Gene Café CBR-301 | Active Exhaust Baseline
In / Out: 250 g → 214.3 g
Weight Loss: 14.3%
Set Temp: 250 °C
End Decision: First crack + 80 seconds
Cooling: Initiated deliberately at planned stop
Why this roast exists
After an extended sequence of naturals, this roast was designed as a structural reset.
Not a contrast roast.
Not a development push.
Not a Lazy Mode candidate.
A calibration.
The purpose was simple:
After many naturals, how does washed structure feel again?
Specifically:
- Does acidity present more clearly?
- Does clarity feel different from sweetness?
- Does structure show up without flavour labels?
Plan (Pre-defined Guardrails)
- 250 g batch
- 250 °C set temperature
- No preheat
- Standard airflow progression (fan 2 → 3, system-driven)
- Development target: 75–95 seconds post first crack
- Weight loss target: 14–15%
- Total time guardrail: ~12:30–12:50 window (cool at intent, not fear)
No mid-roast intervention was planned.
What happened
First crack was clearly audible.
The roast was ended at first crack + 80 seconds, consistent with the planned development band.
Colour progression was described as “text book” in the log, resolving post-cooling to an even medium brown.
No manual airflow changes were required.
The system behaved predictably.
The stop decision was bounded:
- Crack used for orientation only.
- Fixed development window applied.
- Colour and aroma used as confirmation.
- No extension “just in case.”
Structural Position
At 14.3% weight loss, Roast 19 sits cleanly inside the intended washed baseline band.
It is:
- More restrained than development-forward naturals.
- Structurally lighter than your upper natural guardrails.
- Fully within the 14–15% washed calibration window.
This makes it a valid washed reference for this system.
What this confirms
Roast 19 reinforces several stabilised patterns:
- Weight loss remains the primary structural anchor.
- Crack audibility is descriptive, not decisive.
- Washed coffees behave more cleanly and predictably than many naturals under the same airflow conditions.
- A fixed post-crack development window can be executed calmly without chasing sound.
Most importantly:
The roast felt controlled.
What this roast is not
It is not:
- A development contrast.
- An optimisation attempt.
- A new guardrail.
- A Lazy Mode default.
- A video roast.
It is a calibration reference.
Role in the dataset
Roast 19 marks a reset point in the project timeline.
After learning how naturals behave differently across origins and structures, this roast re-centres perception around a washed coffee under stable system conditions.
At 14.3% WL, it becomes:
Washed Baseline — v1
Not dramatic.
But stable.