First crack, second crack, Ah, now I get it!

I didn't want to waste any of my two Gesha varieties doing an over roasting test and I only had less than 1/3 of a cup of my "cheap" beans. Then I had an idea; I could pan roast the coffee on our gas stove! If I had been a little more clever I would have taken some more process shots or maybe even recorded video. Oh well, next time.

 The first crack was more of a pop. I actually flinched as I half expected coffee shrapnel to put my eye out. The second crack was more crackle than pop. Like the sound tinder makes as it catches fire. It was fun seeing the roast happen right there in front of me and it was much easier to hear what was going on without the fan motor whirring but I won't be abandoning my air popper any time soon.

I used a non-stick wok-like pan with a flat bottom. I agitated the pan and stirred them almost continuously but still, as I expected, the roast was very uneven.

I didn't even try to cool the beans (didn't think that far ahead) so you can see a lot of scorching. I still would like to try this with my air popper. maybe I will get a pound of beans that can stand up to full city+. I can always stand outside Charbucks and give them to someone who is into dark roast ;-}