1 minute intervals or less. Second crack ought to occur anywhere from say 9 minutes to 12 minutes, depending on how you like to time the roast. TIP: If you can learn to roast by smell and sound only (and avoid opening the lid) you can reduce escaping roast smoke and any reduction in temperature.
• You want to pour the beans out of the popper into the colander when they are a tad lighter than the color you desire, since roasting continues a little into the cooldown process .
• Agitate beans in metal colander or bowl with a big spoon until they are warm to your touch. You may need oven mitts for this. You may want to shuffle the beans between 2 pans/ colanders.
• You may want to walk out to a porch to aid cooling.
• If beans have light colored chaff still attached to them, simply agitating them in the colander should remove it. If you blow lightly on the beans the chaff will fly off, but do this outside or over a sink to avoid sweeping the floor.
• Coffee should be stored out of direct light (and not in a fridge or freezer) in an airtight glass jar, but with a fresh roast, wait 12 hours to seal the jar tightly; it needs to vent off C0₂.

Warm, fresh roasted beans are wonderful, but the coffee attains its peak 4 to 24 hours after roasting. If you store it as recommended, we'll call it fresh for 6 days. When you open that jar in the morning, you will know what fresh coffee truly is.

Click here to download a PDF version.

Information and PDF source:: Sweet Maria's and Image Source: Kano Corn

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