The Café CGE29DP2TS1 is a high-end 36" wide standard depth French door dual-evaporator refrigerator based on the GE Profile PGE29BYTFS. It's available with a wide array of finishes and door hardware. This fridge has an 'AutoFill' pitcher inside the door as a water dispenser and an ice maker in the freezer. Inside the fridge are split shelves and a fold-away 'Quick Space' shelf, along with six deep door bins. The freezer includes two drawers and a pull-out tray for wide, flat items. There's a separate temperature-controlled drawer between the fridge and freezer compartments.
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Our Verdict
The Café CGE29DP2TS1 is an excellent option for everyday use. Its produce preservation performance is outstanding due to the dual evaporators and the excellent produce bin seal, so it'll keep produce fresh for a long time. Refrigerator and freezer temperature uniformity is impressive; there are no overly warm spots anywhere, and the door bins aren't much warmer than the fridge. The refrigerator capacity is great, with conveniences like split shelves, deep door bins, and a separate temperature-controlled drawer. The freezer capacity is good, with enough space for family-sized boxes of burgers or chicken, and there's a dedicated pull-out tray for pizza boxes.
Dual evaporator design leads to high humidity in the fridge, improving produce preservation.
Effective produce bin seal leads to remarkable produce preservation.
Freezer pull-out tray adds capacity for wide, flat items like pizza boxes.
Refrigerator door bins are well-cooled.
Impressive temperature uniformity in the fridge and freezer.
The Café CGE29DP2TS1 offers remarkable produce preservation performance. Dual evaporators keep the refrigerator's humidity high so that produce stays fresh even outside of the crisper drawer. The produce bin's seal is very effective, sealing in moisture and preventing produce like lettuce, celery, and carrots from drying out for well over a week.
Dual evaporator design leads to high humidity in the fridge, improving produce preservation.
Effective produce bin seal leads to remarkable produce preservation.
The Café CGE29DP2TS1 delivers great refrigerator capacity. There's lots of space in this fridge, with split shelves, two large bins, and six deep door bins. There are multiple ways to accommodate tall items like narrow-neck bottles, including a fold-away shelf to allow for greater clearance at the front of the fridge compartment. A fairly unobtrusive 'AutoFill' water pitcher doesn't take away too much space. There's also a separate temperature-controlled pull-out drawer, which you can configure as a deli bin, thawing drawer, beverage, or wine cooler.
Great refrigerator capacity.
Separate temperature-controlled drawer adds flexible capacity to the fridge.
Multiple height-adjustable split shelves.
The Café CGE29DP2TS1 offers good freezer capacity. The ice tray doesn't take up too much space in the top freezer drawer, leaving lots of room for items like bags of frozen vegetables, and the bottom freezer drawer is wide and deep enough for family-sized boxes of burgers, chicken, or fish. There's also a short pull-out tray between the drawers, which is ideal for wide, flat items like pizza boxes.
Freezer pull-out tray adds capacity for wide, flat items like pizza boxes.
Good capacity in the freezer bins.
Bottom freezer bin is deep and wide enough for large boxes.
The Café CGE29DP2TS1 exhibits impressive temperature uniformity in both the fridge and the freezer. In each compartment, cold air from its individual evaporator is distributed quite evenly. There are no overly warm spots, so you can place items anywhere without being concerned about food safety. The refrigerator door bins are also quite well-cooled, allowing you to store milk or butter here without the risk of early spoilage.
Impressive refrigerator temperature uniformity.
Refrigerator door bins are well-cooled.
Great freezer temperature uniformity.
The Café CGE29DP2TS1 offers decent ice-making performance. The ice maker isn't very fast, but it will deliver enough ice for a couple or a small family. The ice tray is a little short and won't store much more than a day's worth of ice, so you might need to buy ice if you're hosting a party.
Short ice tray gives only decent capacity.
Slow ice production rate.
Performance Usages
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Café CGE29DP2TS1 is available in five base finishes, with different door hardware finishes or no door handles. We tested the CGE29DP2TS1 model; here's its label. These refrigerators are also available with an external in-door water dispenser and in a counter-depth form factor. Our test results aren't representative of these variants.
