I posted last week about my sad attempts at roasting with an unmodified air popper, and you all convinced me to get a heat gun. I just gave it a go and while I haven't tasted it yet, I'm a lot more optimistic about the results!

I bought a Wagner HT3500 as a middle-of-the-road (price wise) heat gun. I was hoping I'd be able to change the temperature with my thumb while stirring with the other, but alas, it's built for big man hands. Typical.

Anyways, I used a stainless mixing bowl nestled into another one with a dish towel in between; the temperature in my garage was around -5 C, so I wanted to insulate it somewhat. I poured in the last of my pound of Ethiopian Yirgecheffe, which turned out to be 185 grams and a little under an inch thick layer. I started off with the heat gun on its third highest high speed fan setting, supposedly 950 F. I found I had to rest the heat gun on the edge of the bowl, and my arm still aches from holding it. Might have to rig something up.

After 8 minutes, I got worried about it not reaching first crack, so I bumped up the temp to 1150. The beans were getting kind of cinnamon coloured at this point (though my lighting was terrible - something to change for next time).

At 10 minutes, I bumped it up to the highest setting, "1350" (I doubt it's actually getting that hot while sucking in -5 air). First crack started at 11:50 and kind of ended at 15:10, though it never really rolled along the way it did in the air popper. I dropped the temperature back down a notch to 1150 and ended the roast at 19:40.

I realized I forgot to bring a cookie sheet outside to cool the beans in, so I dumped them into the outer mixing bowl and went out to toss them in the "feels like" -18 wind. That did the trick.

I think I may have ended up baking the beans a bit, so next time I'll start with the heat gun on high. However, they look and smell much better than my previous attempts, so I'm looking forward to trying them. Here's a somewhat overexposed picture (the flash went off, so the centre looks lighter than the edges):

Looks like things are progressing nicely. I only did a few roasts using a Heat gun with a stainless steel dog bowl, before moving to the bread machine. I found a few things to be critical using the dog bowl method.

The ratio of bean weight and depth to the bowl size is important. If you have too much bean mass, your beans will fly out of the bowl or stall out due to insufficient heat. If the bean mass is way too low, it's hard to get a nice, even roast. Marshall posted some approximate guidelines for bowl size and charge weight somewhere, and if you search, you will find it.

Secondly, I'd set the gun to max fan and heat level. Vary the distance of the gun to the beans to control the rate of rise. And, of course, make sure you keep the beans evenly heated by stirring them and/or moving the HG...probably both. There is some technique and muscle memory involved in getting it right.

I'm certainly not trying to talk you out of this approach. I'm sure you can get great roasts with this method and many have done so. For me, the bread machine keeps the roast very even and eliminates the need for me to stir. Also, the bread machine is taller than it is wider, and it keeps the beans concentrated for even heating. So far, I've done as much as 12 oz at a time with great results, and this was in near freezing weather. BTW, I'm using a Wagner HT3500 heat gun.

The dog bowl method certainly requires less equipment and gives you direct access to sight, sound and smell, which is valuable experience.

Lou

One of the "no hands" head lamps will help with the "sight" issue quite nicely. They are also very useful for other household jobs. Bill

It looks pretty good. Congratulations! Please let us know how it tastes.

Ibdina: Thanks for the tips! I'll start with the gun on high next time, and I'll pay more attention to how much I'm putting in the bowl. Unfortunately I can't really move it around continuously because it's just too heavy to hold up for that long, but stirring isn't a problem. I might move to a bread machine or some other kind of mechanical stirrer later, but for now I kind of like the feedback.

Billy: Good idea, I've got a bunch of headlamps kicking around. I should also change the lightbulb in the garage...

Andy: Thanks! I tried some today in the Aeropress, and while it tastes kind of boring, it's not terrible! All my air popper attempts were atrocious, so this is a definite start. I'm going to try it in the espresso machine tomorrow as well.

I'm excited to get started on the bag of high quality beans that I bought from a local roaster. They were the same price, but the ones I've used so far look kind of crappy... lots of brown patches, holes, fragments, etc. They're different varieties though, and I'm hardly an expert, so maybe they're fine.

Charbucks, With regard to the weight issue, I use a Steinel HG2000E heatgun that weighs 21.7 ounces and is a 1500 watt gun. You can actually do many back to back batches without tiring. I would suggest that you continue with your Wagner, however, if you like the heatgun roasting method you could look into a lighter heatgun. I tend to wand the gun in my left hand and stir with my right, however, you can easily switch back and forth during the roast with little practice. Best of luck with your roasting, Bill.

Bill: the problem is that I'm a weak little girl . That Steinel looks pretty fancy though!

I did the same thing, holding it in my left and stirring with my right. I used a fairly deep mixing bowl, so even resting it on lip I was able to move it a couple inches closer or further away. I couldn't move it in a circle for very long though, but I think I did fairly well on the even mixing aspect.

I will definitely continue with the heat gun method and see how things go. I might try putting the bowl on a lower surface so I'm not trying to hold the heat gun up at shoulder height to reach the counter.

Nice looking beans. You should try to get the roast to around 15 minutes for that amount of product.

I use a stainless steel steam pot that I mounted a SS rod through it. I then put it over a steel base and apply a coleman propane camp stove to the roaster (10,000 BTU). I might suggest a piece of aluminum screen door material stretched over a frame to cool the beans, then apply a room fan under the screen. It cools the beans in 30/60 seconds. It also allows for 100% removal of chaff, with a little massaging of the beans by hand.

Hi Charbucks.

I'm really NOT trying to talk you into using a bread machine with your heat gun. It does add complexity compared to a stainless steel bowl. But, you mentioned the weight of the heat gun, and holding it can get tiresome for 10 or 15 minutes. I punched a hole in the lid of the viewing port on my bread machine and made an effective gasket from aluminum foil, steel wool pads, and aluminum duct tape. This way, the heat gun is supported by the lid. I don't need to hold the heat gun at all if I don't want. I leave it in the lid for the first 8-10 minutes of the roast. I choose to hand hold the heat gun once I reach about 370F, because it gives me better control over 1C and development, but you can leave the gun in the lid and adjust the power settings if you prefer. In cold weather, you have the added advantage that the closed lid insulates the bread pan and keeps things warmer. I have the same heat gun (Wagner HT3500) so you can vary the power to control the rate of roasting. Just a thought if holding the heat gun is a problem for you.

Lou