ROEST web portal - track your roasting sessions
Being able to store, analyze, and compare your roasting session is a good way to learn, develop as a roaster, and improve your sample roasting experience. We have developed a web platform, where you can be in full control of your roaster and roasting session, do adjustments based on your preferences, and make sure you’ll get the most out of your ROEST sample roaster.
Being able to store, analyze, and compare your roasting session is a good way to learn, develop as a roaster, and improve your sample roasting experience.
We have developed a web platform, where you can be in full control of your roaster and roasting session, do adjustments based on your preferences, and make sure you’ll get the most out of your ROEST sample roaster.
In this article, we will highlight the different features of the web portal and how easy it is to manage.
“ The new portal looks amazing! I am super happy I picked ROEST. It’s so clear you all love what you do, and want to make an amazing product. Thank you!””
Not just a sample roaster
ROEST is a sample roaster known for its innovative technology and excellent user experience. It has a wide range of functionalities you get to access directly from the integrated touchscreen. But the real magic happens when you connect the roaster to WiFi and access the roasting web application: ROEST Web Portal. It’s an online web-based portal where you can create profiles, save and compare logs and follow your roasting session in real-time.
Easy to set up - no app needed!
ROEST sample roaster is a super easy roaster to set up, it’s basically Plug'n'Play. All you have to do when receiving your roaster is plug it in, connect to WiFi and log in to the web portal with the credentials you received along with your sample roaster. The ROEST web portal is an actual website - it can be accessed through any of your devices: phone, tablet, or laptop.
Multiple opportunities
The ROEST web portal has several different features which make the roasting session and your step toward the most accurate and consistent roasted coffee so much easier, and more fun. Let’s have a look at what you can explore inside the web portal.
1. Watch your sample roast live
With the web portal, you are in full control from the beginning to the end of your roasting session.
When you turn on the machine and the machine has reached the preferred start temperature, you drop the beans and the live view will start immediately.
You can monitor all the different parameters such as air temperature, bean temperature, rate of rise, and the various stages of the roasting process, from green to brown.
The live view will also give you a prediction of air and bean temperature, so you know what to expect.
When the first crack starts, the live view will tell you at which time this started and how many cracks you had before dropping the beans into the cooler.
When roasting back to back, you can use the live view as a layover on your previous log so that you can monitor and compare the roasting session at the same time.
Hover your cursor over the graph to see detailed information about the chosen parameters.
2. Store and analyze your roasting logs
Another feature that comes with the ROEST web portal is that it stores all of your roasting logs. This is so you can see everything you have roasted and collect all the information you need about that specific roast or compare it to other sessions.
Comparing logs comes in super handy if you have roasted a perfect batch of beans in the past, and experienced some differences with your current batch. Compare the two batches and see what happened this time, that made the difference, and hopefully, you will understand what caused the variation.
Comparing logs is useful to discover similarities, and differences and collect data.
To get an even closer look at your roasting logs, and go further into the analysis, you can zoom in on your log, so you get the most accurate and detailed information you need about your sample roast.
3. Create as many profiles as you want
Your ROEST sample roaster can store up to 5 profiles available even when roasting offline. You can create and download as many profiles as you want on the web portal. You can either create your own, based on your preferences or download profiles from the ROEST public profile library.
Upload and download profiles directly from ROEST public profile library.
Different types of profiles
Inside the web portal, you can create profiles based on:
Power input - setting a profile based on power.
Air temperature - setting a profile based on the air temperature sensor inside the drum.
Bean temperature - setting a profile based on the bean temperature sensor.
Inlet temperature - setting a profile based on the inlet temperature sensor.
Between Batch Protocol - resetting the thermal energy inside the roaster between batches.
Between Batch Protocol
This feature allows the users to create a new type of profile: Between Batch Protocol profiles. This is to enhance consistency between batches and automate the process to make it easier. The ROEST sample roaster will notify you when it’s ready for you to drop the next batch.
Between Batch Protocol Profile
When creating a profile, every profile can have its own individual end conditions. You can choose to set the end time in:
1. Total time - the total amount of time from dropping the beans in the drum till it releases into the cooling tray.
2. Development time - the amount of time from when the machine starts to detect a certain number of first cracks till it drops the beans into the cooling tray.
3. Development time % - Development Time Ratio is calculated as time from First Crack to the end of the roast, as a percentage of total roast time.
4. Bean temperature - when the beans inside the drum have reached the preferred temperature.
If the end condition is not customized on your profile, the machine will do it by default setting.
