Reporting on my Australian Sunbeam Poposaurus

[anthony]

After gaining some info here about best roasting procedure, I promised
to report back on how my virgin efforts went using my Australian
popcorn popper, the very aesthetic (!) Sunbeam Poposaurus, a kitsch
popcorn machine shaped like a comic-strip dynosaur.
The result? Disaster first time, totally brilliant the second.
First time I didn't trust my popper and over-roasted the product.
Second time I kept a closer eye and terminated the process at 7
minutes, with second-crack fully effected. The beans came out looking
lusciously oily, and though I'm not crazy about the type I experimented
with (an organic Colombian mild), the outcome is way ahead of buying
pre-roasted beans.
Next time I'll try some African Arabica beans which might give a
better-tasting moka-style result in my Atomic. All this of course is
preparatory to an eventual purchase of a Rancilio Silvia ..... and
perhaps a Rocky grinder to replace my de Longhi burr-mill.
Anyway, anyong with a Sunbeam Poposaurus out there, give it a go. The
machine is only rated at 1100 watts, but seems to have no problem
coping with 50 or 60 grams at a time -- and the hot-air vents spaced
around the bottom sides really keep the beans moving, with no need ever
for stirring.

[Bertie Doe]

"anthony" wrote in message

Post by anthony
Second time I kept a closer eye and terminated the process at 7
minutes, with second-crack fully effected. The beans came out looking
lusciously oily, and though I'm not crazy about the type I>

I have a Hearthware Precision and 7min 20secs gives me some oil spots,
straight away or maybe at end of de-gassing (depending on type).
I've found beans that really do well, roasted dark in a hot-air are :-
monsooned malabar, Ethiopians Haraar and Yirg and Oz Skyberry. Try some
monsooned first as it seems to blend well with a lot of other SO's.
Bertie

[anthony]

Post by Bertie Doe
"anthony" wrote in message

Post by anthony
Second time I kept a closer eye and terminated the process at 7
minutes, with second-crack fully effected. The beans came out looking
lusciously oily, and though I'm not crazy about the type I>

I have a Hearthware Precision and 7min 20secs gives me some oil spots,
straight away or maybe at end of de-gassing (depending on type).
I've found beans that really do well, roasted dark in a hot-air are :-
monsooned malabar, Ethiopians Haraar and Yirg and Oz Skyberry. Try some
monsooned first as it seems to blend well with a lot of other SO's.
Bertie

Thanks for the tip -- I'll search them out. I find that with my
home-roasted beans, I have to set my de Longhi burr mill four notches
from finest to get the same crush I used to get on 'finest' setting on
the pre-roasted beans. On 'finest', my beans end up as powder. Must be
something to do with freshness...
Still drinking the roast I did three days ago, which should be near the
end of its life now; it's still fresh and delicious. If anything, the
flavours have settled and can taste even more complexity now.

[Bertie Doe]

Post by anthony

Post by Bertie Doe
"anthony" wrote in message

Thanks for the tip -- I'll search them out. I find that with my
home-roasted beans, I have to set my de Longhi burr mill four notches
from finest to get the same crush I used to get on 'finest' setting on
the pre-roasted beans. On 'finest', my beans end up as powder. Must be
something to do with freshness...
Still drinking the roast I did three days ago, which should be near the
end of its life now; it's still fresh and delicious. If anything, the
flavours have settled and can taste even more complexity now.

This suggests your pre-roasted beans were quite old, as you need to grind
finer as the beans age. This Geek article for his hot-air machine, gives 1
day to de-gass and taste peak at 2.5 days http://tinyurl.com/k6fcv This is
about right for my roaster, although I have had some very good shots from
monsooned malabar at one week old.
When my Precision roaster dies and goes to *$$s, I'm going to invest in one
of these http://tinyurl.com/h9tja A bit expensive, but 'Hot-air Rools'

Bertie