# My roast compared to the professionals



## mathof

Recently, I bought a kg of green beans from Bella Barista, Columbia El Bosque. After roasting them med/dark, I realised that I could order 250g of the same beans, roasted, from BB. What a world of difference! Mine are kind of monochromatic, featuring mainly a strong chocolate. Theirs have a mild chocolate, balanced by a host of other flavours. This is particularly apparent in a 5oz flat white, but is also evident in straight expresso.

I roasted mine in a Gene Caffé: 250g, ambient temperature 20C. First crack began after about 12 mins, at a temperature of around 234C. At 15 mins, 48 sec I hit the cool button and let it cool to 60C in the Gene. There was a weight loss of 16.8%.

I don't, of course, know what they did at Bella Barista, but visually the results are similar:









It seems to me that my beans may be a shade darker than BB's and perhaps a bit further into second crack. Subjectively, they seem easier to grind on my hand grinder at the same setting; the flow rate is similar though.

On the one hand, it only makes sense that a professional roaster with professional equipment will do better than a novice with a home-level machine. On the other hand, it makes me wonder if there is any point continuing with my own efforts.

Matt


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## DavecUK

mathof said:


> On the one hand, it only makes sense that a professional roaster with professional equipment will do better than a novice with a home-level machine. On the other hand, it makes me wonder if there is any point continuing with my own efforts.
> 
> Matt


Yes, of course there is, but if you want more control, perhaps it's time to mod your Gene for power control. Fortunately now, there are a number of decent SCR power controllers available on the web at very cheap prices, unlike when I used a Varilight Dimmer., just 1 tip though, get one where you can change the pot if you need to as very fine control over a more limited range is desirable. e.g. they might use a pot with a 0 -400 Kohm range, you might want to substitute one with a 0 -100 Kohm range.

You roast going into second crack may not have helped, but the ability to control power rather than on/off switching turns the Gene into a completely different roaster and you can even roast faster, but with lower max temperatures. In fact the ability to use lower max temps for any particular given roast is a huge bonus in itself, not just the ability to alter ramp rate.

The addition of a 230V element is strongly advised, as this gives you absolute control and the ability to roast in all conditions and temperatures (also you loose a few % points of power in the scr controller itself e.g. up to 30-40W)


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## mathof

Thank you for your advice. I was wondering if I would be advised to make this mod. I'd happy to take it on, but I have none if the relevant electrical knowledge or experience. I can do mechanical adjustments and even some simple mods on my lever machines and hand grinder, but this seems another thing.

Matt


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## Rob1

The instructions are detailed. It's really quite easy. The hardest thing for me was adding a heatsink. Despite getting a thickness that should have fit I found it was impossible to get the dial on and had to craft an entirely new heatsink with prongs and a hole for the screw by cutting and drilling a bit of aluminium sheet. As Dave says though, there are sir power controllers available now and I wish I knew that when I did the mod.

How do the two coffees compare?

What is the acidity like? Fruity, Clean, Sharp, Sour? Is it up front and short lived or integrated? Etc

What is the body like? Thin, syrupy, fatty, a weird combo?

How sweet is it and what type of sweetness? Malty, cloying, candy? How prominent is it?

Going a shade lighter would probably help get closer to it. Yours appears to be on the edge of second crack but also don't seem to have expanded as much as the BB ones. How long did first crack last for? Time from yellow to first?


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## mathof

Rob1 said:


> What is the acidity like? Fruity, Clean, Sharp, Sour? Is it up front and short lived or integrated? Etc
> 
> What is the body like? Thin, syrupy, fatty, a weird combo?
> 
> How sweet is it and what type of sweetness? Malty, cloying, candy? How prominent is it?
> 
> Going a shade lighter would probably help get closer to it. Yours appears to be on the edge of second crack but also don't seem to have expanded as much as the BB ones. How long did first crack last for? Time from yellow to first?


Your questions make me realise how little I know about tasting coffee and the relevant descriptors. I simply can't answer your questions but I will think about them as I go on tasting these coffees. I also have trouble answering the timing questions as I'm never sure when I actually hear first crack begin and end, although with the aid of cardboard tube at the outlet of the chaff collector I can tell when it is rolling along fairly robustly.

Matt


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## froggystyle

Stay away from 2nd crack if you want more of the beans natural notes in the cup would be my advice.

