A Caveat for using the Nostalgia Electrics Hot Air Popper from Target

My Nostalgia Electrics Hot Air Popper from Target

ffgeeks inquired if I would recommend the Nostalgia Electrics Hot Air Popper from Target. My quick answer is YES. For $39.99 plus tax, bring the box home, open it up, plug it in, pour in 1/2 a cup of green coffee beans, turn it on, turn your timer on, and in 8-9 minutes you’ve got yourself some home roasted beans. It is that simple.

But let me describe the battle wounds my Nostalgia Electrics Hot Air Popcorn Popper has received after using it for the last 5-6 weeks every 2-3 days. Remember that the popper was not made to maintain the higher temperatures for the length of time needed for roasting coffee beans. So things MELT.

Inside the plastic cover

So here is the inside of the plastic cover of the popper. As you can see the plastic is melting. When the popper was brand new, there was a aluminum cylinder used to guide the popcorn that is poured through the hole in the top of the popper. A measuring cup, that also doubles as the container to melt butter, is supposed to sit on top of the hole while the popcorn is popping. The very first time roasted coffee in this popper, I kept the measuring cup covering the hole, just in case it would help help maintain the temperature in the popper. Well it certainly helped maintain the temperature. Actually the popper got so hot that the aluminum cylinder melted from the plastic cover and fell into the hot air chamber.

I’m a little slow, so I kept the measuring cup over the hole in subsequent roasting sessions. The plastic around the hole continued to melt, producing little red plastic stalactites hanging down. A couple times the plastic stalactites melted onto some of the beans. Then I finally got the idea – I no longer kept the measuring cup over the hole.

So the Nostalgia Electrics Hot Air Popper from Target is not perfect, but nothing is. The popper was not made to roast coffee beans. But it was made with enough power to roast coffee adequately. I don’t know how long it will last. But I will let you know when my popper coughs its last breath.

In the meantime – ffgeeks, welcome to the wonderful world of home roasted coffee. It’s been only a couple months for me. But I’ve enjoyed every day of it. It is really hard for me to drink coffee I have not roasted. I’m really spoiled.

More About Roasting Coffee Beans

I don’t have the fine skills of an experienced roaster, but with every roast, I’m getting one more step closer.

Coffee beans at different stages of roasting

So let me tell you what I know about what a roasted coffee bean looks like. The picture shows the coffee bean at different stages of being roasted.

The bean to the far left is unroasted. Unroasted beans don’t even smell like coffee. They actually stink, smelling raw.

The second bean from the left right has begun to roast, but has not even gotten to the “first crack”. At this point you should smell a slightly sweet aroma – kind of like sugar starting to caramelize.

The third bean has reached the “first crack”. The “first crack” sounds like popcorn popping, occurring around 4.5 to 5 minutes in my popcorn popper. This is where the water in the bean has finally evaporated and the bean begins to really roast. Roasting caramelizes the sugars and releases the oils found in the beans. The roasted sugars and the oils produce the wonderful aroma and flavor of the coffee.

Coffee roasting requires a sense of smell, hearing, and sight. I’m not able to monitor the temperature of the beans – so I rely on those three senses. Once you hear the “first crack” now it’s time to pay close attention (this is usually when one of my kids ask me to do something for them). Trust your nose and the color of the beans that you see. The beans start to smell like coffee after the “first crack”.

For a medium roast, I typically stop the roasting at about 8 minutes. The beans have roasted beyond the “first crack” but not to the “second crack”. The fourth bean is a sample of this. As you can see in the picture, a medium roasted bean is nicely browned, but not yet shiny – like you see in dark roasted coffee. Medium roasted coffee typically gives you the inherent taste of the beans.

If I let the beans go to about 9 minutes, you will begin the hear the start of the “second crack”. When I pour these beans out they usually continue to crack on the cookie sheet until they cool down. These beans are a medium-dark roast. I like this best for my blend of Kenya and Brazil or Sumatra.