4. Additional settings
The ROEST web portal is customizable so you can change settings to your preferences. An extra feature that you can adjust is the RoR interval - this one can be adjusted from 1 second up to 60 seconds.
5. Cupping
Cupping is the most efficient way of evaluating coffee and the most exciting part of roasting. To make it easier and faster to assess your roasting sessions, we have developed a cupping feature inside the web portal.
You can choose from three different types of cupping forms; SCA, CoE, or a simple form made by ROEST. This gives you great opportunities to explore different ways to cup your coffee and hopefully become a better cup taster. Shortly, you will also be able to create cupping sheets that suit your specific needs.
Example of a cupping session using ROEST simple form.
6. green bean Inventory
One of the newest features inside the web portal is inventory. Here you can store all of your green beans, either it is samples or larger batches.
Keep track of your green bean inventory inside the web portal.
7. Public Profile Library
If you are new to roasting or want to explore other roasting profiles, we have now made it easy for you to download and upload profiles directly from our web portal. We want to create a space where everyone can roast coffee, develop their skill, and share their knowledge about coffee roasting.
Share and download profiles directly from the Web Portal
Constant Improvements
Our customers are important to us, and we always listen to their feedback. It’s thanks to them that we have implemented the most desired features and the reason that we regularly update our roasters all over the world.
We want to hear from you
We always strive to be better at what we do and what we can offer our customers. Is there a feature you are missing in the web portal? Let us know!
Enjoyed this? Then check out our article; 5 ROESTing tips from Tim Wendelboe
Have you recently purchased ROEST?
For a more detailed walkthrough of how to use the web portal, read more here.
Roasting coffee for research
Coffee geeks love to question and conquer what they already know about coffee. Some of them took the challenging path to uncover new wisdom and started coffee research. That’s where we come into the picture - the ROEST sample roaster became a popular choice of scientific equipment. To find out more, we interviewed our friends roasting on ROEST!
Coffee geeks love to question and conquer what they already know about coffee. Some of them took the challenging path to uncover new wisdom and started coffee research. That’s where we come into the picture - the ROEST sample roaster became a popular choice of scientific equipment. To find out more, we interviewed our friends roasting on ROEST!
Role of the roaster in research: Sample evaluation
Do you know how to effectively store green coffee to extend its shelf life? We do not - but if you decide to find out, and conduct a research, you will need a sample roaster. A sample roaster is an essential tool for your coffee research and its purpose is to prepare samples for evaluation. Sample preparation is a scientific term used to describe coffee roasting. In order to analyze your coffee samples, the samples need to be roasted.
Despite the manual roasting the ROEST sample roaster offers, it is not important to study the behavior of your roaster after you created your desired profile. Sample roasters need to deliver good quality of each roast (Imagine sample roasting quality as for the Quality Control purposes by SCA ) which can be replicated sample after sample with high accuracy.
“At the beginning of our research we set the Power Profile and were using the same profile for over thousands of green coffee samples throughout the whole period the project (Read more about the project here.) took place (over a year). The roasting was conducted every month, where roasted coffee was evaluated on a cupping table, in the Institute of Heavy Organic Synthesis and in JARS Laboratories,” elaborates Krzysztof Barabosz from the Hard Beans Roastery (on the photo).
Requirements for a roaster
Coffee roasting as a part of the science research cannot be underestimated. Conclusions based on poor roasting quality can be misleading and ruin the whole research. To save yourself a headache, you need a professional sample roaster that is reliable and meets the highest standards:
Krzysztof in his sample roasting routine.
REPEATABILITY, CONSISTENCY & PRECISION
Ask anyone who is conducting a coffee research: “What’s the most important about the sample roaster for your research?” You will get the same answer: consistency.
Roasting samples for research is about having a routine in which all the steps are as consistent as possible. In order to see what has changed when studying one parameter at a time, everything else has to stay stable.
ROEST sample roaster is therefore equipped with up to six temperature sensors with high accuracy. This contributes to delivering consistent results. In combination with First Crack detection, this means you do not need to touch your roaster from start to finish.
When sample roasting, it is important to be able to reproduce the sample whenever you need to. For example, when choosing the coffee that you are making a study on, you need to get to know your coffee sample well. You should be able to prepare/extract the coffee sample you are experimenting with and repeat the extraction process to make the coffee taste the same every time. Roasting your coffee sample, this can get tricky. At the end, when you are tasting your coffee, how can you be sure you managed to get the same roast even though it is coming from the same bag of green coffee? That’s not possible unless you have a reliable sample roaster. Just like Matt Winton said during his Instagram Live session: “It’s so comforting to see that ROEST does exactly what you want it to do.”
