Gene Cafe Drum Roaster Black

It does a fine job of roasting beans, but it's not really automatic. For some silly reason, the manufacturers (or their lawyers) decided that there is a fire hazard at 392F (200C) temperature. You must stand over the machine, ready to press a button and confirm "no fire" at that exact temperature or the machine will abort into its cool cycle, ruining your roasting plan. Somehow, they see no danger in proceeding from 392 to, say, 440 with no further interruption. Apparently, they only have a problem with fires occurring at precisely 392. I have had several roasts ruined by my missing the warning beeps and failing to confirm the roast, midway through.

Previously used a flat pan roaster; heat transferred by contact. It worked, but was inconsistent, gave off a ton of moisture that had to be soaked up during the roast, and took around 30 minutes per batch to roast. I have had this unit now for 9 months, and love it. It is easy to use, consistent and extremely efficient as it uses hot air rather than contact to the beans. Speed of roasting is averaging around 15 minutes per batch, so in 30 minutes I have a quart of roasted beans. Hearing the crack: when I roast, the crack is very audible through the air exhaust. No disguising each of the cracks. Cleaning is also very simple and fast. I have roasted different beans from a city roast through a very dark and oily espresso roast with perfect results. The cooling is not rocket fast as it uses the air flow from the room you are using. I have learned to stop the roast about 30 seconds before it is done to allow for additional roasting heat after the cooling cycle starts. The cooling process takes about 8 minutes, but is far easier than trying to cool them independently. Also, the chafe catcher works perfectly; the beans are perfectly clean at the end of the roast.

Excellent product and incredibly good customer service from CBC. My old Gene Cafe is about 10 or so years old and still working. I decided to use it as a back up and get a new one. I had other coffee roasters when I started roasting years ago. They would all fail too soon and the worst of the lot used an auger type devise and had a brand name that was an “N” word reminiscent of a pretty good chocolate mix. My only gripe with the Gene Cafe is the new beep beep, bye bye system. I have never had a coffee roaster fire. However, I get it. We live in a litigious would be fool proof nanny state complete with safe spaces and pinless diapers. And that's just for us adults. Now for the customer service. This was my first time using a gift certificate. It didn't take so I emailed CBC and got a really fast response phone call from a manager, MICHELLE. I had entered the code in the wrong spot. She fixed it for me and even did a follow up call to see how I was doing with the new roaster and reminded me they were there to help if I needed it. These days, how often do you get customer service like that? Have you ever had a half hour wait listening to repeated recorded messages about how very important your call is to them followed by a click? It was really good to get the excellent service from CBC.

I have been using my roaster for several months now and I have to say it is simply the best roaster I have ever used. Granted I haven't used a Hottop but that's more money then I would want to spend. This unit simply works! I have done several roasts back to back and it handled it flawlessly. I believe it is the best of both worlds from the fluid air bed to the drum roasters. The roasts are always consistent and even.

I've had this roaster for 2 years and it is still working great! I cook about 1.5 lb a week, so 3 batches . It takes a bit to learn how long to cook different beans, as some cook faster than others, and the weather makes a difference if you cook outside. But, as someone who's been roasting for a decade, I think this roaster is the best purchase I've made!

I've only roasted a couple of batches since getting the Gene Cafe, but so far I really like it. It's a big step up from the smaller roaster that I've been "making do" with for years. With Gene Cafe, you can roast a large enough batch to allow for not running out of coffee too quickly and not having to roast every few days. Very convenient. The coffee has been great, although I'm still "tweaking" my roast profiles. There are roasters out there that provide more precise controls of the roast process--hence only the 4 star recommendation--but they come at a MUCH higher price point. The Gene Cafe provides the fresh roasted coffee I love at a price that won't break the bank. I highly recommend this product from my favorite supplier--Coffee Bean Corral! Jon from Valrico FL

After years of roasting with hot air popcorn poppers I finally had enough money saved to pick up a "real" roaster. Well, let me tell you... I did quite a lot of reading and finally decided on the Gene Cafe because I couldn't find enough reasons to try something else. I like the style, drum type that uses hot air for roasting and I required a minimum of 1/2 a pound per roast because running 4 or 5 batches to get through the week can become tedious, not to mention squeezing between weathers does not allow for much flexibility when the roast is barely enough for a pot of coffee! So glad I settled on this unit! Super easy to work with, temp controls seem spot on, adjustable timing and temp in real time, cool down cycle. First batch ran 17 minutes at 478 (max temp) and it's definitely a little too much for the delicate beans I prefer. Several batches later and I'm very happy running between 425 and 450 and using the timer to get the desired results. Every cup is an explosion of joy! Did I mention this unit is quiet? So many things to like about the Gene Cafe. Price is a bit on the high side, but the quality and ease of use make the price near acceptable.

