I want some coffee!

Matt-the-Code-Warrior seems to be getting ready to release V3 of RoasTime software for the Bullet coffee roaster to a larger audience. Big step. One thing he had to do was be sure that Recipes - the mostly automated job of adjusting power/fan/drum speed - are able to be migrated from V2 to V3 without corruption. It was my job today to test that and I hashed it up. I think what saved me was being in Arizona and Matt being in Idaho so he couldn't do any bodily harm. The bottom line is that I was able to create a Recipe (it was trivial... just wanted to see it get moved and not deleted) using RT2, save it, then close RT2 and open RT3. At that point I had to import files saved by RT2 and confirm they were listed. Easy-peasey... except it didn't work. At some point I realized I was selecting the wrong location to save the files and somehow they got deleted by RT3 cuz RT3 thought it had just imported them. What a PITA. Eventually I got the file location right and managed to complete ...

Matt-the-Code-Warrior is moving ahead to release V3 of the s/w. So I guess the first part of the development is done. Unfortunately that involves yet another release of V2 that announces the user should move to V3. From what I've seen the release of V3 will go fine since it works for me. There will be the whines because one user or another doesn't see their favorite suggested improvement, but basically it should work pretty good. Well... to the extent my combination of computer + hardware is representative of what others have. Always surprises, like the user that hasn't updated Windows 10. Ever. Not since it was first installed. On top of this Aillio has also transitioned their on-line forum/data storage/bean-library/roast-history to a new platform. Going to be some brush fires from that as well. Which makes me *very* glad I don't do this stuff for a living anymore!! As Brian Moore put it-

Stepped on my own body part. I roasted 3 lbs of Kenya Kiambu Mandela Estates last week. And that was exactly 1 lb less than I needed to have some for us to try ourselves. Talk about planning ahea(d). Bummer.

The software has proven to have a bug in the Recipe area. Recipes are a convenience feature that allows the user to partially automate the roasting process by making fan, power and drum speed changes at predetermined points based upon either time or temperature time-and-temperature. I've ignored the feature for nearly 2 years 'cuz I wanna do it myself'. Well, Matt needed some testing done and I decided to jump in. I created a 'recipe' that set up initial power, fan and drum-speed setting, then progressed thru steps to send alert-messages and change the settings right up till the time of first crack. At first crack I had to take over since that's where the roast characteristics are most influenced by the operator. The first try at a recipe was a flop... didn't work for me. But my recipe did work for Matt. Then my favorite Code Warrior had an idea. Bingo! His idea worked and my first try at recipes just became my basic operating mode for a heat-soak roast. B...

I roasted some coffee from Veracruz Mexico as part of testing the latest software update. It was the Veracruz la Laja honey process beans from Mexico that I bought from Coffee Bean Corral.  Veracruz is a little north and west of Chiapas but apparently still in the range of stuff that tastes good- Veracruz, Mexico (Google Maps) When I checked the notes for these beans I found Chocolate, Orange Citrus notes, Very sweet, Creamy body for flavor notes (with no roast guidance). Guess Coffee Bean Corral isn't big on sharing their cupping notes. And the description is more a travelog than anything a roaster might want to know- La Laja is a family farming and milling group in Veracruz, Mexico. The farm began in 1920 when Hermilo Sampieri bought his first coffee farm in Huatusco. Eventually his son joined the business and started the milling and export side. Over the years, the family farm grew to four farms in Veracruz - Fince la Laja, Finca el Mirador, Finca las Palmas, and Finca la Vera...

Over a week ago I roasted some Organic beans from Mexico's most southern state, Chiapas. Chiapas is nestled against Guatemala which sources some of the best coffee I've had in the recent past. So Chiapas is located in enviable territory to grow some really nice coffee... Chiapas, Mexico (Google Maps) I recently bought some greens from Home Roast Coffee in Wisconson. Unfortunately they onlky deal in small lots (5 lbs max) so I probably won't buy more. But the 4 batches I roasted were really good (4 batches of 550 gm each yielded about 4 lbs of roasted coffee). High Grown, HG: Coffee grown at high Altitudes produce a dense more vibrant flavor profile than those grown at lower Altitudes. Higher altitudes provide an Arabica Coffee friendly environment, the climate tends to be cooler with less direct sunshine and plenty of moisture. This causes the coffee fruit to mature slowly allowing more time to develop depth and sweetness, as well as many of the desirable characteristics...

Our Code Warrior did not disappoint. The new release of v/3.0.60 was a significant improvement over prior releases. Most of my whines have been addressed as Matt responds to input from about 5 folks testing his changes. The temperature curves are now aligned properly with the event data Some of the display data had been hard to read and he resolved that with either bold or larger font Missing roast events have been re-activated The program has a very solid feel that can only come from being confident that things are working as they should! Apparently there are still a few issues with Recipes (automated roasting) that have to be resolved. There are a couple guys doing that. In order to do the testing I roasted 4 batches of Ethiopia Guji Anasora that have been laying in the tubs for way too long. It's sitting in the fridge cooling its heels waiting for me to put labels on it and deliver it to the needy campers of SKP Saguaro Co-op. Hope it's good! Below is the start of a roast w...