# Cafe Genie, New User



## froggystyle

Afternoon all!

I will be purchasing a gene cafe tomorrow, then some cheaper beans to have a play around with next week.

I guess having no roasting experience it would be helpful to have some tips, guides, ect...

Has anyone compliled anything like this thats available on here/web?

Thanks guys!

Dave


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## 4085

Try this

https://creator.zoho.com/davec_coffeetime/coffeetime-shared-roasting-log/#View:Roast_Log_Information_List_View_detailed


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## The Systemic Kid

Yep. Second that - the database is a really useful for specific bean roasting advice.


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## froggystyle

err which database is that?

I did find this site...

https://creator.zoho.com/davec_coffeetime/coffeetime-shared-roasting-log/#View:Roast_Log_Information_List_View_basic


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## The Systemic Kid

froggystyle said:


> err which database is that?
> 
> I did find this site...
> 
> https://creator.zoho.com/davec_coffeetime/coffeetime-shared-roasting-log/#View:Roast_Log_Information_List_View_basic


Same one. You can use filters to sort by bean variety, roast temp, type of roaster, etc. Click on the yellow bar across the top to set filter(s).


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## froggystyle

Nice one!

Also looking for advice on grinders, but i guess i should post that in the grinder section!


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## The Systemic Kid

Not a bad idea - what are you looking for?


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## GS11

If you are buying your gene from BB you will get their guide with it which is very good. Also do a search on the coffeetime wikidot which has some really useful information.

Note: Gene cafe performance can vary between machines and also your homes voltage, therefore use other peoples roast times only as a rough guide.....can be a couple of minutes out in some cases!

Enjoy your Genie.... Roasting your own beans is great fun


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## ronsil

The best way to learn to roast on the Gene is initially to use the BB suggestions. When you have had a go at it put your experiences & results on here.

On this Forum are many of the authors of that DB to where you were directed.

Once we see your initial result we would be very pleased to assist further.

My advice would be to get the 'feel' of the Machine & become confident in what it can do.

Home roasting gives great enjoyment & with practice can produce beans more than equal to many commercial roasters. Why not buy some green beans & some of the same variety ready roasted. It will give you a target at which to aim.

Enjoy your coffee.


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## iroko

Good luck with your roasting, be careful near the end of the roast as things happen very quickly and you can go to dark with with the beans, and you

don't wont to bin your roast.


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## froggystyle

Cheers everyone, i think the way is as mentioned by Ron, buy some green and roasted same beans from Rave and see how close i can get them.


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## froggystyle

And the machine has been ordered, cant wait!!


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## froggystyle

And some beans from rave!


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## GS11

froggystyle said:


> And some beans from rave!


Congrats on your new gene. What beans did you go for?


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## froggystyle

Went for 950g of green gisuma red bourban and 250g of same beans roasted so i can compare my skills!

Plus 950g of green jagong village to play with.

Fingers crossed i dont burn all of them...


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## GS11

froggystyle said:


> Went for 950g of green gisuma red bourban and 250g of same beans roasted so i can compare my skills!
> 
> Plus 950g of green jagong village to play with.
> 
> Fingers crossed i dont burn all of them...


I roasted the rewandan gisuma recently in the gene (only my fourth roast) and am very pleased with the results despite roasting slightly darker then I was aiming for.

Having an example of how rave roast them will give you a good visual example of what to be aiming for but be aware that when you stop the gene and go into cooling mode the roast can coast i.e.beans still cooking until cool which will need to be taken into account.

You can emergency stop and cool with 2 colanders for a faster cool down time but you need too be quick handed with this method of cooling and put the empty chamber back in at the same time too continue the machine cooling cycle.


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## froggystyle

Yes, have been reading up and noted that, even went out yesterday and purchased some new colanders....

Just need a grinder now before tuesday and im there!

Like a big kid at Xmas!


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## froggystyle

well, my roaster and beans have been delivered, only problem is i got them delivered to work, im now off work due to a car crash friday so cant play just yet...

Oh the anticipation!


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## froggystyle

Ok, so got the roaster and beans, even got some free beans with the roaster, which was nice..

Did my first roast and it didn't go well, kind of panicked a little and pulled it at about 11 mins, the beans look ok but taste very bland and weak, almost grassy!

Did another roast yetserday and let it run, this one looks a lot darker, have yet to taste it.

I though i might test each roast every day, a little at a time to see how they develop.

The beans used are Brazil Daterra, bourban yellow, not sure if anyone has roasted these before in the GC??

Thanks

Dave


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## froggystyle

forgot to mention, i can hear first crack no problem, usually about 10-12 mins, but second crack, i just cant pick it up...


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## GS11

froggystyle said:


> Ok, so got the roaster and beans, even got some free beans with the roaster, which was nice..
> 
> Did my first roast and it didn't go well, kind of panicked a little and pulled it at about 11 mins, the beans look ok but taste very bland and weak, almost grassy!
> 
> Did another roast yetserday and let it run, this one looks a lot darker, have yet to taste it.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Dave


What roasting profile are you using and how are you cooling down?

Sounds like you under roasted the first batch. The second batch sounds better. You need to do a little research first on the beans which you are roasting as they can have different characteristics. This roastlog is very useful as a rough guide.... you can change the filters on it for different beans/ roasts etc If you can't find a particular bean choose one from the same area.



froggystyle said:


> I though i might test each roast every day, a little at a time to see how they develop.


