Hello! I'm so happy to join and have already looked at some open threads to get some help with dialing in my new Gene Cafe roaster. I've played around with a few of the recommended times/temps and am still working out the kinks. But I wanted to see if there are people here who have used the roaster as a sample roaster for bigger production? We are looking to branch out into some retail roasting and wanted to get some feedback on the Gene Cafe's abilities in that regard. Thanks!

I have used the Gene for 9 years and find it "adequate." Were I to use a roaster in commercial production, I would go towards a Hottop or a Huky. I have seen the Hottop in two very good roasters' environment for sample roasting.

The Gene develops acidity well but it toasts more than it roasts. Body is a bit diminished. Again, I have loved it for home use but I would step it up were I sampling greens for commercial production.

Agree with Boldjava. As a prior owner of one I can say the Gene definitely has its limitations. Despite the illusion offered by the controls you really don't have very good control of the temperature of the bean mass. You also charge it cold and it does not drop the beans for cooling, which may lead to more of a baked roast. It would also not be great for generating roast profiles. The Huky IMO is great for sample roasts. Don't have any experience with a Hottop.

keno wrote:...You also charge it cold and it does not drop the beans for cooling, which may lead to more of a baked roast. . .

When using the Gene, pre-heat it. I use an external cooling system (using E-stop) with a shop vac.

Yeah, I guess you could do that but it's a pain and a clear limitation of the design.

The Gene is marginally better than the Behmor, but just as unreliable or maybe more so and a lot more expensive. It's a shame no one else makes a decent roaster in that price range as it's a huge jump in price from a Behmor to a Hottop.

I started out roasting with a Gene, but found it too limited in terms of controls etc. The Gene is basically a "push one button" roaster, which does a decent job for a home-roaster, but it will be very hard to duplicate those results on a larger scale professional roaster.
Some 9 months ago I got meself a Huky 500, which definitely could serve as a sample roaster.

Go Huky.. It's a machine compared to a toy (hottop)

I work for Hottop. While you are entitled to your opinion, I find that comment misleading at best. We have sold many roasters to small roasteries, coffee shops, and farms and [processors in South and Central America where they are used for the very purpose of sample roasters.

I never said that it couldn't be used as a sample roaster. I said that it is a toy compared to the Huky. That's a fact. I owned a hottop and I enjoyed the machine, but those 2 roasters aren't in the same class.

Also, at the new price point of the hottop compared to what it used to be makes it even easier to choose the Huky or quest.

To chime in regarding Hottop's use as a sample roaster - I've been using one to roast off basic green samples from importers for possible bigger purchases to roast on a Probat L12.

What I've discovered is that Hottop makes very good coffee for it's humble existence - I'm able to make light roasts that will reveal the basic taste profile of the bean and (so far) reveal flavor defects that help me choose to buy the coffee or pass on it.

However, the major drawback is the safety protocol in place which requires the roaster to completely cool down to 160F between roasts. My general sample roast profile takes (generally) 11-12 minutes in the roaster but you then have to add cool down AND preheat time, making each batch time around 45 minutes per sample.

Not really efficient if you have > 4 samples to roast in a sitting.

Otherwise it makes great coffee - if you can tie-in other unrelated business tasks between cool down and preheat times, I think you'd be happy with the Hottop.