Gene Cafe ULTIMATE Beginner's Guide! | CBR-101 Home Coffee Roasting Tutorial

[@SamHunley]

I just pulled my CBR-101 out of 3 years of storage to start roasting again! This video was TREMENDOUSLY helpful in relearning how to use the darn thing, and your demo roast was super helpful! Thanks!

[@imad1996]

I bought the machine today. Amazing video.

[@deanbuzzell233]

David - wanted to comment that I changed to the CBR-101 from the SR-800 based on your tutorial. Couldn't be happier! I also took the opportunity to visit your store and purchased my first coffees from The Captain's Coffee. I truly appreciated the personal message you wrote on the invoice. That's just...not the experience I've had with other coffee distributors. So thanks for all you do to educate and enable the coffee fanatics across the country.

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Aww shucks, you made my day! Happy to help :)

[@TheSageSpeaksB4U]

Great starter for me, Captain, I just got lucky and was offered a Gene C from a fellow leaving the country and couldn't take the roaster with him. Now I'll need some beans to start doing my own roasting. Good job, Dave, and see you in the next video for roasting. Thanks!

[@akquicksilver]

Great video. I've had my Gene for over 15 years and I love it. Initially I went through a couple heating elements before the manufacturer upgraded the element and the last replacement (upgraded) element I installed is still heating just fine. I roast primarily for my espresso machine and I prefer single origin beans. My favorite is washed Ethiopian Yirgacheffe taken to just before 2nd crack or full city (no black oily Starbuck's for me thank you). My recipe for the last 3-4 years after a few years experimenting, is: I dump 230g of beans in the chamber I set the temp to 365ºF and dry the beans for 10 minutes until they reach straw color, then I spin up the heat to 471ºF for 6 minutes and let it run through to the auto cooling cycle. I dump the beans into a chaffing dish and let them come to room temp before placing them in a open storage container to let them degass for at least 48 hours before placing them in the freezer. If I plan to use them right away, I will let them degass for at least 5 days. I usually let the Gene cool back down to near room temp before the next batch. I believe the manual that came with my Gene recommended this and I've almost always done it that way. I have stored beans in the freezer for up to 4 months in airtight containers before I notice any loss of flavor or texture. I use a Profitec Pro 600 for brewing. The only hack I have done on my Gene is gluing a piece of fine mesh over the fan air inlet on the bottom of the machine to prevent sucking in dust. The first time I opened it to replace the heating element there was more dust inside than I thought there should be. The mesh works fine.

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Excellent hack with the metal mesh to protect the element! I'm sure as long as they're still adequate airflow this should work well. That's definitely more of an "old school" profile and I'm happy you've found something that works for you! Degassing is definitely important, it's so hard to explain to new roasters how much the flavor can "settle in" and "mellow" over those days. Thanks for sharing!

[@ncheltsov]

It would be nice if you try the fast roast profile from this video and compare it to your

[@DavidWSchuler]

Wow best video on KZbin. Just purchased this roaster and wished I watched this video before the roast. Thanks

[@ERE02]

Hi from Germany! I started roasting about a year ago with an electric heating pan and a small propeller to move the beans. My friends and colleagues always look forward to drinking our self-roasted coffee from the Aeropress. I recently decided to upgrade my roaster and I'm really excited to try it out. I love your channel and I'm now following you :) Best regards from southern Germany, Bavaria!

[@gregoryschmidt360]

Just got a Gene Cafe roaster from my wife for Christmas - this was the perfect video to get started! I’ve previously used the iRoast & iRoast 2.

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

What an awesome gift! Glad the vid was helpful :)

[@Ronin____5000]

Coffee bro, thanks for making this video. It's the most helpful video on this device that I've found.

[@mikedenson6047]

I just saw Mike's (Virtual Labs) video on the Gene where he gives you credit for lending him the Gene and giving him some beans. This impressed me, you are a kind soul.

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Aww shucks, Mike's a great guy who does great work, we were honored to collaborate with him!

