I'm wondering how many folks out there are actually using the whirlypop and/or stove top method. It would be interesting & educational to find out.

If you can also provide a little info such as how long you've been stove top roasting, how are you finding your roasts compared to "professional" roasts (ie: good or just drinkable?), any advice or pointers you learned through experience that may help noobs, etc., .

In my own case I will be attempting my first whirlypop roast this weekend.
I will let you know how that turns out.

Ted

I used a whirly pop for a period of about six months starting about six months into my HX ownership period.
I read up on technique, got a thermometer, and started making data charts of the temp profiles minute by minute.
Most of my results for espresso were ok, but not exciting.

I hit on a temp profile variation that produced a truly delicious cup, and I thought I had arrived.
I made the next batch striving to duplicate the roast from my carefully charted success pattern. The result? Bleech! A lousy batch - and I thought I was on the money. At that point discouragement set in.

I still have some greens in the fridge, and I will use them up perhaps with another run at espresso, perhaps for vacpot brewing. So far though, the difficultly of controlling the roast and the inconsistency offers less reward than I'd like considering the messy chore that it is, especially when you have to stand there and crank the thing...

I roast about 2-3 pounds a week in a Whirly-Pop for drip, press and espresso. Last night was roast #266, and I've been at it for about 2 years. I can't say my roasts compare to anything from a professional roaster, but I've gotten to where I enjoy my roasts more. If I order roasted coffee online I end up paying $30+ for a couple pounds, and oftentimes I end up running out without ever getting a great shot. I think part of it is using forgiving coffees, or simply ordering what you like. I buy a lot of DP Brazils, Ethiopians, Yemen, and an occasional Sumatra (usually for dark roasts). Wet processed and bright coffees seem to be more finicky, but you can get a good roast with a little patience and practice.

My advice is to install a thermometer and log your roasts until you find what works for you. I typically turn the heat down a bit once the first crack really gets rolling, otherwise you end up cruising right into second crack. On a gas stove you can get fairly good control over temperature. Use your ears and especially your nose. With a bit of practice I think it's certainly possible to get good roasts from a Whirly-pop. This morning I had a shot of Moka Kadir that was better than anything I could get in town, and it was roasted on the stove-top, ground in a $200 grinder, and extracted with a $100 used Gaggia.

Well alright. Thanks for the encouragement, Jeebs
I was already using a "forgiving" blend - the ubiquitous SM Monkey.

If I soldiered away on my successful profile, for all I know, it might come out pretty good more often than not....

Either there's not many of us using a Whirly-Pop, or they're too ashamed to admit it. I might have to enter the home-roast competition just to see how the Whirly-Pop rates.

Been roasting with one for three year. I have a couple picture of it up around the site. Pics of your Home Roasting Setup
It is truly seat of the pants roasting, so many variables that can go really right or really wrong with out you even knowing it. After some time with it you can reduce the number of batches that will be undrinkable but you will still have them from time to time.
As for repeating a roast to get the same results, I feel fairly comfortable saying it wont happen.
The lack of repeatability was not a big problem for me in the beginning as I enjoyed the exploration of the different coffees, some great, some terrible, and many in between.

There has been some discussion about the viability of home roasting for espresso elsewhere in the forum, I think in three years I can remember maybe five batches that I roasted where I got really good shots there were a lot of bad ones. Most of the coffees were good to great brewed. My results with pro-roast have been significantly better for espresso.

My whirlypop will likely be gathering dust for a while my new Hot Top B arrived yesterday.

I have just started and am extremely pleased with the whirly popped coffee. I am using the contraption outdoors on a propane powered turkey frying ring, cause I don't like lots of smell indoors.

Anyone tried to get a thermometer in for bean temp?

I have a dual channel thermocouple and I was thinking about having one temp at the top for AT and one down in the beans for BT. I'm trying to figure out what I can use for heat isolation from the metal side of the pot...silicone or other. I am roasting over propane burner.

I've done 28 batches so far in my Whirleypop. Drip only, no espresso. Results have generally been pretty good, and it has been a great learning experience.

Adding environmental temp probe, logging temps, and taking detailed notes has been a huge help. I did try placing another probe in to capture bean temp but found heat from the bottom was messing up my readings. I'd tried sticking a long probe in at a diagonal sweeping away from the direction of the agitator arms with tip positioned about a bean width above the floor.

I have found that I can nearly replicate ET profiles, and each batch is better than the one before. I've been working with coffees from Sweet Maria's and a local roaster friend of mine. Really enjoying the process.

I recently got a whirley pop and I am looking at using it for the first time sometime this week. I think I got everything down except for this: at what temperature do you put the beans in and start roasting? Or do you put them in there right away and let them warm up with the pot?

Once I do my first roast, I will try to remember to post an update.

Angela