# Achieving Consistant Roasts On A Gene Cafe 101 ?



## WestlandWessex (Jan 26, 2020)

Hi all,

Is there a way to achieve consitant roasts on a Gene Cafe 101 ? and if so how do you go about it please ?

Many thanks in advance

Ian


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## PottyMouthedBuddhist (Oct 18, 2016)

I think consistency is achievable with the Gene, if perhaps not the flexibility that we might like. One factor that does affect the Gene is voltage fluctuation, so a £5 plug-in meter off ebay would be a good investment. You might also want to look into the dimmer mod, which gives you better control over the roast and allows you to draw out the development time a little.

After that I guess you just need to fix whatever variables you can initially, find a profile that works for a particular bean, and then start adjusting things from there. I've had mine for several years and managed to get reasonably consistent roasts to my taste - there's not really any point detailing my methods because my taste seems to be quite different to everybody else's


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## WestlandWessex (Jan 26, 2020)

PottyMouthedBuddhist said:


> I think consistency is achievable with the Gene, if perhaps not the flexibility that we might like. One factor that does affect the Gene is voltage fluctuation, so a £5 plug-in meter off ebay would be a good investment. You might also want to look into the dimmer mod, which gives you better control over the roast and allows you to draw out the development time a little.
> 
> After that I guess you just need to fix whatever variables you can initially, find a profile that works for a particular bean, and then start adjusting things from there. I've had mine for several years and managed to get reasonably consistent roasts to my taste - there's not really any point detailing my methods because my taste seems to be quite different to everybody else's


 Hi there,

Very many thanks for your comment, it's very much appreciated indeed.

Its funny that you mention the plug in meter and the GC mod, I have been using both for quite a few months now, and whilst I can get there or thereabouts with my roasts I am always left feeling that they could be much better. In the cup I am happy "ish" with the results but again I am always left feeling that there is more to come from it. I guess if I was being honest I would much prefer a roaster that I can load profiles into in order to get more consistency better roasts, something that I am unlikely to ever get from the Gene Cafe.

Many thanks again.

Ian


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

WestlandWessex said:


> if I was being honest I would much prefer a roaster that I can load profiles into in order to get more consistency better roasts, something that I am unlikely to ever get from the Gene Cafe.


 that was the same experience I had with the Gene Cafe. Kind of ok, but not quite there. I've been looking at the Behmor recently now that is has passed CE and HasBean stocks it again, but I don't know how much of an improvement, if at all, that would be. For the moment, I'm messing about with an old bread maker.


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## PottyMouthedBuddhist (Oct 18, 2016)

WestlandWessex said:


> Hi there,
> 
> Very many thanks for your comment, it's very much appreciated indeed.
> 
> ...


 You're welcome - and the experience you and MediumRoastSteam report is exactly what I felt. Some of my roasts were surprisingly good but in general I felt they could have been much better. To be fair to the Gene, I don't think it's just the limitations of the roaster itself, but also that it's an ideal, almost plug and play, entry level into coffee roasting, so perhaps as users we are not getting the best out of the machine. Having upgraded to a Cormorant all of a couple of weeks ago and put a little effort into learning more about the roasting process, I reckon even now I could get better results from my Gene by applying my knowledge better. But why do that when I have a shiny Cormorant to try to master instead


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## WestlandWessex (Jan 26, 2020)

MediumRoastSteam said:


> that was the same experience I had with the Gene Cafe. Kind of ok, but not quite there. I've been looking at the Behmor recently now that is has passed CE and HasBean stocks it again, but I don't know how much of an improvement, if at all, that would be. For the moment, I'm messing about with an old bread maker.


 I too have been looking at the Behmor and thinking would this be an improvement to what I already have. I guess in ways it would be what with having the pre programmed profiles to experiment with. Mmm the mind boggles 🙃🙃


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## WestlandWessex (Jan 26, 2020)

PottyMouthedBuddhist said:


> You're welcome - and the experience you and MediumRoastSteam report is exactly what I felt. Some of my roasts were surprisingly good but in general I felt they could have been much better. To be fair to the Gene, I don't think it's just the limitations of the roaster itself, but also that it's an ideal, almost plug and play, entry level into coffee roasting, so perhaps as users we are not getting the best out of the machine. Having upgraded to a Cormorant all of a couple of weeks ago and put a little effort into learning more about the roasting process, I reckon even now I could get better results from my Gene by applying my knowledge better. But why do that when I have a shiny Cormorant to try to master instead


 You could have a very valid point there with regards to not getting the best out of the GC as users. I must admit the more I try to understand what is happening in the roasting drum the more I tend to get confused, especially when I come to document things.