Most coffee drinkers that I know like dark roasted coffee. They like the strong attack of their taste buds. For a dark roast I’ll let my popcorn popper go all the way up to 12 minutes. Most of the beans have reached the “second crack” by this time. The fifth bean in the picture is a dark roasted bean. It begins to shine since the oils have made its way to the surface of the bean. Starbucks likes to roast their beans pretty dark. In fact, they have a carbon taste to me. I like dark roasts, but I think I like to stop just before the carbon taste kicks in.

So that’s it. One key to roasting is knowing what the beans should look like. The difference between a medium roast and a dark roast in the popper is about 4 minutes. My 12 minute mark for a dark roast is a basic guidline. It’s still best to watch the beans, making sure they look like beans at the level of roast you want.

Roasting and Tasting with Guy

I got my green coffee beans from La Prima, a local Pittsburgh coffee roaster. I bought 2lbs of Sumatra, 1lb of Kenya, and 1lb of Brazil. I first roasted the beans on their own and tasted them.

I roasted the Sumatran coffee dark and it tasted great. It was thick and syrupy. As the coffee cooled, the taste of chocolate was left in my mouth.

I roasted the Kenyan medium. The flavor was brighter than the Sumatran and did not have the syrupy body of the Sumatran. But I liked the brightness.

I roasted the Brazilian both medium and dark. It had more body than the Kenyan and the flavor was even sweet, but it was kind of boring – not exotic like the Sumatra, not bright like the Kenya.

GUY’S BLEND – so I found that my favorite was actually roasting the Kenyan with the Brazilian. This is  what I liked drinking on the bus on my way to work. The brightness of the Kenyan made the coffee flavorful, but the sweetness and body of the Brazilian made it perfect. I did the same with Kenyan and Sumatran – even better – more exotic.

MADE A CONVERT – My friend, John, from work – you know the one who gave me his Maxwell House – he mentioned that he had an old popcorn popper and wouldn’t mind trying roasting himself. I said, I bought 2lbs of Sumatran, just take 1lb. Well he paid me for the coffee. Guess what – I told him roast it for about 12 minutes. It worked like a charm!

How to Roast Your Own Coffee

So I’ve been home roasting with my popcorn popper for 4-5 weeks. The house smells great. The coffee tastes incredible.

If you’ve been reading my posts you know that it took a little time for me to get here. But let me tell you what I now do.

1) You just have to start.

2) Go to Target and get yourself the $39.99 popcorn popper – not the $14.99 one – and begin.

3) Get some raw/unroasted/green coffee beans. I don’t know if you have a local coffee roaster who can sell you green beans, but that is where I got mine. If you don’t know where to go, send me a comment – I’ll try to hook you up somehow.

3) Pour in about 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of beans. You can follow the directions of the popcorn popper and put in as much coffee beans as you would have put popcorn.

4) Turn the popper on. Turn on a count-up timer.

5) Just watch the beans change color. There will be a little smoke – nothing like my oven encounters. Keep the popcorn popper near your sink, where the chaff can blow.

6) Around the 4.5 to 5 minute mark, you’ll begin to hear the beans start to crack – just like popcorn popping. Now the fun begins.

7) For a medium roast – I turned the popper off at 8 minutes; poured the beans onto a cool cookie sheet or casserole dish; then shook the beans around to cool.

For a dark roast – I kept the beans going until about 12 minutes; poured the beans onto a cool cookie sheet or a casserole dish; then shook the beans around to cool.

9) Let the roasted beans sit for at least 4 hours – to release any CO2 – otherwise the coffee may taste a little too acidic.

10) Grind the beans and make yourself a delicious cup of coffee.

West Bend Poppery Popper – where home roasting began

West Bend Poppery Popper 1200 watts

This West Bend Poppery Poppers is what began the home roasting phenomenon. I found this one while on eBay. They’re actually readily available on eBay. But let me tell you a secret – the only thing that really matters is the amount of power they put out. These Poppery Poppers deliver 1200 watts. The popcorn popper that I got from Target delivers 1080 watts – which seems to do just fine.

