Gene Cafe CBR-101 (Red)

I received my Genecafe roaster about two weeks ago. This is my third GeneCafe, as I have been using them for many many years. The first one required service after many years of roasting, and I sent it back to the company, who repaired it. The second one, after many years, encountered a problem, and I learned that, since it was out of warranty, Gene Cafe would no longer service them, however they were helpful in explaining how I could repair it myself, and there are youtube videos to follow along. I elected not to repair it, though, and bought a new roaster instead. When I roasted the first 250gm batch of beans in the new roaster, with temp set at 482 and timer at 14 minutes, it reached 400 degrees as usual after a few minutes, but then automatically moved to the cooling cycle. I tried this twice more with the same result. I then emailed Gene Cafe to report the problem and ask for help in resolving it. No response. I have since sent 2 more emails detailing the problem, the last several days ago. Still no response except for this email asking for a review. So here it is.

No such thing. The current "safety" feature just cost me another batch of beans. I'm looking for an old version of the roaster on Ebay, this one sux...

Gene Cafe repla ed my faulty roaster quickly. Great customer service and a fantastic roaster.

My new Gene Cafe CBR-101 does a terrific job of roasting coffee. The trouble is that, after making six or eight batches, I have yet to time a batch. There is a trick to it that I just detest.

I roast coffee in the middle of our concrete patio. Roasting inside not only sets off the smoke alarm, it smells up the house something awful. Using the patio, however, resolves this issue. The machine is far enough from the house that neither smell nor smoke caused grime reaches the house. All good so far.

But the Gene Cafe pauses at two more or less random intervals as roasting progresses. I have to run out and push a button. There are two buttons, a red one and a blue one. Press the correct one and roasting continues. However, press the wrong one at either interval and the cooling cycle instantly begins. You have a batch of half cooked coffee beans. Since the clock resets to 0, you don't know how much longer your beans need to roast.

Yes, I could roast my coffee in the house and suppress the smoke alarm. I just don't think either of those steps is a great idea. I much prefer my furnace hot device to be safely in the middle of a 10 foot square of concrete, and safely outside the house.

This is my third Gene Machine. I have owned two other roasters but this is by far the easiest to use. They are also really easy to repair. I’ve own my previous one for more than 20 years and have replaced the heating element a couple of times. They don’t cost that much. I might have replaced it this time and probably will but I’m really busy remodeling my house and don’t have the time right now. So after 20 years I feel that I deserve a new one.