| Model | Finish | Door Hardware Finish | Water Dispenser | Counter Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CGE29DP2TS1 | Stainless Steel | Brushed Stainless | Internal AutoFill pitcher | No |
| CGE29DP3TD1 | Matte Black | Brushed Stainless | Internal AutoFill pitcher | No |
| CGE29DP4TW2 | Matte White | Brushed Bronze | Internal AutoFill pitcher | No |
| CGE29DM5TS5 | Platinum Glass | None | Internal AutoFill pitcher | No |
| CVE28DP2NS1 | Stainless Steel | Brushed Stainless | External in-door | No |
| CVE28DP3ND1 | Matte Black | Brushed Stainless | External in-door | No |
| CVE28DP4NW2 | Matte White | Brushed Bronze | External in-door | No |
| CJE23DP2WS1 | Stainless Steel | Brushed Stainless | Internal AutoFill pitcher | Yes |
| CJE23DP3WD1 | Matte Black | Brushed Stainless | Internal AutoFill pitcher | Yes |
| CJE23DP4WW2 | Matte White | Brushed Bronze | Internal AutoFill pitcher | Yes |
| CJE23DM5WS5 | Platinum Glass | None | Internal AutoFill pitcher | Yes |
| CXE22DP2PS1 | Stainless Steel | Brushed Stainless | External in-door | Yes |
| CXE22DP3PD1 | Matte Black | Brushed Stainless | External in-door | Yes |
| CXE22DP4PW2 | Matte White | Brushed Bronze | External in-door | Yes |
If you find another variant, please let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Popular Refrigerator Comparisons
On the surface, the Café CGE29DP2TS1 appears to be just a GE Profile PGE29BYTFS with different colors and copper trim accents, but there are several key differences that improve the Café's performance. The Café has a very effective produce bin seal, offering superior produce preservation performance versus the GE Profile. In addition, the Café offers a little more space in the freezer since it adds a pull-out tray for wide, thin items like pizza boxes, and its separate temperature-controlled drawer has a "soft freeze" setting for gentle thawing or softening ice cream, something which the GE Profile doesn't offer. It's a much better performer than the similarly priced Fisher & Paykel Series 7 RF201AHJSX1 and compares favorably against the standout Bosch 500 Series B36FD52SNS, since it has the advantage of dual evaporators and delivers even better produce preservation performance.
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The Café CGE29DP2TS1 is a slightly better fridge than the Bosch 500 Series B36FD52SNS. The Café has dual evaporators, leading to slightly better produce preservation performance despite the Bosch's excellent produce bin seal. The fridges perform quite similarly in most other respects, and even have very similar capacities. The Bosch does have an externally accessible in-door ice and water dispenser, though.
The Café CGE29DP2TS1 is a better fridge than the GE Profile PVD28BYNFS. The Café has a much better produce drawer seal and much better produce preservation performance. Since the Café doesn't have an ice maker in the fridge door, there's more capacity in the refrigerator, and the Café has much better temperature uniformity in the refrigerator. However, the GE does have an externally accessible in-door ice and water dispenser, if you find that more convenient than the Café's internal 'AutoFill' water pitcher.
The Café CGE29DP2TS1 is a better fridge than the closely related GE Profile PGE29BYTFS. The Café has an excellent produce drawer seal, so its produce preservation performance is much better than the GE. It also has an extra tray in the freezer for wide, flat items like pizza boxes, and its separate pull-out drawer can function as a soft freezer. The GE offers a larger ice tray and a faster ice maker while also being much less expensive, so you have to evaluate whether these extra niceties are worth it for your needs.
The Café CGE29DP2TS1 is a much better fridge than the KitchenAid KRMF706ESS. The Café's produce drawer seal is much better than the KitchenAid's, and since the KitchenAid doesn't keep humidity in the fridge compartment as high as the Café, the KitchenAid's produce preservation performance is much worse. The KitchenAid's separate pull-out drawers are taller than the Café's, taking space away from the freezer, so the Café's freezer offers greater capacity. The KitchenAid has a thick, bulky ice maker in the fridge door, lowering the fridge capacity versus the Café, but you might find its externally accessible in-door water and ice dispenser more convenient than the Café's internal 'AutoFill' water dispenser pitcher.
Test Results
You can extensively customize this refrigerator's exterior. Our stainless steel model features brushed stainless steel handles with copper accents, but you can change the door handles yourself using door hardware customization kits to suit the style of your kitchen.
| Customization Part Number | Door Hardware Finish |
|---|---|
| CXQB4H4PNBT | Brushed Black |
| CXQB4H4PNBZ | Brushed Bronze |
| CXQB4H4PNCU | Brushed Copper |
| CXQB4H4PNSS | Brushed Stainless |
| CXQB4H4PNCG | Brushed Brass |
| CXQB4H4PNFB | Flat Black |
You can also install matte white side panels with any front finish, for both standard depth and counter depth variants.
| Side Panel Part Number | Side | Counter Depth |
|---|---|---|
| CKQBLSFNW2 | Left | No |
| CKQBRSFNW2 | Right | No |
| CKQBLSCVW2 | Left | Yes |
| CKQBRSCVW2 | Right | Yes |
The refrigerator compartment offers impressive capacity and is identical to the GE Profile PGE29BYTFS except for colors and trim. There are three height-adjustable split shelves and one 'Quick Space' shelf, where you can fold the front half away under the shelf so that you can store tall items like fresh herbs in water underneath. At the bottom is a vented bin and a sealed produce bin. Each bin is big enough for several large grapefruits, whole heads of broccoli, or a pineapple or two.
