Roasting Coffee in a Popcorn Popper

Roasting 101 For Popcorn Air Poppers

Note: Using your popcorn air popper to roast coffee will void the warranty that came with your machine. We think that’s a small price to pay for the fresh, bold flavor of home roasted coffee. The following are only guide lines. Do what works best for your particular machine. Do not roast coffee in popcorn poppers that have the air vents on the bottom (floor) of the roasting chamber. This type popper could ignite the chaff that forms during roasting and could cause a fire. Only use the types that have the vents around the bottom side wall of the chamber.

Prep

• Start with about 1/3 cup of green coffee. If you experience excessive “uneven” roasting, try adjusting the amount of coffee.
• Place the coffee in the chamber.
• Put the plastic chute (including the butter dish if equipped) on.
• Place a large bowl under the chute to catch the chaff.
• There will be some smoke as the roast progresses, so develop your strategy for dealing with it. Roast under a range vent, by a window, on the porch, or how ever you think best for your situation.

Roast

• Turn the machine on.
• Watch the beans. In a few moments they’ll begin to turn yellowish, and begin to agitate.
• Soon they will noticeably swell, and you’ll hear a popping sound. This is called “the first crack”.
• Now the beans begin to darken. Refer to our Roasting Profile page for a more detailed discussion.

Choose your roast profile

Only you can decide how dark to roast your coffee. Five to six minutes is a good starting point. The darker it is, the more it begins to lose the nuances of the varietal type and acquire the character of the roast. Most people when they first start home roasting tend to go a little dark. Not that it makes bad coffee—it doesn’t! Play around. Roast the same coffee to various profiles and find the one you like best.

• In about 1–2 minutes after the first crack, the beans enter the stage known as “the second crack”—you’ll hear a rapid popping sound, sort of like Rice Crispies.
• The beans begin to become shiny as oil migrates to the surface.
• Just into the second crack is the stage we call “Full City”. Most Arabica coffees do very well at this stage.
• This is the profile we personally prefer for day to day coffee, although we do roast lighter and darker depending on the coffee we’re trying and our mood that day.
• Once your coffee approaches the roast profile you prefer, stop the machine.
• Remove the plastic chute—it may be pretty hot!
• Dump the beans in a metal colander, then stir with a wooden spoon for a few moments.

Roasting is not linear. It accelerates in the later stages. Anticipate, and dump the beans just prior to reaching the desired profile.

After Roasting

• Now comes the hard part. After the beans have cooled, put them in an airtight container. We use old fashioned canning jars with the latch and rubber seal.
• Wait 4 to 48 hours before grinding and brewing.
• Of course you can grind/brew right away; we do it all the time. But the flavor of the beans will continue to develop if you’ll wait.
• The beans continue to off-gas for quite a while after roasting (mostly CO2).
• Remember, after your beans are roasted, oxygen is their worst enemy. Keep them sealed, and out of direct light until ready for use.
• Roasted coffee stored in this manner may be considered “fresh” for about 7 days.
• Always grind immediately before brewing.
• Ground coffee begins to stale in only minutes.
• We don’t recommend refrigerating or freezing roasted coffee.
• Remember, Freshness! Roast just what you’ll use soon.

Allow your popper to cool between roastings. The plastic chute may “bubble” a bit if it gets too hot, but unless it gets excessive it shouldn’t cause a problem. Every so often, clean the coffee oils out of your popper’s roasting chamber. Make sure it has cooled!

Experiment—blend, change roast profiles, and have fun. And enjoy some really excellent coffee.

Explore the rest of the site to learn more about roasting and brewing your coffee. If you have any questions at all, drop me a note at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and I’ll get back to you with an answer as quickly as I can.

Happy Roasting!

Denny & Priscilla