I too looked at the cormorant, very nice bit of kit, but sadly the other half put her foot down 😞😞🙃


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

WestlandWessex said:


> I too have been looking at the Behmor and thinking would this be an improvement to what I already have. I guess in ways it would be what with having the pre programmed profiles to experiment with. Mmm the mind boggles 🙃🙃


 To me, roasting with the bread maker (I actually now attached a thermocouple) so at least I have some better idea of what goes on) - was the revelation if being able to hear First Crack - even with a noisy heat gun. I had the Gene for a couple of years, and, despite all sorts of attempts - kitchen roll tube, amplifier, hearing aid, praying to the gods, watching it from a distance... You name it - I never ever was able to hear first crack. The only time I think I managed to hear it somewhat clearly was when I put my ear right next to the exhaust without the chaff collector in place. Dangerous stuff! 😂


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## GUY C-P (Sep 16, 2019)

@WestlandWessex I have roasted around 25kg on my gene and the two of the largest factors that i found really influence a roast consistency (assuming you roasting the same bean), was the pre heat and ambient temp.

The singe most important factor was the ambient temperature. I used to roast in the garage or out on the garden patio in the summer and as i record the temp and events of each roast, i can tell you it was a little all over the place. But that's to be expected if one day its 2c vs the following week at 12c.

Since roasting indoors my roasts where almost identical (like i said, roasting the same bean), i can look back in my book and Dry-end, FC where within 15 seconds time after time and the temp was +-2C at each minute interval that i record.

I let my roaster pre heat for 15 mins at 190c if its the first roast and use the residual heat of a prior roast if I'm doing a back to back.

Today i received my new Behmor from HasBean and I'm looking forward to mastering that, with its additional variables. A cormorant has been on my wish list for some time, but the price is hard to justify for my household. Still - a man can dream, right!


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

GUY C-P said:


> Today i received my new Behmor from HasBean and I'm looking forward to mastering that, with its additional variables.


 I would love to know how you get on with the Behmor. I've been looking at HasBean for a while now, watched pretty much all the videos on the internet and it does seem to be a nice little roaster!

I'd love to hear your opinion on how you compare one against the other given the fact you also roasted on the Gene for a while. Have fun, and please keep us posted! 👍


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## WestlandWessex (Jan 26, 2020)

MediumRoastSteam said:


> To me, roasting with the bread maker (I actually now attached a thermocouple) so at least I have some better idea of what goes on) - was the revelation if being able to hear First Crack - even with a noisy heat gun. *I had the Gene for a couple of years, and, despite all sorts of attempts - kitchen roll tube, amplifier, hearing aid, praying to the gods, watching it from a distance... You name it - I never ever was able to hear first crack. The only time I think I managed to hear it somewhat clearly was when I put my ear right next to the exhaust without the chaff collector in place. Dangerous stuff!* 😂


 I have given up trying to hear first crack now on the GC, I just go by bean colour and smoke coming from the exhaust vent hanging out of the window 😳 I too tried various ways of hearing it but all I end up hearing in that "Thwacker" thing that clears the chaff away from the exhaust vent and the creaking and whiring of the motor.

I am definitely intrigued by your modified bread maker that's for sure, how are the roasts coming out ?


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## WestlandWessex (Jan 26, 2020)

GUY C-P said:


> @WestlandWessex I have roasted around 25kg on my gene and the two of the largest factors that i found really influence a roast consistency (assuming you roasting the same bean), was the pre heat and ambient temp.
> 
> The singe most important factor was the ambient temperature. I used to roast in the garage or out on the garden patio in the summer and as i record the temp and events of each roast, i can tell you it was a little all over the place. But that's to be expected if one day its 2c vs the following week at 12c.
> 
> ...


 Hi there,

I must admit that I don't preheat the roaster prior to my first roast batch, maybe I should give that a try for sure, I do however use the residual heat from the previous roast when doing back to back roasts like you mention. I am at the minute using up a mass batch of Brazil Santos beans that I have left, I have given up trying to hear first crack now and just go by bean colour and smoke from the vent exhaust hanging out of the window.