In each door are three deep door bins, and you can move the middle bin in the right door to two height positions to accommodate tall items, like narrow-necked bottles. The door bins in the left door are fixed, and the bottom bin has a reduced width for the 'AutoFill' water dispenser pitcher.
There's no deli drawer; instead, there's a separate 3.6 cu ft temperature-controlled drawer between the refrigerator and the freezer. Compared to the similar drawers in the GE Profile PGE29BYTFS and the GE Profile PVD28BYNFS, it adds "soft freezing" capability, which can gently thaw frozen items or soften ice cream for serving. You can adjust this to Soft Freeze (23 °F/-5 °C), Meat (29 °F/-2 °C), Beverages (33 °F/1 °C), Snacks (37 °F/3 °C), or Wine (42 °F/6 °C). This drawer has two thin, movable glass dividers for separating and organizing items.
This refrigerator delivers good capacity in the freezer. There are two pull-out drawers with dividers and a pull-out tray between the drawers, which adds about 1 cu ft of space where you can store wide, deep, and flat items, like pizza boxes. There are also tiny door bins tucked in behind the top of the main drawer front. The ice tray on the left of the top drawer is short and only takes up 6% of the total freezer volume, leaving enough space in the top drawer for bags of frozen vegetables or small boxes of frozen entrées. The bottom bin is deep and wide enough to store items like family-sized boxes of burgers, chicken, or fish.
This refrigerator uses a single inverter compressor and dual evaporators. An inverter compressor modulates its speed based on cooling load. This can be more efficient and offer finer temperature control than older fixed-speed compressors that only run at full speed and cycle on and off to maintain a setpoint. However, inverter compressors use an inverter controller board, a complex piece of high-power electronics, and a potential critical failure point.
Dual evaporators help maintain ideal humidity and better temperature control in each section. In the freezer, a dedicated evaporator can keep both temperature and humidity low to minimize frost buildup on the evaporator. In the refrigerator compartment, a dedicated evaporator can maintain cool temperatures and high humidity, which is ideal for produce preservation. Since each compartment is sealed from the other and doesn't share air, there's no odor transfer.
This refrigerator uses the same ejector-style ice maker as the GE Profile PGE29BYTFS. The ice maker sits in the freezer, which is a better location from a reliability perspective than an ice maker in the fridge, like many French door refrigerators. The freezer is an ideal environment for making ice. If the ice maker is in the fridge, there's ducting, dampers, and extra insulation to create a separate freezer compartment inside the refrigerator, with these added components being liable to degrade over time.
This ejector-style ice maker is more reliable than a twist-tray ice maker. It pours water into a metal mold. Once the water freezes into ice, a heater melts the bottom ice surface, detaching the ice from the mold. Then, rotating plastic fingers eject the ice from the mold. This is more robust and reliable than a twist-tray ice maker, which pours water into a plastic tray. Once the water freezes into ice, a motor flips the tray over and twists it to pop the ice out into the tray beneath. This plastic can get brittle over time due to repeated thermal and mechanical stresses.
This refrigerator has an 'AutoFill' pitcher with a spigot inside the left door. You can use the spigot to quickly dispense water into a glass. To fill a larger container, you can remove the pitcher. The system will automatically refill the docked pitcher if you draw any water out of it. The pitcher is BPA-free and dishwasher-safe.
This arrangement is identical to the GE Profile PGE29BYTFS, but the colors are a bit different, since there's a smoky translucent body, gray trim, and a copper-colored spigot.
The refrigerator temperature uniformity is impressive. The cold air distribution system cools from both the bottom and the top, with the middle shelf just a bit warmer. The door bins are also well-cooled; they're only a little warmer than the fridge shelves. All parts of the refrigerator remain at food-safe temperatures, so you can store even temperature-sensitive items like milk and butter anywhere that's convenient, including the door bins.
The freezer shows great temperature uniformity. The drawers get a bit warmer the lower you go; the tray in the middle impedes airflow a little. It's not enough to have a noticeable effect on sensitive frozen foods like ice cream, so you can place any item anywhere you like.
The produce preservation performance is outstanding. The dual evaporators keep humidity in the fridge high, so produce will fare well even outside the crisper drawer. Inside the produce bin, the Humidity Control System seal is remarkably effective at retaining moisture. Produce will stay crisp and wilt-free for a very long time.
The Café CGE29DP2TS1's ice production rate is satisfactory. It'll make enough ice for a couple or a small family dinner, but it won't be enough for frequent drinks throughout the day or a large spontaneous event.
The ice tray's capacity is decent. To make room for the extra pull-out tray in the freezer, it's a shortened version of the ice tray in the GE Profile PGE29BYTFS, so its lower capacity isn't surprising. It'll suffice for a family meal or small party, but for anything larger than that, you'll have to get bags of ice.