I'm pretty new to roasting coffee and to specialty coffee as a whole. I just got a 2nd hand Gaggia Classic from eBay and I'm waiting for a new boiler because this one is cracked (it was advertised as leaking - I hoped it was just a gasket that needed changing..).
I also got a popcorn maker and 2 bags of green beans from Rave Coffee. I got pretty hyped about this popcorn roasting thing from all of the forums and YouTube clips. Unfortunately, I discovered that apparently the fact that the voltage in Europe is 220V as opposed to the 110V in the US makes things quite difficult. I'm reaching 1C withing 1min 30sec and by the third minute the beans are already in the French roast zone if not even further. I managed to get one batch probably a bit beyond FullCity+ but that was again under 3mins. The taste even after 24hrs was bitter and.. well, that's it it was just bitter (the beans are Brazil Daterra Bourbon). I thought that the problem was in the popcorn machine so I got one more from eBay (6GBP delivered, not bad) and I'm waiting for it to arrive but I don't think there will be a big change.
Now, I know that separating the heating element and the fan will give me a big improvement but I don't have the skills to do that. This is why I decided to go with a Turbo Crazy. Being a student I can't afford an expensive coffee roasting machine such as the Hottop or the Gene. The problem is that I can't find an European alternative to the WB Stir Crazy. Any thoughts?