I’ve actually be home roasting successfully now for about a month. It’s really great. There is a little bit of smoke, but nothing like the half pound of beans on a cookie sheet in the oven. Chaff can be directed into the sink. In about 8 minutes -  a medium roast. In about 12 minutes – a darker roast. Voila! You’ve got wonderfully smelling home roasted coffee beans. Let those beans sit for at least 4 hours to degas. The smell just gets better. Then grind those babies up and make a great cup.

Let me tell you another secret: it’s not that hard. You just have to get a popcorn popper that gets hot enough, then get over the fear factor of the unknown.

Roasting with Guy @Home – It finally works!

Nostalgia Electrics Hot Air Popper

I finally found a popcorn popper that roasts coffee beans well. After my failure at my brother-in-law’s, I was still on a mission to make it work for me. Earlier in December, my mother sent a popcorn popper to my kids. Not knowing what roasting coffee would do to the popper, I was hesitant to use it. After popping with the cheap Chefmate popper, I realized that the popper is not really hurt at all. So grandma’s popcorn popper was fair game. It is also from Target – Nostalgia Electrics Hot Air Popper – $39.99. More expensive than the Chefmate – but at least it works.

I poured the beans in. Turned the popper on. Started a timer – counting up. I kept a cool cookie tray nearby to pour the beans in and oven mitts, just in case. At around 4 1/2 minutes, the beans began to pop – first crack. At 5 1/2 minutes the first crack was in full swing. By 6 – 6 1/2 minutes the cracking stopped. The beans continued to swirl in the popper, getting

Home Roasted Coffee - Success at last!

darker and darker. My experience at my brother-in-law’s taught me to not be so impatient. Wait until it is dark enough. Waiting to 10 minutes gave a nice darker roast. I’ve done it a number of times since – stopping as soon as 8 minutes, giving a medium roast; and as long as 12 minutes, giving a dark roast.

Success at last!

Roasting with a Cheap Popcorn Popper @ Brother-in-laws

This is a long overdue post since it occurred about three weeks ago. I have actually succeeded in roasting coffee at home. But for the sake of documentation and posterity, I’m still going to include this  post.

So after seeing Derek working his roaster and getting some green Sumatra coffee beans from Bongo Java for ourselves, my brother-in-law and I were fired up to give home roasting a try. Hopefully this would be a better experience than my personal fiasco with my oven.

Target Chefmate Popcorn Popper

CHEFMATE POPCORN POPPER–So I went to Target and purchased a cheap Chefmate Popcorn Popper for $14.99. According to what I read on the internet about roasting with a popcorn popper, I was expecting to get a reasonable roast after 5-7 minutes. So I went to the deck at the back of my brother-in-law’s house, just in case a lot of smoke was generated again. I had a metal collander to pour the beans into, when it was time to cool them off. I was ready.

I poured a quarter cup of beans into the popper and turned it on. It was actually quite exciting to hear the whirring of the hot air blowing and the beans swirling around in the popper. I waited for the first crack – should sound like popcorn popping. I don’t think I heard anything until about 8 minutes. So it’s late. Second crack should come in another minute or two. Well, not knowing any better, I stopped the popper after 10 minutes. Poured the beans out into the collander, let them cool.

beans cooling in the collander

The beans actually looked a little too raw. I let the beans sit for 5-6 hours and made some coffee in my french press with it. Verdict: still tastes green and raw.

10 minutes in Chefmate Popcorn Popper

I tried it again in the popper, letting it go until 20 minutes.

20 minutes in Chefmate Popcorn Popper

These beans were a little darker than the 10 minute batch. But again, after making a cup, the beans still tasted green and raw.

Judgment on the $14.99 Target Chefmate Popcorn Popper: NEVER GOT HOT ENOUGH! The amount of watts that the popper put out was not high enough. So I cleaned it up and returned the popper to Target.