Gene Cafe CBR-101
Arabica Natural, City roast
Dried inside the whole cherry: sugary, uneven seeds that brown fastest and shed lots of chaff. Gentler heat, earliest crack.
Batch
200-220 g
Preheat
Empty drum at 200°C for ~4 min
Charge
220°C
First crack
~8:30
Stop at
~11:15 (DTR 24%)
Rest
3-7 days
Bean colour
Green
0:00
Yellow
4:15
Light tan
7:30
First crack
8:30
City
11:15
Roast profile
- 220°C
0. Load
0:00You'll see: Charge beans into the heated drum
Do: Start the timer as soon as the drum is back in.
- 220°C
1. Drying
0:00 - 4:15You'll see: Green turns yellow, grassy smell
Do: Let the heater run to push heat into the bean core.
- 235-240°C
2. Ramp
4:15 - 8:30You'll see: Yellow to tan brown; smell turns bread-like and sweet
Do: Turn the dial up to build momentum into first crack.
- 225°C
3. First crack
8:30 - 10:45You'll see: Sharp popcorn-like snaps, beans swell, chaff flies
Do: Note the time and drop the dial to 225°C so the roast doesn't race.
- 225°C
4. Development
10:45 - 11:15You'll see: Cracks fade, colour evens out, sweet aroma
Do: Hold the heat and let the colour catch up.
- STOP
5. Dump
11:15You'll see: City colour
Do: Long-press Stop, pull the drum with gloves and dump into an external cooler.
Cool outside the machine. The Gene's built-in cooling cycle takes 8-10 minutes and keeps baking the beans. Dump them into a colander or bean cooler with a fan and get them to room temperature within 2-3 minutes.
Troubleshooting
- Sour or grassy
- Underdeveloped centre. Stretch the drying phase or give it 15-30 s more after first crack.
- Flat or baked
- It took too long to reach first crack (past ~11-12 min). Charge hotter to push through drying.
- Uneven colour
- Drop the batch to 180-200 g for better tumbling and airflow.
- Burnt tips or smoky
- Too much heat late in the roast. Drop the dial earlier at first crack.
- The dial reads exhaust air, not bean temperature - roast by time, sound and colour.
- First crack is hard to hear over the fan: watch for beans swelling and chaff pouring into the collector.
- Keep preheats brief and under 200°C to protect the drum seals.
- Roast by an open window or under a hood, and never leave the machine running unattended.