Try the same bean to just after first crack, then try it again another minute after first crack, taste and compare the three.


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## 4085

coffee time.wikidot.com

you need to join that first, then search on gene cafe. You will find all the articles including how to do the mods in there


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## whattodo

I had used Gene Cafe for almost a year then moved Quest. On Gene, my profiles were simple. Pre-heat to 180C for 5 mins, depends on greens set temperature 240-248, after 1C wait 1 min then lower temp to 236-244 wait 1 or 1.30 min more then dump. Cool the beans externally. Generally, I had reached 1C between 9-9:30 mins. It seems to me that 12 min 1C kind of long. Only exception to my profiles and 1C time was Kona greens. I was kind of slow when I roasted Kona and 12 min 1C time could be applicale for Kona if I remember correctly.Gene is too simple to use. I had very decent roasts with it but very bad ones as well. After starting to use Quest I understood how deep rosting world is.


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## Rob1

whattodo said:


> ...Pre-heat to 180C for 5 mins, depends on greens set temperature 240-248, after 1C wait 1 min then lower temp to 236-244 wait 1 or 1.30 min more then dump. Cool the beans externally. Generally, I had reached 1C between 9-9:30 mins. It seems to me that 12 min 1C kind of long.


You'll get to fc quicker with a pre-heated roaster. If you're working with a bean with low acidity then this can improve roasts in my experience, but the gene has a nature drying phase which I don't think lasts too long (probably for most beans anyway).

Last night I roasted some Sumatra for the first time. I pre-heated to preserve what little acidity they have but the moisture content is so high they didn't roast evenly. They didn't hit first crack until 240c, but at least they didn't scorch or burn. First crack lasted for 2 minutes even without a power drop. Had them in a syphon this morning and they're boozy, spicy, earthy. I know they could be better. Will probably try using the he genes natural heat up time tonight.


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## chipbutty

I've had a Gene for eight years and have never achieved roasts anywhere near as good as those from a professional roaster. Then again it's no surprise as they use very expensive, sophisticated pieces of equipment capable of big changes in temperature where necessary and capable of repeatable results.

I became disillusioned with home roasting. While I saved money, the results were never as good as from my favourite roasters such as Rave and Foundry. Don't let me put you off though!

I may have my Gene up for sale on this forum very soon.



mathof said:


> Recently, I bought a kg of green beans from Bella Barista, Columbia El Bosque. After roasting them med/dark, I realised that I could order 250g of the same beans, roasted, from BB. What a world of difference! Mine are kind of monochromatic, featuring mainly a strong chocolate. Theirs have a mild chocolate, balanced by a host of other flavours. This is particularly apparent in a 5oz flat white, but is also evident in straight expresso.
> 
> I roasted mine in a Gene Caffé: 250g, ambient temperature 20C. First crack began after about 12 mins, at a temperature of around 234C. At 15 mins, 48 sec I hit the cool button and let it cool to 60C in the Gene. There was a weight loss of 16.8%.
> 
> I don't, of course, know what they did at Bella Barista, but visually the results are similar:
> 
> View attachment 18894
> 
> 
> It seems to me that my beans may be a shade darker than BB's and perhaps a bit further into second crack. Subjectively, they seem easier to grind on my hand grinder at the same setting; the flow rate is similar though.
> 
> On the one hand, it only makes sense that a professional roaster with professional equipment will do better than a novice with a home-level machine. On the other hand, it makes me wonder if there is any point continuing with my own efforts.
> 
> Matt


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## jefferson17

Perhaps this will help. Your roasts are taking too long. For much of the time, they are getting "baked" rather than roasted. If possible pre-heat the roaster to about 400 F then charge (drop in beans). You should be hitting 1 C with 250 grams pretty quickly - probably around 8-9 min, maybe even sooner. With 110 grams I hit 1 C in about 3.5 min on a SR500 (after 2 min pre-heat). The roast goes to cool at about 7 min, depending on the bean. The flavors are MUCH more intense, complex, and full, without bitterness then if I do a longer roast or use lower initial temps.

Bear in mind that the JOURNEY of the roast is much more important than the end color. A high initial roasting temp is quite essential to a properly developed bean. Try keeping that heat up and try a batch, with a higher air flow and high heat and I think that you'll probably like the results far more. I made lots of mistakes in my early roasting days.


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