I like to check the aroma daily and try them brewed after 3 days onwards....if I can wait that long



froggystyle said:


> forgot to mention, i can hear first crack no problem, usually about 10-12 mins, but second crack, i just cant pick it up...


First and second crack can be tricky to spot with the gene what with all the mechanical noise going on. Some users have had success with a stethoscope on the exhaust outlet.

I've only completed 6 roasts myself and continue to learn loads as I go. Find the whole process both interesting and fun.......especially all the variables


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## 4085

Just place your ear near the chaff collector from around the 11 minute mark. Once you have heard first crack you will always be able to hear it, a bit like popcorn cracking. I admit, I have never heard second either!


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## iroko

I used a stethoscope on last sundays roast and still didn't hear 1st crack, but easily heard 2nd crack without It.

I think 1st crack is usually easier to hear than 2nd.


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## froggystyle

first roast i didnt really use a profile, just chucked beans in at 240 at let them run to see what happened.

second roast,

250g beans

220c start

235c at 5 mins

first crack at 10 mins

didnt hear 2nd crack

let cycle run till end at 14 mins, cooling cycle, then dump beans into colander and toss outside.

This roast after 2nd day was not bad, just not anything special.

Will sample again today

third roast

set time for 18 mins

150c for 5 mins

230 for 4 mins (only reached 213c)

240 for 1.5 mins (only reached (224c)

250 for 3 mins (only reached 238c)

235c for 1.5 mins then emergency stop and dump beans into colander and shake about outside

First crack was 13.25 mins, no second crack heard.

Did this roast yesterday so will sample daily.

I think my next steps are understanding the bean region and what changes are needed for each region, thats the difficult bit i think?

I really enjoy watching the beans and sampling them, only problem is the cost of beans till i find the right roast!

Gonna have another crack today with the third profile but run for a little longer as they are not quite dark enough i think!


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## froggystyle

Does anyone use a fan to cool the beans?

Was thinking of using a piece of board lined with say baking paper, then dumping the beans onto this and having a fan run over them for a few minutes to help the cooling.


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## 4085

Froggy, are you pre heating the chamber in these colder times? Just switch it on and set it to 200. When it gets there, double click the cooling button and it will quickly drop down to 100, then you are partly warmed up when you stat your roast. This is imp;important if it is cold or your voltage is on the low side.


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## froggystyle

Have read about the pre heating, some say yes, some say no...

I will give it a go on my next roast..


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## 4085

Time your first roast on a cold day. Then immediately do the same roast again and it will be much shorter. Just do not kill the warm up by turning it off!


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## GS11

froggystyle said:


> first roast i didnt really use a profile, just chucked beans in at 240 at let them run to see what happened.
> 
> second roast,
> 
> 250g beans
> 
> 220c start
> 
> 235c at 5 mins
> 
> first crack at 10 mins
> 
> didnt hear 2nd crack
> 
> let cycle run till end at 14 mins, cooling cycle, then dump beans into colander and toss outside.
> 
> This roast after 2nd day was not bad, just not anything special.
> 
> Will sample again today
> 
> third roast
> 
> set time for 18 mins
> 
> 150c for 5 mins
> 
> 230 for 4 mins (only reached 213c)
> 
> 240 for 1.5 mins (only reached (224c)
> 
> 250 for 3 mins (only reached 238c)
> 
> 235c for 1.5 mins then emergency stop and dump beans into colander and shake about outside
> 
> First crack was 13.25 mins, no second crack heard.
> 
> Did this roast yesterday so will sample daily.
> 
> I think my next steps are understanding the bean region and what changes are needed for each region, thats the difficult bit i think?
> 
> I really enjoy watching the beans and sampling them, only problem is the cost of beans till i find the right roast!
> 
> Gonna have another crack today with the third profile but run for a little longer as they are not quite dark enough i think!


Great that you are experimenting with a few roasts:good:

I think it's worth introducing a 100c warm up stage as dfk41 suggests as this stabilises the machine for back too back roasting and should give better consistency.

I'm keeping things as simple as possible without getting too scientific ie warm-up > one maybe two temp adjustments during roast > e-dump.

One variable that you may need to look at is your homes voltage..... can have a big effect on roast timings, especially comparing to other users roast times. One of these will assist http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/15a-plug-in-energy-saving-monitor-l61aq

No reason why you can't use a fan perhaps on a baking tray......there is another method involving a vacuum cleaner but I don't know all the detail (think geordie boy on here uses this method)

Are you aiming for a medium dark roast as per Rave beans or are you looking too go darker? The gene is great in that you can see roast level progress..... good lighting helps if roasting indoors.....I use a halogen table lamp.

If you get a chance put some pics up of your progress in the todays roast thread


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## froggystyle

Have poasted some pics of the two roasts..

I think my next roast, which will be the last of the same beans, will be as you have mentioned above, warm roaster first, then try not mess to much and leave in a little longer to see if i can get the beans a little darker.

I do like a nice strong coffee...


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## GS11

froggystyle said:


> Have poasted some pics of the two roasts..
> 
> I think my next roast, which will be the last of the same beans, will be as you have mentioned above, warm roaster first, then try not mess to much and leave in a little longer to see if i can get the beans a little darker.
> 
> I do like a nice strong coffee...


Photo's look good. Let us know how you get on with a darker roast. Well worth doing a google search on the same or similar bean to see what other roasters are suggesting.


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