I figured it was time that I write up a review of the Gene Roaster, since I have been using it for about a year now. When I first started roasting coffee, the idea was to drink good coffee, and save money by roasting it myself. Of course, there were numerous methods and products available to roast coffee, but I wanted the full sensory experience, so I went with the most manual method that I could reliably measure with reproducible results. That is where the Whirly Pop came in, as I had complete control over the heat, the time, the speed of rotation, and could see, hear, and smell the beans as they were roasting. Looking back, it definitely was the best way to learn how to roast coffee, as I learned to judge a roast by hearing, smelling, and seeing the beans as they roasted. With that said, the manual nature of the Whirly Pop also required constant attention, as I had to manually stir the beans throughout the roast, which can be a little tedious. After the Whirly Pop which I had used from the beginning began having issues with the plastic gears slipping, I started looking for another roasting option. After reading numerous reviews, I settled on the Gene Cafe Roaster.
The Gene Cafe Roaster is a drum-style roaster, with controls for temperature and time, however these are adjustable while the roast is in progress, which allows modifications to be made on the fly. This allows quite a bit of control over the roasting process. The Gene Cafe Roaster has an off-axis design in that the drum that holds the beans is kept at an angle relative to the base of the roaster. This allows the drum to rotate on both axes to a degree that agitates the beans much more effectively, resulting in an even roast. The digital display shows the temperature and time remaining for the roast, and in cooling mode, how long it has been running.
The glass drum is where all the action occurs, with the heater blowing in air from right to left, as pictured above. The drum holds the beans, and because of the angled configuration, it has to have a stand to hold it upright when outside of the roaster.
The lid opens from the top, and has the exit for the chaff and hot air to pass to the chaff collector. There is a small weighted flap that sits on a hinge, which you can see at the bottom of the photo to the right. The hinge allows it to sweep back and forth in front of the chaff exit while the drum is rotating, which ensures the chaff does not plug up the air exit. This is important to prevent the chaff from getting too hot inside the drum, where it can catch fire.
The drum is clear glass, so the beans can be observed during the roast, and it also has markings for the maximum amount of dry processed beans, which tend to produce more chaff during the roasting process. A stand is included to allow the drum to stand upright when outside of the roaster, but when not in use, it is probably better to keep it in place in the roaster.
The air and chaff exit the drum and enter the chaff collector, on the left side, which sort of looks like a carburetor. There is an inner mesh filter that captures the chaff and allows the hot air to escape. This allows you to get a sense of the aromatics as well, which I definitely still rely on. This can hold quite a bit of chaff, but it is recommended to empty the collector after 2-3 roasts, depending on the beans. The collector can be detached from the roaster, and there is a cap that screws off, and the chaff can be dumped out easily.
It is recommended to clear this out more thoroughly from time to time, as smaller particles can build up. Compressed air or even a vacuum cleaner have been used to clear the collector. The top of the collector, the chimney looking piece, is also detachable, which allows more access to the mesh filter for cleaning as well.
The roasting process is pretty straightforward. Generally, I roast 8 oz of beans at a time, which correlates to the recommended maximum amount of dry processed beans, as indicated on the glass drum. Once the beans are loaded in the drum, you insert the drum into the roaster, aligning the sides and pushing it into the roaster until it clicks into place. After that, all you need to do is select your desired temperature and time with the dials.
Initially, I used to use a longer process, where I ran the roaster at a lower temperature to dry the beans a little before I increased the temperature, which can used in locations where humidity might be a factor. Once I was comfortable with the controls, and because humidity was no longer an issue for me, I fixed my target temperature to 460 degrees, and I vary the time to achieve my desired roast level. For most beans, first crack starts about 13 minutes, and I vary from the timing from there. There have been a few beans that needed different times to reach first crack, but for the most part, it has been pretty consistent for me. The controls are changeable during the roasting process, so it can manipulated easily, however the tenths of a minute might be confusing at first, just remember it is 6 seconds for each tenth. Keep in mind that the heating element draws a lot of power, and the roast can be affected by the line voltage, use of extension cords, etc.
There is a warning beep at 1 minute left in the roasting time, and once it hits zero, it begins an automatic cooling cycle. By default, the cooling cycle stops at 160 degrees Fahrenheit, but there is a override option to stop it at 210 degrees, as well as an immediate emergency stop. The beans will continue to coast during the cooling process, so these options make it very flexible for those that want to cool the beans outside of the drum to prevent the beans from coasting past the desired roast level. I have adjusted my times to include some coasting in the cooling process, but I do stop it at 210 degrees, rather than let it cool completely in the drum. I remove the beans and cool them in a colander to stop any further coasting.
Overall, the Gene Cafe roaster is a very flexible roaster, allowing time and temperature to be modified on the fly, as well multiple cooling options. I have been very happy with my roaster, but there are a few things to keep in mind. The heating element and motor to rotate the drum can be a little loud, as well as the beans moving around in the drum. This can make it a little difficult at times to hear first or second crack. I usually push back the heat guard, which does allow me to hear things more clearly. I usually don’t roast past second crack that much, but I imagine that it would difficult to hear at times. The other issue is beans that produce a lot of chaff. Usually dry processed beans will be the main culprit, but I have seen other beans generate more chaff than expected. The roaster should never be left unattended, as there is always a possibility that the chaff could ignite. The chaff collector should also be emptied frequently, as the manual only recommends every 4-5 roasts, but air flow can be impacted if it is too full.
If you are looking for a good home roaster then I would recommend the Gene Cafe. It took me awhile to get comfortable with it, but once I was familiar with the temperature controls, it was definitely easy to manipulate the roast. The sound is impacted with the mechanics, but sight and smell are definitely preserved in the roasting process, which made me quite happy.
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