CBR-101 Home Coffee Roaster - Black

I've roasted 8 small (100G) batches of varying degrees. Several different beans including decaf. The decaf beans get dark faster so I use a 20 degree lower temp and it's fine. The owner's manual has lot's of good info including recommended temps and times. Both of which are easily adjustable before and during the roast. The cool down cycle is a crucial part of the roasting, don't rush it. I also pour the cooled beans into a skillet to complete the cooling. The 100g batches work well for a single coffee drinker. No chance for the roasted beans to get stale before I use them up. So simple to roast a batch on the spot but it's recommended to wait 24-36 hours after roasting for the beans to "develop". You can make it as simple or complicated as you wish. I keep a written chart so I can replicate the exact roast if I like it. I'll update my review if I find any significant differences when roasting a larger batch. I highly recommend this machine along with a conical burr grinder and brew using the pour over method for 1-2 mugs. I have a Bunn drip machine that does a nice job for a full pot. I have noticed that I need less coffee as the fresh roasted is more flavorful and stronger. Better tasting coffee and my machine will pay for itself in a year. You should be able to buy green beans from a local roaster for $5/lb vs $17/lb for their fresh roasted beans.

This is the best choice for a home roaster if you include dark roasts. Much better quality roast than high-volume hot air roasters. Reasonably quiet, (but there is a weighted "flapper" that cleans the output screen, this interferes with the sound of the crack...it's still audible, but you have to pay attention. Easy to clean. Cools down rather slowly. You need to stop 45-ish seconds before the roast you want. Better visibility than the Bohmor, can roast dark roasts, unlike the Bohmor, which will ruin the sensors. Not as quiet as the Bohmor. Can't roast as much as the Bohmor, but since roasted coffee loses flavor after a week, having a pound of roasted coffee isn't really an issue for me. YMMV. So easy to use, and such a great roast. If you don't make darker roasts (Full City+ or darker), the Bohmor might be preferable.

We've had this for 5 years -- we replaced a much noisier roaster. This one is wonderful. The key: we bought a 3 inch flexible duct pipe (like you use for your drier) that we attached to the exhaust from the roaster. We use the roaster next to the stove and the pipe exhausts into the exhaust fan over the stove. Works great. Search "3 inch flexible duct".

I used this product outdoors. When the temperature gets into the 40s this takes forever just to heat to low 400s.

Great roaster with great temperature control and usability but a weak heating element. 3 stars since the customer support and parts supply is almost non existent. So if it breaks and are not a skilled electrician you likely buy a new one after 1-2 years since the heater has a limited lifetime.

I have owned six roasters from the fresh air thru the huky 500 and the beans roasted on this beast were by far the finest of any machine. But, it broke no less than six to ten times over three years - ultimately the parts over that time period - cost me about the price of another machine. This does not factor in the time to tear it down, and repair it; and worse the time expended dealing with the sellers. Ugh. I want the beans but I would never pay another nickel for its design.

Contrary to the reports of other reviewers, Speedwell Coffee, who provide customer care for the Gene Roaster, took good care of me when my Gene Roaster needed service. I bought a machine that had seen a lot of use, and as a consequence, the heating element burned out after a year of roasting. Being fairly handy, I thought about repairing the unit myself. However, I contacted Speedwell and discovered that they would fix the machine for me and deliver it for only $110. I sent if out and they sent it back in under two weeks. I am happy to report that my Gene is up and running, and my wife and I are drinking delicious home-roasted coffee. With such great customer care, I imagine that I will be roasting with my CBR-101 for a very long time.

This is a good product. It produces a good even roast. Only downside is that the amount of smoke it accumulates can get frustrating. Be sure to clean out the chaff collector every roast in order to get consistent roasts.