I would definitely be interested to hear about your experiences with the new Behmor, yes I too am craving a Cormorant but alas as you say, a man can dream 🙂


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

WestlandWessex said:


> I am definitely intrigued by your modified bread maker that's for sure, how are the roasts coming out?


 It's not really modified - not yet. I'm taking small steps. All I've done so far is to use the dough cycle so the paddle keeps stirring the beans whilst I use a heat gun to roast the beans. This is no news, just Google it up and you'll see. I have attached a thermocouple to the bread pan, but haven't tried roasting with that yet. My next steps is to create a lid so aí can slot the heat gun in. My heat gun only has two settings, so I. Eee either to buy a new heat gun or add a voltage regulator to the heating element if at all possible. And ultimately, I want to connect it to Artisan, at least the temp probe.

the aim is to do this on the cheap, so, thus far I have not spent a penny. Problem with those things are, once you start adding stuff to it - probes, interfaces, regulators, controllers... it all adds up - something I'm only determine to do if I like what I get with a certain step. Like, if I like what I get roasting with the temp probe in, and understand that, I will then move to adding a form of nest regulation. One step at the time.

as for the roasts... I only tried it once, blindly. 150g in, turned in on, heat gun on low and off I went. I have to stay, given the simplicity of the method I was impressed with what I got. On par with what I got with the Gene. To be clear, I don't think the Gene is bad, it's just not the easiest thing to roast on. There are people on here who have been roasting with it for years and obtain excellent results.


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## WestlandWessex (Jan 26, 2020)

MediumRoastSteam said:


> It's not really modified - not yet. I'm taking small steps. All I've done so far is to use the dough cycle so the paddle keeps stirring the beans whilst I use a heat gun to roast the beans. This is no news, just Google it up and you'll see. I have attached a thermocouple to the bread pan, but haven't tried roasting with that yet. My next steps is to create a lid so aí can slot the heat gun in. My heat gun only has two settings, so I. Eee either to buy a new heat gun or add a voltage regulator to the heating element if at all possible. And ultimately, I want to connect it to Artisan, at least the temp probe.
> 
> the aim is to do this on the cheap, so, thus far I have not spent a penny. Problem with those things are, once you start adding stuff to it - probes, interfaces, regulators, controllers... it all adds up - something I'm only determine to do if I like what I get with a certain step. Like, if I like what I get roasting with the temp probe in, and understand that, I will then move to adding a form of nest regulation. One step at the time.
> 
> as for the roasts... I only tried it once, blindly. 150g in, turned in on, heat gun on low and off I went. I have to stay, given the simplicity of the method I was impressed with what I got. On par with what I got with the Gene. To be clear, I don't think the Gene is bad, it's just not the easiest thing to roast on. There are people on here who have been roasting with it for years and obtain excellent results.


 Ah I see, still in its infancy then, nonetheless an interesting and enjoyable experiment for sure, I wish you well with it all 😊

Don't get me wrong, I don't think the GC is a bad machine on the contrary, it is a great little roaster in the right hands and to be fair the roasts that I have done so far have been enjoyable to a certain degree, but without being able to hear first crack I'm just guessing all of the time and am therefore unable to achieve an element of consistency.

I had considered getting a sandbox smart roaster from Bella Barista but with only being able to roast 150g at a time it wouldn't be practical.

Oh the woes of coffee loving eh 😞🙃


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

WestlandWessex said:


> I had considered getting a sandbox smart roaster from Bella Barista but with only being able to roast 150g at a time it wouldn't be practical.
> 
> Oh the woes of coffee loving eh 😞🙃


 Snap. Same here! I like the idea of the sandbox, but every time I re-watch the reviews I convince myself it's not the one for me. There's something about roasting via a bluetooth mobile app that kind of puts me off. As an extra, yes, but I would have preferred some physical control panel of some sort.


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## WestlandWessex (Jan 26, 2020)

MediumRoastSteam said:


> Snap. Same here! I like the idea of the sandbox, but every time I re-watch the reviews I convince myself it's not the one for me. There's something about roasting via a bluetooth mobile app that kind of puts me off. As an extra, yes, but I would have preferred some physical control panel of some sort.


 I know what you mean, I like the idea of it being able to automate the process or record profiles etc etc, but relying solely on an app to be able to control the roaster just seams a tad risky from a reliability point of view IMHO.


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