Six months of figuring out good espresso, and now I've found myself here. God bless the coffee rabbit hole, it never ends!

Fantastic review! Well done, great content! Also I appreciate the persona descriptions near the end

I just got the Gene Cafe specifically because I am to busy to get super deep into my SR800. I have had the SR700 and modded the crap out of it and then did the same with the SR800. I eventually got burnt out and am to busy to put the time in so it eventually collected dust. I ended up switching to the Gene Cafe and it is so much easier to use. It isn't as complex but in my phase of life that is what I was looking for. So your different type people profiles is 100% accurate.

Liked this comparison. Helped me to make a better choice. I’m going with the CBR-101, but I have to start saving for it.

Another point that supports the CBR101 being a better choice for more mellow, traditional, and darker roasting - it is easier to vent the exhaust funneled out the back and can be modded to accept ducting. The SR800 is more difficult to manage smoke, but that isn't too much of a concern for more modern roasts dropped before second crack. I personally really enjoy the flexibility and agility of fluid bed roasters like the SR800, however the approach and profiles for these types of roasters is much less available than for drum roasters. The instructional videos on The Captain's channel have been pivotal in understanding my roaster. Thanks so much!

Agree with this video -- as it happens, I purchased a Gene Cafe a number of years ago and it recently had An Incident which left me not willing to continue using it. So, for budgetary reasons, it was replaced with the SR800. By pure luck, this turns out to have been a good skill-level match. Gene Cafe was great to have fairly easy, little to no interaction roasts for the 6 or 7 years I used it -- but the SR800 is fun to get the most out of the various roasting stages. I can even tell the difference between 1st and 2nd crack easily! My only regret is not finding The Captain's Coffee website and KZfaq channel before making that purchase, but they do sell green coffee....

We’ll dang, I just bought an SR800, and now you got me thinking I need both! 😂😂😂😂

My friend and I are dabbling with the idea of roasting beans as another source of income for both us. I like the fact that both of these sample roasters that you showcased have major pro's towards the kind of roaster's profile. Your other tutorials are easy to watch and very informative. Thank you.

As a BBQ enthusiast (and Texan) it's like the Gene Cafe is a Pellet smoker, and the SR800 is an offset smoker...

I used a sr300 for 5 years. Simple to use. Playing with it makes you a master. I believe the total roast volume is the same for either machine. Yes you can manipulate the freshroast more, but, you don't have to. I'll go with SR800 because of the price. GREAT VIDEO!!

Another great video! I think you have nailed how each roaster can be used. I own both and, like you said, either preference in cup profile can be achieved with either one. However, the Freshroast excels with light and bright while the Gene excels with sweet and mellow. If you cool externally on the Gene you can get more brightness with no roastiness but you really need to cool quickly, less than 1min in my experience, and it goes against the manufacturer recommends, who says do not preheat or cool externally. I've found neither detrimental to the machine reliability after nearly 3 years.

Thank you so much for this informative video! You confirmed some of my prior thoughts about drum roasting. I'm deciding to stick with my Freshroast 540+ext tube. 2+ years in, and I'm still dialing in my light roast-It's a real blast!

Thanks for this side by side. Man I wish I had the time for the SR800, but its gona have to be the Gene Cafe for me.

Excellent videos. Thanks.

Beautiful comparison! I'm relieved because I'm easily home roaster #1 so I got the right roaster lol

My brother bought the CBR101 3 months ago and I just bought an SR800. I think your discussion on the type of person that is best suited for each machine is accurate. My brother has added a long vent tube to runout the window and it is great for him. He began using various beans to learn then he was given 25 pounds of Honduran washed beans and is very happy just roasting them the same way each roast. On the other hand, I think very differently. Before ordering my roaster I reviewed many videos over many months. With cost not being a factor, and only home roasting being my goal, as I am not young, I considered many roasters and decided to get an electric roaster that I could modify and attach to artisan. I decided that with the SR800 I could learn the basics quickly as I was purchasing all the items I would need to get everything that I needed to go down a more risky path. So I am presently awaiting a RazzoRoasting Extension Chamber and Chaff Collector Upgrade and Phidget company electronics and thermocouples for both bean and environmental temperature measurements.. ARTISAN will be used to track the roast and a microphone will be used with Audacity software to enable me to accurately see the FC on the computer as my hearing is not too great. Crazy, but for my personality, I went with all this stuff, while my brother took a different path. We are both enjoying this adventure in roasting but I am still waiting to really get going once all my upgrades arrive in the next week or so. Both of us are primarily espresso drinkers but brew by every method.

