Home Coffee Roasting With a Popcorn Popper

Last year (2005) I received an early Christmas present... the new Sunbeam EM6900 espresso machine and EM0480 burr grinder. These machines were developed with the help of World Barista Champion Paul Basset.

After spending most of December/January fine-tuning the machines and perfecting (I wish!) my espresso making technique I've been churning through bag after bag of beans. My budget has run dry and dictated the need to roast my own green beans. Green beans are about 1/3 to 1/2 the price of roasted beans. I've heard about Home roasting in an inexpensive popcorn popper - hmmmmm???....

Well, today I gave it a go! The results?... Wow!!! I roasted three small batches of Columbian Popyan. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the smoke and chaff weren't nearly as bad as I had anticipated. Cleanup was easy and the resulting coffee was exceptional.

I plan to post more about the popper and equipment I use. I filmed the second and third roasting sessions today, so wouldn't mind getting a couple of clips online... so stay tuned!

I've learned a stack since writing my first article about home coffee roasting - though the article is still a good outline.

If you are thinking about roasting your own green beans... just go for it. It's fun, easy, cheap and the coffee is better than any you can buy.