# Gene Cafe CBR-1200



## Geordie Boy

Claudette was saying on Saturday that BB have the CBR-1200 on trial (it's still awaiting CE approval).






It still looks like a standard Gene Cafe on steroids to me!


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## The Systemic Kid

Don't think it will fit in the kitchen or the garage come to think of it.


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## Charliej

Just build a shed or an extension to fit in then Patrick lol


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## ronsil

That looks very good - I like the way it can be broken down for cleaning.

Will be interesting to see at what price point the Machine comes in at after CE approval


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## johnyenglish

I'd have to build an extension onto the house to make room for that! Just watched the video and if she comes with it I'll take one


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## The Systemic Kid

ronsil said:


> That looks very good - I like the way it can be broken down for cleaning.
> 
> Will be interesting to see at what price point the Machine comes in at after CE approval


Looks about four times the size of the Gene, so I'm going for £1200. Anyone else fancy predicting the price??


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## Bean 'n' Gone

I've been looking for a bigger roaster and liked the look of this as I already have a gene café , but the prices that I have been given as an estimate are just short of £4000. Not sure how accurate that is but its the same or similar to the toper cafemino 1Kg roaster.


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## aphelion

£4000!!!


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## Geordie Boy

I got the impression that it was going to be a few £k. Worth noting that BB are paying the CE approval costs and will have exclusivity


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## The Systemic Kid

Charliej said:


> Just build a shed or an extension to fit in then Patrick lol


Missus would kill me Charlie.


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## DavecUK

Geordie Boy said:


> Claudette was saying on Saturday that BB have the CBR-1200 on trial (it's still awaiting CE approval). It still looks like a standard Gene Cafe on steroids to me!


*
Funnily enough I'm actually reviewing it for them*







and it's waay different to a standard Gene Cafe, no plastic at all. I'm putting around 100-120 kilo- of 4 different coffees through for testing and testing is taking a couple of months, because I want to cover different ambient temps and have a lot of things to check and taste. It really is a commercial roaster designed to produce a lot of coffee and definitely should not be used in a house. Coffeeshop or workshop, fine, but not in a house. It has a very clever bean hopper for loading the drum, ejection and external cooling system in a tray, fully supporting back to back roasting.

I don't think BB anticipated any private individuals owning one (well I'm going to keep the one I'm testing), but I am sure there will be a few people who decide they want one at home. If you are one of those individuals, you might want to ensure you've a group of people who will take a few kilos per month of coffee from you. When you step up from a 250g home roaster producing about 210g of roasted coffee each batch to a roaster producing about 850g per batch (1kg green loses weight when roasted), that's 4 times more coffee. Even if you do 3 roasts (1hr), that's 16x more coffee than from your normal home roaster. To have variety of beans, you need like 4 types of coffee and at least 10kg of each.. So a small informal outlet is a good idea. I personally don't have any trouble getting rid of my roasted coffee to friends etc... Results so far are excellent and reproducible (important in a commercial roaster), the larger batch sizes definitely making this type of Hybrid roasting produce excellent results, maintenance will be minimal in the home environment and similar even in the commercial one.

Someone commented on the cost, it is a very very well made/designed roaster and although I shock myself to say it, does so far seem worth the money.....now off to do more testing!


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## froggystyle

Any updates on this machine?


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## 4085

£3500 plus vat

I have seen the review video of it which is not yet available as it needs editing etc. Not really aimed for us home users!


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## froggystyle

Seems a good price, looking at other similar sized roasters its about £1000 cheaper...


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## Geordie Boy

Price confirmed at £3,495.83 + VAT. Now available for pre-order with a reduced price for the first 4 units @ £2,995 + VAT


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## Glenn

Here's a link to the item on the Bella Barista website

http://www.bellabarista.co.uk/coffee-beans/coffee-roasting-machines/gene-cafe-coffee-roaster-cbr-1200.html

Discount available for the first 6 to buy


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## froggystyle

Can someone lend me 4k please?


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## Charliej

Next Raffle prize? 200 tickets at 25 each? lol


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## iroko

I'd just love one of those.


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## Glenn

Here are some further details

  

Click to Download the First Look Review


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## soundklinik

There is something that just don't add up...a 1kg machine costs 4 000 pounds?

the same machine but a smaller version that roasts 250-300 grams or 1/4 kg, cost 329 pounds. So buying four of these machines for 1300 pounds will give you a 1kg yield and you're still ahead of about 2700 quid...

Does Gene company take people for idiots?


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## ronsil

soundklinik said:


> Does Gene company take people for idiots?


We're talking different animals here with the two machines. It does not only relate to capacities.

Things like control, cooling & repeatability are just some of the extra things that come into the equation.


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## DavecUK

soundklinik said:


> There is something that just don't add up...a 1kg machine costs 4 000 pounds?
> 
> the same machine but a smaller version that roasts 250-300 grams or 1/4 kg, cost 329 pounds. So buying four of these machines for 1300 pounds will give you a 1kg yield and you're still ahead of about 2700 quid...
> 
> Does Gene company take people for idiots?


Ah...good one....your right of course 4 Gene Cafes could indeed roast 1kg of green beans....perhaps you could not quite get the hourly output of the CBR-1200, but as you say, a significant saving. Shh...don't tell anyone buying one.









But as Ron says, other factors come into play.....and the roast quality is a tiny bit better...well hugely better.


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## froggystyle

Anyone know how the sales of the new roaster are going with Bella, much interest?


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## DavecUK

froggystyle said:


> Anyone know how the sales of the new roaster are going with Bella, much interest?


I'm going down there to help them show the people who have purchased a CBR-1200 so far how to use it...in reality, I'm going to try and watch them roast themselves and peep into the room where the rest of you forum guys will be on the Vesuvius, or Vesuvii. I've advised them to have one working and one with it's case off so you can see inside, in case there are any questions.

I don't know for sure, I think they have sold more than half the initial order on pre-order....they land in the UK in about 3 weeks time. it's been under an exceptionally heavy test by me. e.g. When i say a heating element is easy to replace, it's because I've done it...all for the sake of science and without the benefit of any information from the Koreans...which actually came the day after I bloody well did it. So far it's the best 1kg roaster I have used and also better than some of the 500g offerings I tried.


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## froggystyle

Thanks, hopefully the buyers may come on here and share some pics and updates.

I am really keen on getting one in two years.


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## Going banana's

theres something ive always wondered about the gene cafe, most of the roasts i see people have done are about 15 minutes, isnt that a bit on the long side?

i always thought 8-12minutes was the sweet spot.


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## froggystyle

Depends on the level of roast you want, and also what temp your roasting at.

I roast to medium to dark, usually about 13 minutes is fine.


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## DavecUK

> theres something ive always wondered about the gene cafe, most of the roasts i see people have done are about 15 minutes, isnt that a bit on the long side?
> 
> i always thought 8-12minutes was the sweet spot.


Nope...it's not on the long side, in fact a Gene from cold is doing very little for the 60 to 90s...Also for people running a drying phase....the Gene is a high airflow roaster and heats slowly especially early on, you don't really need to.

as for 8-12 minutes being the sweet spot for roasting coffee...all i can say is give it a tray....If you like it, that's all that matters I suppose. I think really you have to simply try and learn and find out what works best for you. I might think it's a little on the rapid side...but hey, that's just me and the way I like my personal coffee roasted.


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