[@yaniveliash]

Awesome video, thank you

[@austinherdklotz217]

Thanks for the video it was really helpful and instructive

[@BryanBowers-yn2co]

Thank you, the video was very helpful. Much appreciated.

[@jonesmac2006]

Very helpful, i now know why sone of my roasts take a bit to long, i don't pre-heat enough for long enough. Thanks a lot for this video!

[@yuri.frolov]

Roasted the first batch in my life this day. Thank you for tutorial, it's tremendously helpful!

[@frogslips]

My Gene Cafe is arriving tomorrow. Hoping I can remember all of this process.

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Definitely give the instructions a thorough read and roast a batch or two to get the feel. Then come back and watch the video again, it'll make a whole lot more sense after you've spent a little time with the machine!

[@yes9098]

Excellent, I did it well by following what you show, thank you for sharing

[@derekcasanares4785]

Nice video and I would like to see a dark roast in the future

[@phillipmarsh4886]

Cool Video! Thank you! where did you get that scooper????

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Amazon! Just search "coffee scoop" or "coffee weighing scoop" or something like that haha

[@x2805]

Without watching your video I roast the same way... I read it in an article of a roaster (professional). And after messing around with profiles came to the same conclusion

[@idopeso]

This is a good video for gene cafe users. In the eight years i've had mine, i don't recall hearing any alarms temperaure wise, neither mention of them on the manual. Mine still runs strong, so for the price i paid for it, i'm happy. It isn't perfect though, it would be lovely if the fan could blow more air thus cooling the beans faster. It is true that getting to hear cracks could be tricky, depending on the coffe. Maintaning the chaff colector clean is a good idea, as it seems to me that chaff muffles sound a bit (at least is what it seems to me, i dont have actual evidence).

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Yeah I've had two gene cafes over about 7 years, the first one didn't have an alarm, but the one I got 2 years ago does, it's a fairly recent addition, not sure what year they added it. A variable fan would be a MASSIVE upgrade to the machine for so many reasons and it's the number one thing I'd ask for! As for the muffled sound, that's a complaint I regularly get from customers switching from other roasters, but it seems to magically get better after about 3-6 months of regular use. Must have something to do with the machine breaking in!

[@dazpower1234]

Hi Dave I’m getting this roaster delivered tmrw how to you change temp to Celsius cheers is the cooling good on it

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Hi! Unfortunately I don't believe there is a way to switch the temperature readout to Celcius. I personally recommend investing in an external bean cooler with the Gene Cafe, but it's still a good idea to allow the cooling cycle to run empty

[@TheSunnySideofCoffee]

Wow now i want to know more about coffee roasting

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

We got more vids out and more on the way!

[@TheSunnySideofCoffee]

@@TheCaptainsCoffee Awesome sauce :) ☺️

[@Anarchsis]

I just did this roast with the only exception being I went a little longer-18 seconds past your total time-I like my beans a little darker. So I’ll let them rest for a few days and then I’ll try them. I forgot to mention I used a blend of 5 different Guatemalan beans and Indian Peaberry Robusta, so some of the initial drying phase and browning phase was less consistent and FC didn’t happen til just after 9 mins. I cooled externally with GeneCafes cooling unit.

[@pierrelajeunesse9368]

Your recommandation is to use the GeneCafe on a 20 amp breaker. I only have a 15 amp in my garage. What should I do to compensate ? Thanks.

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

15 amp is usually fine, I just like to err on the side of more amps than you need to account for any other potential electrical issues. As long as your voltage is pretty consistent and you aren't running anything (I mean ANYTHING) else on the circuit, you should be totally fine! If you must use an extension cord, make sure it's as short as possible and is fairly low gauge (14 is ok if short, 12ga is best)

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Wanna see another Demo Roast and Gene Cafe breakdown? Mike @VirtualCoffeeLab has an awesome video! kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6utmoCJlJ10pJY *UPDATE DECEMBER 2022*: Since the release of this video, the manufacturer has clarified their stance regarding pre-heating the CBR-101: "We do not recommend preheating the roast chamber. This will dry out the blade cushions on the swing arm prematurely." - Gene Cafe USA. If you're looking to pick up a Gene Cafe, Unroasted coffee or any other home roasting supplies, support our channel by shopping with us! thecaptainscoffee.com/

[@HaekalAlchatieb]

This is very helpful thanks man 😊

[@bhgant813]

Thank you, very informative to those of us shopping for our first roaster!

