Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This is my first coffee roaster, but the Gene Cafe Coffee Roaster is an excellent air roaster that has given me consistent results. It is so easy to use. I spent about 3 months doing all kinds of research on coffee roasters. For someone who never roasted before, this is the easiest roaster on the market. I saw a video on Google Video at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-21754440054705737 and I thought it was really neat at how easy it worked. One neat thing about it is the roasting viewing chamber, you are able to see the bean color and roast level through the entire roast without problems. The Gene Cafe is different in that the amount of air pushing through the roast chamber is only for heat; not to actually agitate the beans like so many of the other hot air roasters I did my research on. The Gene Cafe has a cool auger and flap system. This makes sure that the beans are always in motion, which will prevent scorching. You will find the Gene Roaster is very quiet. You can be standing next to it and carry on a conversation and not have to yell. So it is very easy to here the 1st and 2nd crack of the beans as they roast. This is very important if you are new to roasting. There is one thing to be aware of and that is you may get the roast darker than you want if you do not anticipate the shade of the bean you want by pressing the cooling button a little before you get the roast color you are looking for because it continues to cook for a minute or two after you push the cooling button. A great thing about the Gene Cafe is the control system; you can change the roast temperature in real time with just the turn of a knob. Any time during the roast you can also easily put the Gene Cafe into its cooling cycle. You will find that the majority of air and smoke exits from the left end of the roaster. Gene Cafe now offers a smoke redirection device that you can add on the end for only a $50 upcharge. The chaff collector is also much larger then the first one. So is there a down side of this roaster? Yes. One thing I didn't like about the Gene Cafe was the chaff collection. When the chaff is blown off of the beans, it needs to go through a stainless grate in the roasting chamber. A small flap knocks the chaff loose (that way it can pass through the grate easer) with each turn of the roasting chamber. If the coffee you are roasting makes a lot of chaff the grate can get to full. This is really not that big of a deal because the air will just redirect through the roast chamber lid. (The only time that this has happened to me is when I do a back to back roast and forget to clean out the chaff tray). If you do not get the new smoke redirection device you can hook up some sort of a smoke redirection device yourself, it will help. (That's what I did and I direct it outside out my window. I use a dryer vent hose). I really wish that the cooling cycle was better, especially when you are roasting on the hottest setting, but it will do the job. Or you can do what I did. I went and got a fan and a metal colander. I set the fan on top and turn it on high for about 15 minutes. All in all, the Gene Cafe is a great roaster. I have now been roasting for a year and I love it. I have never had a better tasting cup of coffee in my life. I bring it to work everyday and everyone loves it. It is so easy to operate and well built. If this is your first roaster as it was for me. Go for it and spend the extra money. It will be worth it. Just think about it, you will be doing this for the rest of your life. Never will you go back to the old stale Folders coffees of the world!!! Thanks, Dan Lewis <
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