“We’ve made a market research and chosen the best available equipment. In terms of Sample Roasting, ROEST seems like the right choice.” ”
EASY TO USE
It would be great having a professional head roaster hired for your research - but that is not how it works. Coffee roasting is not needed on a regular basis during research. Therefore, when looking for the ideal sample roasting equipment it is particularly important to have one that is easy to operate. “I’m not a very skilled roaster, maybe if I would have time, I’d learn more about roasting strategies - but that’s not something I need for research. I’m aiming for replicable roasts with high consistency. It means I want to have as consistent coffee as possible without touching the roaster.”, Samo Smrke, Zurich University of Applied Sciences.
After all, a sample roasting approach for scientific research is mostly technical - drop beans in the roaster, start roasting and let the roaster do the work. Eliminating human interaction means eliminating systematic errors. Once you start to interact with the coffee, you easily introduce mistakes. Samo confirms: “Of course, I would love to play with the coffee - check the beans visually, adjust some parameters to get better tasting coffee, but for scientific research that’s not what we need.”
GATHERING DATA
To keep your roasting process under control, you need data for your reference or analysis. That is another advantage of the ROEST sample roaster - it comes with a web portal where you can store all your roasting data. You can also download it and analyze it as needed. See captions below.
ROEST web portal: Live roast
ROEST web portal: stored roasts
SIZE OF THE SAMPLE
Lastly, the size matters, and not only because avoiding waste is responsible. The ideal sample size is the same as for Quality Control lab routines: 100 g. It is enough for tasting multiple cups without having any leftovers.
Meet the coffee researchers roasting with ROEST!
We asked our researches why they roast with the ROEST and what is their favorite feature about the sample roaster:
1. Francisco Velazquez, COMA Project
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Francisco (on the photo) at the COMA lab.
The team of COMA (coffee, metrics & analytics) is aiming to provide a solution for ageing and decaying coffees prior to roasting. The goal is to bring a new perspective into the steps between harvesting and roasting coffee.
The COMA project developed and validated a biophysical process, in which they recover (to certain extent) cup quality (as measured according to industry standards) without the introduction of any additive. As a part of this research, they have been testing more than 80 different coffee samples with more than 30 different parameters.
Why ROEST for your research:
- As scientists, we are also keen to understand, in a higher detail, all the steps of the roasting process, without spending a large chunk of time in mastering roasting. Thus, ROEST allows a rapid jump-in and walks you through your first roasting.
- We evaluate or process first, based on taste, thus leveraging the right roast for cupping has been challenging. However, ROEST has been extremely helpful since it allows easy monitoring and adaption all by keeping consistency on a remarkably high level.
Favorite feature of ROEST sample roaster:
- The whole setup, being robust and delivering a high sample quality without reducing consistency. Easy cleaning and long-lasting quality of all materials. If necessary, easy repair and access to the roasting chamber. The export function of the data for further analysis is also very helpful.
2. Krzysztof Barabosz
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Krzysztof Barabosz is the Co-Founder of Hard Beans roastery in Poland. The roastery focuses on high quality coffee and they love to spoil their customers with very exclusive lots. Exclusivity often comes with a high price. Wondering how to store the coffee without losing its beauty and the investment, Krzysztof decided to start researching. The research was carried out as part of the project “Industrial research and development work on the development of a technology for storing green coffee beans in the specialty segment, which translates into increased quality control and freshness of the target product”. The project started in 2018 and finished in December 2020. Results will be available soon.
Why ROEST for your research:
- It is a very precise sample roaster, which gathers a lot of important data. It is equipped with an electric heater, which is more reliable and consistent compared to gas burners. While the whole project is based on a very delicate product - green and roasted coffee, which can be easily "destroyed" by improper handling during measurements, we needed to be very careful when choosing the equipment...We've made a market research and chosen the best available equipment. In terms of Sample Roasting, ROEST seems like the right choice.
Favorite feature of ROEST sample roaster:
- The 185 deg. C "beep" informing that the Crack is ahead. When you are in this batch after batch monotony, (continuously repeating the same task), in between measuring the humidity and water activity of each sample, you can easily forget yourself. So, a few times the sound indicator saved the roasted sample!
3. Samo Smrke, University of Science in Zurich
Samo is the Head of Coffee Transformation at Coffee Excellence Centre, Zurich University of Applied Sciences. ROEST sample roaster was used for some of these research topics:
Coffee platform artificial intelligence
Green coffee physical properties and roasting behavior
Linking instrumental measurements to sensory properties
Roasting other material than coffee and studying aroma formation
Various green coffee quality projects
Sneak peak to the lab at the Zurich University. Soon there will be second ROEST sample roaster joining this set up.