[@shawnee3]

Excellent video. Very helpful. Been using a FreshRoast SR500 for a few years now and looking to upgrade.

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

I'm actually in the middle of doing a video comparing the Gene to the SR800! Hoping to have it out early next week if all goes well. You may wanna watch that when deciding which to upgrade with!

[@shawnee3]

@@TheCaptainsCoffee OK, thanks

[@mzedith1]

@@TheCaptainsCoffee I will be watching for this video. Hopefully it prevents me from wanting to get the gene

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

@@mzedith1 I've got a video coming at in a week or so that directly compares the SR800 and the Gene, I think you'll enjoy it :)

[@clarencereddick2811]

I'm considering roasting as I'm a long time coffee lover. I have a difficult time keeping coffee I prefer on hand. We have tried store bought coffees and my top 2 choices Starbucks French Toast Dark made from Arabica beans and recently beans sold by My Coffee. So I need to achieve that dark rich flavor to be satisfied. However, in doing that I may experience some new taste along the way. I utilize a Jura Expresso / Coffee maker that utilizes grinding is beans while in the expressing process. So questions are, beans, their cost, availability and shelf life in roasted. Thank you

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Howdy Clarence! For dark and rich, you can't beat wet-hulled Indonesian coffee (Sumatra, Bali, Sulawesi). Guatemalan and Colombian coffee usually take on darker roast levels well too! Those are also coffees that tend to enjoy availability for most of the year. Roasted shelf life depends on how carefully you store them, but I usually try to use my fresh roasted beans within a month of roasting for best flavor. While green (and stored well) they should last you at least 6 months. For an idea of prices, check out our selection: thecaptainscoffee.com

[@clarencereddick4099]

Okay, I’ll check it out. Thank you for the reply. Happy New Year!

[@Yirgamalabar]

I've been happily using my Gene Cafe for 13 years (superb reliability BTW) and since I like what I get I never really considered adding a preheat stage or doing external cooling. I do point a small fan to the outside of the drum from a close range, and that reduces cooling time by about a minute, getting the roaster from 235c to 150c in about 2 minutes. I assume not much roasting is happening below 150c, so at that point I just clamp the fan and let it blow air from a bit more of a distance. Not sure this really makes much of a difference, but it's a habit that doesn't require much effort and prevents the chance of getting a burn if I'm not careful enough moving the beans to external cooling. Do you think preheating and external cooling are worth the effort? Have you had a chance to evaluate their impact in a blind triangle test where roasts of different technique (e.g. with internal vs external cooling) are adjusted to achieve the same roast level?

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience! I think the answer to your question differs from roaster to roaster. I have led blind cupping tests on the Gene Cafe and there was consistently a difference (positively) when both pre-heating and external cooling were used. I don't think I've tried to isolate which is more important, but I have talked to other gene cafe users who anecdotally backed up that finding. However, and I can't say this often enough, never let anyone tell you that you MUST roast a certain way! If you're happy with your coffee, that's all that matters :)

[@KellyanneGill]

Hi David, have a look at a video I did roasting Brazil Natural, on my Gene Cafe Roaster, hope you enjoy it 🙂

[@ryder1879]

