# Gene Roaster and Malabar beans



## The Systemic Kid

I've been disappointed for a long while with the varying quality of the bought roasted Malabar whole beans I use for making espresso. So I started looking into roasting my own. I was intrigued with the idea of using a popper having watched a few YouTube clips but this seemed a bit lacking in finesse. I researched roasters on the internet and have bought a Gene roaster from Barista Coffee, Northampton who were extremely helpful and friendly. It's still in its box as I haven't fired it up yet. I've bought some beans to practise on but my aim is to roast my own Malabar for espresso. I've read (probably too much) about various profile and am suffering information overkill leading to mega novice anxiety so some calming reassurance would be really welcome for roasting Malabar beans for espresso.


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## RisingPower

Not sure it's really going to help much, but mm is quite easy to roast, gets really loud and smokey when you're into second crack and it's relatively obvious when you need to drop.

Steves advice on his packs iirc was to bring it to a rolling second crack then drop. It'll be cracking like crazy, you'll have a lot of smoke and the only thing you need to be aware of is at that stage, it can run away quite quickly.

Since it is a french roast you are after and it can run away very quickly, don't leave it unattended after 10 mins in and also I found MM was one of the few beans I got which ended up having small rocks amongst the beans, so keep an eye out for those.

Think I used to roast it at 230 degrees for 10 mins, 240 for 5 then 250 the rest.

You can read up a billion roasting profiles, mainly written by people that own hottops, but the only thing I still haven't got around to doing is the dimmer mod. Worth a google.

When it has reached a rolling second crack, you want to press the temp button twice, or once if it has started cooling already, then at 100c have at least 1 colander handy to dump the beans into. 2 is better so you can swap the beans from colander to colander.


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## 4085

I have done the dimmer mod but you will not need it for MM. Check your voltage before you roast as it needs to be stable and around 240. If it is less that 237 I would wait for it to come up. I always do MM at 226 for 14:30 as I do not like it too dark. Fro memory, Ronsil will disagree with me! There are 2 parts to the dimmer mod but if you are in an area that has stable voltage then part rwo will not be needed.


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## RisingPower

dfk41 said:


> I have done the dimmer mod but you will not need it for MM. Check your voltage before you roast as it needs to be stable and around 240. If it is less that 237 I would wait for it to come up. I always do MM at 226 for 14:30 as I do not like it too dark. Fro memory, Ronsil will disagree with me! There are 2 parts to the dimmer mod but if you are in an area that has stable voltage then part rwo will not be needed.


Just curious, I know what the dimmer mod does, but have you noticed any actual difference in the roast?

Medium, MM, hmm, strange one for me, maybe if I get some greens of it again i'll have a go, but I just love the oils and strong tobaccoey taste of MM and it's not a delicate coffee for me


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## The Systemic Kid

Thanks for the advice - particularly regarding using a plug in meter to log voltage. I've just ordered one and will wait until it arrives before cranking up the Gene roaster. I also bought some aluminium ducting after reading advice on this site to connect to the chaff extractor flu in order to be able to vent smoke and fumes through an open window. I didn't fancy being consigned to roasting in the garage or outside! Most aluminium ducting is 100mm whereas the chaff extractor flu is only 70mm. After buying the aluminium ducting from Wickes (£7.00), I thought I'd made a bad purchase due to the differences in diameters. Happily, you can mould the aluminium ducting to make a pretty snug fit on the chaff extractor so I am pretty pleased. Also bought a pair of 'riggers gloves' (£2.99) so I can handle the bean roasting container without burning myself.


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## RisingPower

The bean roasting containers handle stays cool, so long as you hold it by that and not the chamber it'll be fine.

I really need to get the larger chafe collector.


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## 4085

The dimmer mod was well hyped up on Toomuchcoffee, which was a brilliant place for picking up tips when it was running. The aim of the mod, is to allow you to reduce the wattage going across the heater element, which in turn in theory, allows you to hold and stretch the roast out between first and second.

I have to admit that I drink mainly milk based which hides a multitude of sins, so although I have done the mod I am probably not really able to comment. Knowing who was behind its design, I would tend to think that it would affect the taste mind you!

If ever you are in Newcastle, you are welcome to try it out!


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## 4085

I should add, a friend of mine roasts quite successfully in his kitchen using the large chaff collector with ducting pipe. Me, I prefer the garage! One other suggestion, is to pre heat your Gene when the weather gets a little colder. If I do not preheat, then I can find the first roast taking anything up to two minutes longer than the second! I take it you know that the left button which you press to begin the cooling, if you press it twice it cuts out at 100 as opposed to going right down to 60 (sorry if you know that. It took me 2 years before I found out!).


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## The Systemic Kid

Just roasted my second batch of beans - monsooned malabar. Boy, do they smell smokey in their raw green state - quite addictive. I've bought a fair selection of beans to try out and develop my roasting skills. I followed a roasting profile I came across that is part of an excellent database of roasting profiles. I set the Gene roaster for 223c having warmed it up first. First crack came at 11 minutes with second crack at 15 mins. Shut off the roast at 16 minutes and dumped the beans into a colder and used my wife's hairdryer to cool them down quickly. The dryer has a brilliant 'cool shot' switch - much better than leaving them in the roaster. The beans came out medium to medium dark - exactly like the profile I was attempting to follow. Next time, I am going to attempt to roast a batch to very dark but I am worried I will overcook them. Still, nothing ventured, etc, etc.


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## The Systemic Kid

Should have mentioned that I roasted the beans in the kitchen and ducted the smoke through a window using some aluminium ducting - very effective. I was amused by the amount of smoke the malabar beans gave off. Heavens knows what it will be like when I go for a really dark roast. At least the neighbours get a free smell of roasting coffee.


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## RisingPower

The Systemic Kid said:


> Should have mentioned that I roasted the beans in the kitchen and ducted the smoke through a window using some aluminium ducting - very effective. I was amused by the amount of smoke the malabar beans gave off. Heavens knows what it will be like when I go for a really dark roast. At least the neighbours get a free smell of roasting coffee.


Can't think of what would be more smoky than mm, but when you get to near french roast for them, they do get silly smokey.


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## 4085

If you are going to have a darker roast, then please also try a lighter roast! I always do them at 226 for 14.30. Obviously, you have to allow for cold weather so warm her up first for maximum effect! Be interested to know how it goes

Do check this link out

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

It is a detailed roasting log we used to use


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