I've always enjoyed my coffee. Some of my friends picked up on this at Christmas and bought me a couple pounds of green coffee beans and an air popcorn popper.

Excited at the prospect of roasting my own beans I jumped right in with the instructions I got.

Unfortunately it hasn't been going so well. The popcorn popper hasn't been getting hot enough, and the beans struggle to even reach the first crack. There is also the problem of only being able to roast about 1/4 of a cup at a time.

I switched to roasting the beans on the stove top frying pan. I've had more success with this method, but I've heard the beans lose a lot of flavor.

Anyone have experience with roasting your own coffee? Tips? Tricks? Equipment?