Why ROEST for your research and favorite feature:
- The first time I saw ROEST it was on the Roaster Guilt Forum in 2019 and I was fascinated by the high technology, multiple sensors...and we decided to purchase it for our lab in Zurich.
- For our research, the most important is:
roasting consistency, reproducibility and that it’s easy to use.
batch size: 50g is too small for research, 100g is perfect, 200g we often do not need.
Small size of the roaster and portability - it does not need to be installed at the location.
Are you planning on doing coffee research?
Whether you are only thinking about starting a coffee research or are already in the process, get inspired by our friends. We asked them for some advice on conducting a coffee research:
Samo Smrke:
“Follow the scientific experimental approaches, such as for example: The most important approach of research to follow:
whenever studying something, always change only one parameter at the time and see how it affects the outcome.
repeat experiments not only one after another, but also on different days to see if results are the same. If you cannot repeat, find where the error in the experiment is.”
Francesco Valazquez:
“Do not hesitate to perform a systematic experiment, ROEST will help with it.”
Krzysztof Barabosz:
“Be patient and seek questions! Keep your mind open for unexpected results and situations. Don't hesitate to ask others for support - after all the results should serve everyone in the community.”
From prototype to award-winning sample roaster
From the very beginning, we had a clear vision; to build a sample roaster with unmatched consistency, digital precision and without any compromises when it comes to the final result: the perfect cup. We had several tries until we achieved the results we wanted. Learning from mistakes and staying true to our values is what today makes ROEST the best sample roaster on the market. And this is our journey…
Evolution of ROEST Sample Roaster
From the very beginning, we had a clear vision; to build a sample roaster with unmatched consistency, digital precision and without any compromises when it comes to the final result: the perfect cup.
We had several tries until we achieved the results we wanted. Learning from mistakes and staying true to our values is what today makes ROEST the best sample roaster on the market.
And this is our journey:
I. PROTOTYPES
Prototype 1: Electric heating
We made our first prototype in 2014. This was designed for electric heating and it was the first version of what we today call hybrid technology; drum roaster combined with hot air. The challenge at this stage was the heat transfer from the heating element to the drum. Even though we had a very powerful fan, the response was very slow, and we burned up a variety of heating elements in the search for the optimal setup. We couldn’t find it.
First prototype of sample roaster
One Sunday afternoon, after Trond had been out camping, he took his Primus camping gas to the office. The direction of the heat inlet was changed from horizontal to vertical and a 2000 W gas burner was put below. After working all those hours with electricity, we were amazed by the response. The instant heat was too much for the coffee beans, but we changed the rotation of the paddles and we suddenly had a decent manual sample roaster.
Improved roasting results was a good starting point. After a blind cupping with the Nordic Approach team and actually serving the winning roast, we knew we were heading in the right direction. We started producing our next gas-powered prototype.
Prototype 2 to 4: Fully gas-powered
Prototype 3 - gas-powered roasting with live view via Artisan
In prototypes 2 to 4, we used a 3kW pilot gas burner, a gas burner designed to ignite larger gas burners, not to roast coffee. It was far from ideal for our use, but it worked.
For control, we used two Fuji PIDs and we logged into Artisan to follow the roasting process live. We were able to roast consistently, to a certain degree, and the coffee cupped OK.
Our main challenge in this period was mechanical. We needed a reliable solution for dropping the beans automatically.
Prototype 5: Gas burner and custom electronics
Prototype 5 - getting into shape of future ROEST
With prototype 5, we solved the mechanical problems, made a custom gas burner and also custom electronics - that was a game changer. Finally, we got control over roasting with consistency, which greatly improved the results.
It was time for ROEST to get out of the basement!
Prototype 6: Testing and making changes
With the good results from prototype 5, we were so enthusiastic that we started developing improved custom electronics. We also decided to make 10 units together with four pilot customers in Norway.
Getting a few of the units up and running was done in a few months. Testing and improving took a lot longer.
To keep the costs down, we tried to find our own ways of controlling the gas within the frames of the strict gas regulations. It wasn’t easy. Existing air-gas ratio control units would do the trick but would increase the price too much.
Prototype 6 is also the prototype that won the Asia Design Prize 2017 award.