I have the SR800 and I have the extension tube on the way! The stock SR800 makes a great roast

Branding! (Great company by the way) thanks for the video ! Love my FreshRoast SR800 from The Captains Coffee

Very good video When I was working as a barista, we had in store a sonofresco 1.2kilo roaster (same design as SR800 but professional) Air roaster offers an extremely bright coffee that emphasizes fruity notes, that are not only notes but vibrant taste One thing that you have to pay attention with these, instead of drum roasters, is that you may have been roasted at higher level, for example full city, but the color of the bean is lighter as city

Great video. SR 800 is my choice. Thanks.

There are a few forums that has mods for the Gene Cafe to use Artisan, but heat control on both are lacking to really dial into your roasts. Both are great beginner roasters, they are really entry level as you can't control the heat to really dial in a perfect roast, great for home roasting though.

wow great video!

Boom. Branding. Haha love the content brother

Great video. I want Behmor vs. Gene !

There are wireless smart thermometers, the stuff used for smoker/grill

I have the smaller SR. It's good except that I always end up with some crust stuck to the roasted beans. Never clean beans. I am exploring Gene for only this reason.

Hello, hope you are well. First of all, congratulations for your KZfaq channel, love it, pretty informative, simple to understand and pleasant to watch. I am a coffee lover and enthusiast, I live in Brazil and buy whole beans to grind at home and brew mostly medium roast using the Aeropress. I will invest in an entry level espresso machine (probably the Bambino Plus) and also would like to start roasting at home, so I am about to decide between the SR800 and the Gene Cafe (I really liked the Link Nucleous Coffee, but it is out of my budget for a first coffee roaster machine... maybe in the future). I have watched your videos comparing them.... I am a computer engineer and always liked reading manuals, tweaking, etc, but after my daughter was born (she is 4 now) my "free time" has become very scarce, and basically everything in my life is based on ease, less time and energy spent. I have watched your comparison video between the two models, and I am still in doubt, so please if you could help me, I would appreciate. Thanks in advance, Denis

Interesting! What about the Ikawa vs sandbox smart vs kaffelogic nano 7? 😃

I am really strugling to get the Freshroast here in South Africa. Where can I turn to for help?

I only have use of one arm what roaster would be easier to use with only one hand?

Is one or the other better at darker roasts?

Love my Gene Cafe.

100% agree Captain For me I love the SRA 800 I love being able to be or get more scientific with my roast and the Gene Cafe just wouldn’t let me do that Both roasters are great and will make someone happy with the decision they make Merry Christmas and happy New Year

Dude, that was hilarious. Roaster #1 is for nerds. You could have said that in 30 seconds. I'm nerding out on the SR800 with Kent's bong tube, nuclear thermometer and turbo chaff collector. Done and more fun than generic cafe.

Hello loved the video. I am looking for a home roaster, but, being a “she” not a “he”, it looks like maybe neither of these roasters are for me. All kidding aside, I like medium dark to dark roasts. Which roaster is most consistent at that roast level? Also, does roasting decaf make a difference in either of these roasters. I did read somewhere that decaf is a bit more finicky. Thanks

i had a gene cafe for one year of great roasting . then one day during the cooling phase the chaff basket burst into flames destroying both the basket and the roaster. in spite of the roaster having security procedures requiring periodically pressing a button to continuing the roast, a fire caused by overheated beans or chaff in a flammable chaff basket is UNACCEPTABLE

Hi David, got the SR800 and also got immediately bummed out after reading in the manual that it may contain toxic materials known by the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects, so on and so forth... What are your thoughts around that? THanks

Which is better for getting a dark French Roast?

SR 800 roaster here. I've done about 25-75 8 oz batches maybe 20 lbs of beans over about 2 years. Blower motor has burned up, sounds like bearings are going/gone, screaches and howels with reduced airflow, trips a 15 amp braker. So actual use life expectancy seems around ~50 batches over 1 1/2 to 2 years. I like the unit, I was able to get beans roasted to my tastes, mostly to just the begining of second crack, quite repeatably. But I really don't think I am inclined to get a new unit (now around $300) which I strongly suspect will just die in another 1 1/2 years/50 batches. And the CBR101 @ $650 and again a one year warrenty like the SR 800 which kinda tells me it wont last much longer than that is a non-started. I guess I will just have to cobble something together for myself.

Do you think you can achieve proffesionel levels of roasting on these home machines?

after i roast i put my beans in a pan of cold water saves 'where an tear ` the fans

Gene Cafe

there is no any product in your website

Boom branding 😂

Home roasters are also "she's" :)