I really enjoy your videos im very impressed on your knowledge of the roasting process. I roast coffee as my career for starbucks. We roast on 2 roasters called a train that yield about 500 or more pounds per cycle. Cycle times vary due to roasting curves and flavor profiles we are trying to achieve. We have times and temps we have to achieve at certain times in the roast for each roasting curve to get the desired color we want our beans to be. We have 6 different roasting curves we use. I really want to start roasting my own coffee as a hobby. This machine looks like a lot of fun. It’s so cool to be able to hear the pop of the beans we know about the time and temp in the roast cycle when its supposed to happen but because of the shear volume we can’t hear anything but the the burner and cooling fans running most of the time. Our plant produces an average of 3.1 millions pound per week. That’s green coffee to roasted to packaged . Thanks so much for sharing this video. Im seriously thinking of buying a roaster and if i do ill buy through you guys as well as the green

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

holy cow that's alotta coffee 😳 you should definitely check out home roasting to really get you in touch with the process! I used to be a commercial roaster as well (but on a SIGNIFICANTLY lower scale). We had a shop size roaster so I could still hear cracks and all while also seeing the roast curves. I started on a home roaster tho so you'd be kinda going backwards from me haha

[@mred3660]

That looks familiar lol great video David

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

😉

[@lastiendasdebenja-tost.dec7407]

Hola. estaba preocupado porque creí q la maquina no funcionaba. pero gracias a su video, logré tostar luego de un par de intentos. muchas gracias.

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

¡Estoy feliz de haberte ayudado!

[@mzedith1]

Great video! ugh , want one!

[@mandeepthukral6786]

Great and very informative video. I have been thinking about getting into home roasting, this machine seems to be a good beginner/home roaster.

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

So glad you enjoyed it! My two favorite home roasters are the Gene Cafe and the SR800, here's a video I did to help folks decide which one might be best for them: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mWGWn3aoidmFkJY

[@cadizwilmo9687]

I want to buy one! Is there sales tax to shipping to SC? Thanks for this video.

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Nope 😉

[@curtcarlson96]

I started my roasting journey with a Behmor but went to a Freshroast 500 for its simplicity. That was when I started enjoying roasting! I then got the SR800 with an extension tube. My mind just can't leave the idea of a Gene Cafe alone. I appreciate this video. I had never heard of your website and will for sure consider getting one through you if i decide to pull the trigger!! Are there ever any sales on them? Again...thank you!

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Hey Curt, happy to help! The manufacturer will occasionally allow vendors to put sales on them during Black Friday, but otherwise the price is set by the manufacturer. Have you seen this video from us yet? kzbin.info/www/bejne/mWGWn3aoidmFkJY I think it'll really help you decide if the Gene cafe is the roaster for you over the SR800!

[@curtcarlson96]

@@TheCaptainsCoffee ....Thank you for pointing out that video. I watched it and I have decided that I really think I would enjoy having the Gene Cafe for the busy months in the summer when I am busy making hay and just want to get some beans roasted!! But i will still have my 800 for times I want to play around!! Now to decide if right now is the right time to spend the money!! Thank you for your reply! Thank you for your channel!

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

@@curtcarlson96 If you can have both, why not?! We, along with all Gene Cafe vendors were recently informed by the distributor that we would need to increase the MAP (minimum advertised price) by $25 beginning 3/1/22. Not sure if they'll still do a Black Friday sale this year, but in years past they've allowed us to reduce the price by ~$50. Hope that helps with your decision making!

[@curtcarlson96]

@@TheCaptainsCoffee...Thank you so much for all your replies and information! Much appreciated!

[@sharpscaper]

Great video and exactly what I needed. We've had the Gene for a little over a year and really have not used it much but plan to do so for sample roast as we have a Diedrick 3 kilo for our larger roast. I was concerned about pre heat but I can see the benefits.

[@Anarchsis]

I roast so differently, I’m sure I’ve read not to pre-heat the chamber because the heating element can blow. Anyway, I usually roast to 240-245c, it takes about 13 minutes, I roast for other people and they all like it so I can’t be too wrong. I’ve decided to experiment so I bought some beans for that and I’ll pre-heat the same as you just to see and learn.

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Appreciate you sharing your method, I'm always up for trying new things and seeing what works for me!