We’ve been using the Gene Cafe now for a couple of months, and done a couple dozen batches of coffee. Our family members are coffee drinking fools, and we all drink several cups a day. It took us a long time to get around to ordering this because we subscribed to a service that shipped us single origin coffee every month and we enjoyed their offerings very much. So, the bottom line is we should have done this sooner. The gene cafe seems to be very well made. It remains to be seen how the computer that does the time and temp holds up over time roasting beans out on the back porch, but from other reviews I’m not too worried. The roasted beans we’re producing with one exception is every bit as good as any we ever got from the subscription, and the one we didn’t like simply means we won’t order that particular bean again. Oh well. Using the roaster is very easy. I’ve read reviews online that make a big production out of using it, but in all honesty, I’m pretty particular about my coffee, and following the instructions provided produces a very nice roast of my particular preference. CBC did a great job getting it to me, and called me before they shipped it to activate the warranty. It’s really easy to clean, a breeze to use, and seems well built. What’s not to like?

Great roaster, consistent results. One thing to know though, it needs an uncluttered electric circuit to work well. I roast in my garage and the circuit is part of some wacky circuit that is in my basement, garage, and some outdoors outlets, with a GFI outlet in my master bath. The electricians must have been high that day when they built this place. Anyway, without a clean circuit it will take twice as long to roast a batch. I currently just run an extension cord into a clean outlet in another room and it works great, but I will eventually run a dedicated outlet for it.

I love my Gene Cafe roaster. I had one years ago and really missed my roasted coffee. I ordered the red one, which looks sharp. CBC answered my questions and shipped the roaster quickly, along with my free samples and more coffee that I ordered. I’ve been trying the samples and haven’t had a bad one yet! Thank you CBC!

While this unit does not have all the sophisticated controls of a Hot Top (my last roaster which lasted 8 years) it does use forced hot air to roast the beans. I believe the hot air flowing thru the beans (fluid bed) gives a much better taste and mouth-feel to the coffee. The 4 roasts I have done so far are very good, do work well for espresso and french press coffee and no scorched beans.

Easy to use and watch the color development. Perfect for two half-pound batches in a row. I love my Gene Cafe roaster 😉☕

Great roaster with simple controls. Once I sorted out the profile and didn't make any more charcoal, getting where I wanted to be was pretty easy. Two problems; One, it's made in Korea! It's not that foreign countries can't make quality goods, but I didn't know it. I contacted the company YOU buy from because of a technical problem and they told me they were the importer, not the manufacturer. They weren't allowed to "advise" me on fixing my problem. Second problem is the smoke vent. It's an odd size. Too small to accept a dryer vent. I made one out of aluminum that's working until I get the right one from Home Depot. The first roasting of charcoal pretty well got me sleeping on the couch. Since I've got my profile figured out I haven't run it without the temporary vent so I don't know how much smoke it actually produces. I think we'll get along just fine. It's quiet, a REALLY sexy red and extremely easy to use. And the burned beans? Well, I'm a wood worker. I ground them up and glue them into small cracks. Works great.

We’ve been using ours at least as long as David above. This is the devise that will get you covered for many years- economically. I think it’s best to set it up outside- on a table top and cover it with a small, heavy tarp between uses. It is a smoky happening during roasts. Outside temps will affect the settings but then again, different beans require different settings anyway- etc.. When you want to get serious with your coffee- this is the way to go. And the Corral is a user-friendly outfit that you talk with along the way with questions. It’s been a fun, economical experience over the years.

This is my second Gene Cafe roaster. The first one was used for about 10 years and finally got to the point that it needed to be replaced due to requiring some replacement parts that were no longer available. I like tha safety changes made to the hew model,the requirement of resetting the buzzer when it reaches a certain temperature or it will go into cooling mode. This keeps me from taking the beans to an extreme roast before the smoke gets bad enough to remind me of the roasting coffee. This roaster is the best on I have ever used. I have a Behmor that I got when my original Gene quit getting hot enough to roast the beans and at that time no replacement heating units were available. I found a replacement heating unit,finally and have replaced the unit at least 8 timen in my original Gene. The new Gene should last me at least as long as the old one did.

I had not yet discovered Coffee Bean Corral when I purchased my roaster, You have become the ONLULY vendor for my favorite morning ritual. I LOVE Gene Cafe. This roaster is a work horse and have been using it almost two years now. I feel anyone interested in roasting their own coffee could not go wrong here. So, if you permit here is a link to a video I did on my morning riast using Gene Cafe Roaster. Hope it inspires others to get their own roaster. https://youtu.be/IO_ARTKkcnM

The Gene Cafe is a well engineered, easy to operate roaster. Since starting with the Gene Cafe, I have roasted over 400 batches and been satisfied all the way through. The roasts are consistent and the coffee produced has not failed me yet. Do keep an eye on the temperatures during cooling when your ambient temps are a little high. During mid summer, the cooling times are slower just because the room where I roast tends to get a little hot. This purchase is a second roaster to have as a backup as I have put the other roaster through its paces. I am very satisfied with the roaster and the coffee that it produces.

Love this coffee roaster. Does a fantastic job. Also a great company to do business with.

We had an older model that we wore out. This is a fantastic home roaster, which has been consistent and provides us with delicious coffee!

First attempt went pretty well. It seemed like it was roasting the beans pretty aggressively fairly early on in the roast but I am not sure. Early to tell.

We bought this roaster after purchasing a starter roaster that was about $150. We should have gone straight to this one. We love it.