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Winter Home Roastingby Ryan Jacobs Page 1 | Page 2 The Modification
My modification ideas were simple: if I could trap the warm air and recycle it, I could simulate a warm environment.
I knew that I had to stop the wind from entering the popper's air intake fan in order to get a good roast. I began the roast by placing the popper inside a slightly larger box. In fact, I used the original box in which the popper was purchased. This successfully shielded the popper from wind. I waited until the chaff blew off the beans. Also around this time, the beans stop spinning and begin to jump in the roaster. Then I made my second set of modifications. The second set of modifications were intended to trap the warm air as much as possible. I added the popper's hood attachment. This directed the hot air downward into the box. I also lifted the box flap so as to further capture the hot air. ResultsAfter making the modifications, the results were impressive. I was able to roast the coffee in an acceptable amount of time. I reached first crack reached at 4¼ minutes into the roast. A second crack began at about the time that I decided to stop roasting: at 7¼ minutes. These times are roughly equivalent to those achieved in warm weather.
SummaryBy using a cardboard box and the popper's hood attachment, I was able to ward off Old Man Winter and roast my coffee outdoors. These are probably some of the most simple modifications that you can make, but they proved very safe and effective. There are other ideas for conquering the cold weather; just don't use a space heater. Armed with this information, I encourage all of my fellow popper roasters living in cold climates to don your winter coat and roast some coffee. Page 1 | Page 2 |