[@serjherman]

How's the preheating going for you?

[@MrDistill]

Thanks for this. Any chance of doing an Ethiopian natural demonstration?

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Absolutely! We're planning on eventually doing a 3 part series covering ethiopia natural and 2 other common coffee types. It'll be a bit in the making but it's coming!

[@ourbeeshoneycom]

Great video, lately most med roasts seem like dark roasts. Would love to roast my own so i can dial in a bean i like.

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

That's what it's all about!

[@theopoiesis]

Would it work to start a little business?

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

certainly! We have many customers who use 8oz roasters like this one or the SR800 for farmer's markets or small ecommerce stores. It's all a matter of how many batches you're willing to do in a roasting session to fill orders :)

[@theopoiesis]

@@TheCaptainsCoffee Thank you captain. I aim to one of these 💪🏻

[@tomhester3770]

I would like to purchase this roaster. I am very much a beginner in roasting, having used a hot air popcorn popper. How easy is this for someone like me?

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

It's certainly the easiest roaster to use that we sell! I'd say it's easier than a popper. Check out our video on this roaster vs the fresh roast sr800, hopefully that will help with your decision :)

[@tomhester3770]

@@TheCaptainsCoffee Thanks, your response is very helpful.

[@pierresojka762]

Is it for roasting filter coffee or is espresso also possible? :) greets from Germany

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Both! Espresso is just a brew method so you can use any beans you find appropriate for making espresso. Roasters frequently make "Espresso blends" as they're just a blend of coffees and roasts meant to achieve an expected profile when making espresso. Either way, the Gene can handle anything you throw at it

[@parenthope3]

I use Gene and prefer the SR...more even roast...less baby sitting...I'm looking at your roast at 22:00 to 23:00 and I would call that slightly uneven

[@planetfabulous5833]

Great info and you are yummy so I'm subscribing!

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

🤣

[@mattseibert8588]

The long awaited Gene cafe video! Thanks for the work getting it out. Do you do similar process for lighter roasts? Maybe it's my machine or my roasting environment but typically my machine will always reach my temp setpoint well before 1C. Would this indicate too much heat going in to fast? I'm always afraid of scorching or tipping because of how fast I get to final temp so I tend to set my temp a little lower, but then sometimes get underdevelopment if I try and roast light.

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Hey Matt! My pleasure! I'm in the camp of faster is better with the gene, don't worry too much about the timing of your temps on the roaster, look at the bigger picture. 1C within 6-9 minutes (depending on coffee and target roast level) and if your concerned about tipping/ scorching, there's an easy check: post roast, break or slice a bean in half. Do the inner and outer colors of the bean match? You're good.

[@mattseibert8588]

@@TheCaptainsCoffee awesome. Thanks!

[@hybridroaster1955]

Hi is the fan speed constant. Does it vary with remperature control Thanks Mark

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Hey Mark! Fan speed is indeed constant and does not vary with the Gene Cafe

[@hybridroaster1955]

@@TheCaptainsCoffee thanks

[@wakeawaken430]

I had this roast machine for 2 years and I experimented a lot with various settings and coffees There is only one way to roast with gene cafe and have REALLY good results Batch size, 200gr for low medium dense beans and 150 for really high dense Preheat at max temp for 10' and then act quick and put the beans inside Roast at max temp and watch for 1st crack Now, if you want city roast, 15"-30" after finished 1st crack, stop the machine and quickly cool the beans with a fan outside the glass, I had a diy sieve for this

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Excellent method, thanks for sharing! I think cooling outside the roaster is critical with the Gene and you're right, my best roasts are with the temp cranked and well pre-heated

[@wakeawaken430]

@@TheCaptainsCoffee I tried a lot to cool inside cause it's much easier and cleaner(no chaf wars), but it's very slow and the beans actually continue to roast from their own heat, many times heard the second crack, even if I stopped for city roast

[@georgepopescu1327]

If you aim for a lighter roast, how much should you weit after first crack?

