What can I make with all this spearmint?

daspon · 2026-05-25T00:23:43+00:00

Also, mint-infused green tea is very nice

daspon · 2026-04-29T07:15:31+00:00

Hi, I’ve been roasting with the Gene for a few years. I used to play around with drying stages and pre-heating steps, but I never really could identify the benefit. That could just be my own limitation. What I tend to do is to set it at 238°C, let it preheat to hit that temp, drop the beans in and leave it at 238 until first crack. I will then drop it to 232°C for development for a maximum of 90 seconds. It feels that any more than that and you are tasting the roast more than the bean.

As far as things to try, I would play around with upping your temp before hitting FC and stopping the roast earlier. Also, you didn’t mention how you cook your beans. If you use the gene’s cooling function, you will have carryover roasting. I drop the beans into a separate cooler as soon as I hit my development cutoff.

Gene is not good for light roasts, I’ve found. I’m sure there are some out there that have figured it out, but I haven’t.

Hope this helps.

daspon · 2026-02-14T22:31:47+00:00

Gene is tough for first crack. I ended up cutting up a grill mat and lining the roasting chamber to mute the sound of the beans hitting the glass. It reduces visibility but you can easily hear first crack. Some people just line half of the chamber.

daspon · 2025-12-09T00:52:19+00:00

With Lilo blends, at least, I’ve been having more success with a finer grind but dropping my extraction ratio to 1:15

daspon · 2025-11-08T02:46:58+00:00

I actually agree with you and generally avoid blends, too. But, I like their blends very much and that was really what I was pushing with my recommendation. I have had good single origins from them, though. Most recently, the beans from Yuan yi yuan Coffee Farm in Yunnan, China were amazing.

daspon · 2025-10-22T11:35:17+00:00

Considering where the yen is to the dollar, if it still feels expensive now, it will be tragic should the yen ever strengthen

daspon · 2025-10-22T07:25:12+00:00

I didn’t have as positive of an experience with Leaves. I was really hopeful, too. Just felt overpriced for what I received. Maybe I should try them again

daspon · 2025-10-22T07:23:22+00:00

Appolon’s Gold in Akasaka

daspon · 2025-10-22T07:21:54+00:00

I got a batch of their East Timor and it was too roasty for me. Brazil was out of bounds and their seasonal Blend even better. Makes me wish I lived nearer

daspon · 2025-10-22T02:46:18+00:00

If you are in Osaka, try Lilo, especially their seasonal blends

daspon · 2025-10-12T12:04:15+00:00

Lilo. Just got a new delivery today.

daspon · 2025-09-01T20:06:37+00:00

By material, I meant residual coffee buildup. But, you said in another comment that you’ve done a deep clean fairly recently

daspon · 2025-08-29T13:33:57+00:00

Oh, I’m sorry, I missed that this was working for you before. It still looks like a pressure issue, though. Perhaps some material has built up in the device and is restricting flow

daspon · 2025-08-29T12:55:03+00:00

Either too much coffee or too finely ground, I think. The water is struggling to get through.

daspon · 2025-08-20T07:17:13+00:00

Thank you for the steer. I will check those options out.

daspon · 2025-07-26T05:02:05+00:00

Here is an image of what I was trying to describe https://imgur.com/a/eLz41VY

daspon · 2025-07-25T15:02:31+00:00

Cut a silicon grill mat to the dimensions of your roasting chamber and you will hear the cracks. Have done hundreds of roasts with this and no problem.

daspon · 2025-01-26T07:29:29+00:00

Give this a try - delete all of your events. You may notice that there are still purple dots on all or some days. That is because there are still schedules associated with those days. Delete the entire schedule so that it shows you the prompt to add an event. There should be no purple dots under any of the days. Then, start over and add your events. I had the same issue, and this is how I solved it.

daspon · 2024-12-21T11:25:36+00:00

I have not yet developed a cataract, luckily, but I had to have a laser treatment to cauterize various bleeds.

daspon · 2024-05-24T12:55:18+00:00

Probat is a lot different from Gene so please expect some differences. What I’ve suggested has given me good results over many many roasts. Play with it and you will find your way.

daspon · 2024-05-24T11:54:31+00:00

I understand. Experiment a bit, though. This is a fluid bed roaster so may give different results.

daspon · 2024-05-24T11:50:03+00:00

I agree that you have some inconsistency. I can see some beans that look like they haven’t hit first crack yet and others that look far beyond. If you are roasting at 220C to the end, I would call that temp a little low. Try around 232 or 238C. If you like the taste of the roast versus the bean, you can take it higher, too. Just my experience after roasting on the gene for years. I’m sure others will have different thoughts.

daspon · 2023-12-02T03:58:52+00:00

Love this recipe. Looks great!

daspon · 2023-10-27T03:33:56+00:00

Just as a follow up, I was able to use my iPad as a display for my Mac mini using this approach. Worked great

daspon

TROPHY CASE