From prototype 7 to 7x: Gas was not the way to go
Prototype 7 was the most “prototype” of all the prototypes. It consisted only of the roasting chamber and a gas burner. It was made to test a few new engineering solutions. At this stage, most of our time was spent on improving the electronics, mainly on how to better control the gas burner. We were not getting good enough results and when looking for the best sample roaster, compromise was not an option.
In November 2017, after three years of development, we had to face the truth. Dealing with the frustration of unstable results, we came to the conclusion that we could not control gas with the digital precision we’d been aiming for. We had to go back to where we started.
We took parts from prototype 1, and three days later the new fully electric version called Prototype 7X was ready. With a new fan system our previous problems with heat transfer in prototype 1 were now solved.
To compare results between gas and electric-powered prototypes, we had several cuppings. And we were impressed with the final results. The cup results we previously enjoyed in the gas-powered roaster, we now found also in the hybrid drum roaster. What also blew our minds was that we had increased responsiveness and the roaster was much easier to control. The power consumption went down to 1/3 from prototype 1 (around 1100W). We were finally ready to share our sample roaster with the first pilot customers!
Prototype 8 on the left and Prototype 6 on the right. Gained new name and closed gas window.
Prototype 8: First pilot customers
Excited about our final prototype, we produced the first 10 roasters and we invited our first pilot customers on board. In order to meet the needs of the different segments in the coffee industry, we made sure our pilot customers included coffee importers, roasteries, coffee researchers and home roasters.
Among the first ones who contributed to shaping ROEST were: Nordic Approach, Tim Wendelboe, both in in Norway, and Hard Beans Roastery in Poland.
Finally, we were on the right track to making the product we initially wanted to create; a sample roaster with elegant design and optimal performance. And it was just the beginning of the ROEST production.
II. PRODUCTION
Production 9 to 10: Collecting feedback and improving
Moving forward from the last prototype, prototype 8, we found a more efficient way to build the inside of the roaster. It made it easier to handle repairs for us and our future customers. Also, the roasting was consistent and precise, and we had amazing results in the cup. We were finally satisfied and ready to start production! The P09, the 9th version of ROEST Sample Roaster, is our very first production line for customers.
Between P09 to P10 there were not many changes yet. We had to listen to our customers closely and with every small technical challenge we designed a way to make it better.
Roasting coffee on ROEST sample roaster is easy for everyone - professionals or learners. Read more about its features here.
Production 11 to 16: Living our mission: Constantly improving to ensure better user experience.
All the changes we have made were focused on removing technical issues and increasing the quality of parts that the ROEST Sample Roaster is built with.
After countless kilos of coffee roasted on ROEST, by us and by our customers, here are some examples of the improvements we’ve made:
FAN - more powerful and reliable fan for optimal heat transfer.
IMPELLERS - made from a stronger material, combined with improved design, making them several times stronger. They are also easier to clean and service.
DRUM BLADES - three times stronger paddles with improved geometry, to protect the roaster from defected beans, stones etc.
ENCODER - improved responsiveness of the encoder, making it easier to adjust the settings when rotating the knob.
WI-FI - simplified process of connecting the sample roaster to Wifi connection and keeping it steady while roasting.
COOLING TRAY SENSOR - a feature to remind you there is coffee left in the tray, before the ROEST releases the next roast. (For P12 and higher)
New style of BACK PLATE for easier access when you need to do the maintenance.
The most exciting feature we’ve developed: FIRST CRACK DETECTION. Technology to recognize and register individual cracks, to deliver true potential of each coffee. And of course - turning your sample roaster into a fully automatic roaster from start to finish. (For P11 and higher)
III. Improvements
Customer of ROEST sample roaster love that they can be a part of new features development.
The development team at ROEST is constantly improving the quality of our product. We try to make most of the changes the way they can be implemented into the previous models. It means that you can upgrade your sample roaster to the latest version, including all our latest improvements. “P11 and P16 can be similar machines. For example, you can upgrade the fan impellers we designed for P16 and put them into P11,” explains Trond.
While some bigger upgrades might be challenging and require our help, most of the upgrades are easy to implement, using our online guidance. Here, our customers have access to spare parts, manuals and video tutorials.
We will keep working on small improvements and making them available for both our current and new customers. More importantly, we will always keep improving firmware and software, making the sample roaster even more user-friendly.
We listen to our ROEST community (Visit our online forum) and we take your feedback seriously. Every month our developing team releases new firmware updates and adding regular features for online roasting via our web portal. While some updates are regular bug removals, we also implement new features based on customers’ proposals, feedback in forums or from reviews. And as our customers already know - these improvements are free for everyone.