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

For a light roast (city) Pull ~0:45 to 1:15 mins into first crack, for light-medium (city+) pull ~1:15 to 2 mins. Fine line between the two, but some folks like just a touch more development on a lighter roast!

[@rusty256]

Awesome video

[@galhershkovits]

How long after the roast do you actually brew the coffee (for espresso) and how would you storage it in the meantime?

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Depends on the coffee and roast level but my rule of thumb is minimum 3 days rest though up to 5 is even better for lighter roasts

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

For storage: dry, dark and away from oxygen is the key! You can use mason jars, bags or anything like that but containers & bags with 1 way valves are best!

[@galhershkovits]

Thank you very much, great video.

[@mred3660]

If anyone needs to vent to outside thru their kitchen window the exhaust is the same size as gas hot water heaters you can pickup that size flex pipe up at Lowe’s and HomeDepot and when it needs cleaned just buy more flex pipe

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Big advice Mr. Ed, thanks for sharing!

[@lathuong2010]

Could you please help me for trouble shooting E4 error in this machine coz my machine is now having this error. Please kindly help .

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

E4 is an issue with the heating element, here are some things you can try if you have a multimeter: genecafeusa.com/blogs/news/60898563-diagnostic-tests-for-e4-error-and-heating-problems-cbr-101. Otherwise, I'd suggest reaching out to Gene Cafe: genecafeusa.com/pages/gene-cafe-service

[@arnoldacerimmer6790]

You said you like to preheat your device and roasting chamber and I assume you do not have any problems with that. I read the manual and it says Do not preheat chamber without beans in the chamber. The manufacturer must think it is unsafe. Your thoughts.

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Hmm that must be a relatively new addition to the manual! Preheating was common practice for most other Gene users I spoke to as well. I don't think they've changed the materials or anything like that in the machine. My guess is that they are worried about liability if someone should burn themselves while swapping beans into a hot chamber, so obviously be very careful if you choose to do that! My advice is always to follow the manual and any deviation outside of that you should be very careful. If you're concerned, feel free to send them an email through their webpage at genecafeusa.com!

[@arnoldacerimmer6790]

@@TheCaptainsCoffee Thank you for your reply. I am considering purchasing the Gene Cafe and went to the website to download the manual and read it so it could be a new addition to the manual. I thought it might be a problem putting cold coffee beans on the hot glass container. I have had the FreshRoast 800 for several years and I think it is giving up the ghost. Blower sometimes will barely move the beans. Must be time for an upgrade. Thanks again.

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

@@arnoldacerimmer6790 You don't have to give up on your SR800! Fresh Roast will fix anything wrong with it and give it a full tune up for $50 flat. homeroastingsupplies.com/repair

[@arnoldacerimmer6790]

@@TheCaptainsCoffee That is great information. Thank you very much.

[@edwilmoth2377]

How do you switch between C and F temperatures? We have been told it is possible.

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Unfortunately I don't believe the 110v version of the Gene can be switched to C

[@dazpower1234]

Also,do you ship spares for it to uk

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Sorry, at this time we are not setup for international shipping. Maybe one day!

[@michalis9]

Is this easy to vent out a window?

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

I haven't tried it with the Gene Cafe myself, but I know several others who have been successful doing this! I think the important thing is to make sure you're using metal piping meant for a woodstove. Usually available at Lowes/Home Depot

[@rokiabenlahrech9274]

Est-ce qu'on peut avoir la notice en français s'ils vous plaît merci

[@jk01973]

This roaster is not available in South Africa 😢😢😢

[@raoulmetlitzky7417]

It is. I have been using one for years !

[@KH-pl4ro]

Anyone knows how to change Fº to Cº on Gene Cafe?

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

Unfortunately I don't believe there's a way to switch it to Celcius 🥲

[@brianeaton3734]

Man, is this dude cheesy. Couldn’t get past the intro.

[@TheCaptainsCoffee]

🙃🤪