Tag: Roastmaster

Well, iOS has grown quite a bit since Roastmaster came to the store a number of years ago. It has matured greatly, and we’ve done our best to make sure Roastmaster has followed suit. As iOS has grown up, though, much of Roastmaster’s core code and user interface has stayed the same.

Through the years, Apple has deprecated much of the original iOS framework, especially with regard to the User Interface. The remaining legacy code, though viable, has become very dated compared to the shiny new framework code that has adorned the last couple of iOS releases. These new frameworks take much of the burden off of developers when coding for a growing number of devices and screen resolutions, and let us focus effort on more important aspects of our software.

When you couple that with the plain ol’ fashioned improvements in programming languages themselves…it was time for a rewrite. We had discovered, to our dismay, that we spent too much of our time designing and programming fragile interfaces with legacy frameworks, that stood the risk of breaking when a new device hit the market.

Roastmaster deserves better. We needed to bring the code to a state where our time was spent on features and functionality, not interface buttons, switches and graphics. We take joy in adding new capabilities, not implementing device support for the newest iPad screen sizes.

So, we made it happen. Roastmaster for iOS 10 is the end result of 7 long months of complete code overhaul. The interface was re-imagined and re-implemented. The workflow, in many places followed suit. Every interaction that you, the users, have with Roastmaster was a candidate for the chopping block, if a better, more efficient way was conceivable. Everything from iconography to typography has been improved, with one goal in mind–a better experience for you (well, us), the users.

And, even with all of this going on, we managed to pack a ton of great new features into this update as well!

We sincerely hope you enjoy the new interface, workflow and functionality. This was a very long beta testing period, since the battle-tested legacy code was stripped out, and the potential for bugs was high. We’ve already had some great feedback on the new version, and welcome any more that you may have.

New Features

• iOS 10 compatibility (iOS 9 users must be running the latest iOS 9 update – 9.3.5)
• A new interface, redesigned from the ground up, offers a fluid, unified and content-focused experience that is faster, more informative and easier to use than ever before.
• The new split view master/detail layout puts everything at a finger’s reach–allowing easy navigation and data browsing.
• Subtle color palettes combine with redesigned iconography and typography to create a clean interface–designed to put the focus on your data.
• Direct value editing makes data entry fast and effortless.
• Auto Layout ensures screens are optimized for any device.
• Adaptive layout conforms to available real estate–making multi-tasking effortless.
• Enhanced toolbars provide easy access to common actions, while new action menus display descriptions and reduce screen clutter.
• Use the new “Roast Builder by Yield” feature to quickly plan, configure and generate your day’s roast–based on your batch size and desired roasted yield weight–with just a few taps. Whether you’re roasting single origins, or pre or post blending, Roastmaster will calculate the required green and roasts to fill your orders.
• Calculate the weights of a blend’s individual bean components based on an overall yield weight.
• Key commands in the Roast Analyzer make roasting easier when paired or docked to a keyboard. Hold the command key down to see a list of available commands.
• The new Roastmaster Datagram Protocol (RDP) allows the Data Logging option to communicate with thermocouples on ANY hardware equipped with a microprocessor. Download OpenSource software, or write your own to build an inexpensive custom probe host on any type of hardware–Macs, PCs, Arduino, Raspberry PIs, and many others.
• The new Analyzer Roast HUD view provides a large, informative display to let you monitor temperatures from a distance and track changing roast metrics. Expand, condense, or drag it around the screen–it’s your flexible assistant, showing you important milestones of the current roast as they change.
• Improved item naming and display
• Delta curve smoothing
• Enhanced Analyzer targeting mode
• New pyrolysis event type enables you to track development more precisely, regardless of crack time, and link it directly to bean temperature.
• App-wide sorting of child items, e.g. curves, roasted/blended/cupped items, etc.
• Each measurement field remembers the last measurement scale you used when entering data.
• Print labels from multiple items in one step, and specify multiple copies.
• A new cupping timer helps you keep cupping sessions on track.
• Informative prompt system and icon badging alert you to low inventory, roaster cleaning and other warnings.
• Informative deletion warning view provides information about which items will be left with missing data, and whether or not the delete action will cascade to other items.
• Temperature-based report metrics.
• Time-based event triggers.
• Enter notes about individual samples when performing a flight-style cupping.
• Export any entity as an XML file, for use in a 3rd party backend system, or spreadsheet software.
• Export Roastmaster Exchange, PNGs, XLM, TXT and more directly to iCloud Drive, Slack, Dropbox, or any other URL-type app on your device.

This release is dedicated to Aaron. Your keen mind, logic and input was invaluable to Roastmaster, as was your friendship to me. Glide high my friend!

Roastmaster for iOS 9 is available for download from the app store!

You had ideas and we set to work…we had ideas and we kept going! What emerged is a brand new Roastmaster, with a host of new features aimed at streamlining any workflow, but especially geared toward serious specialty coffee roasters and anyone who has a serious passion for nothing but the best possible coffee.

The job of software is to make your life easier. Nobody likes extra work, and the new features in Roastmaster are designed to eliminate as much of that as possible. We want to help free your attention–letting you be more focused on your coffee, not on software details.

With automatic bean lot tracking, curve events, advanced reporting, inline calculators, inventory reminders and a host of other features, this version is geared toward speed, efficiency, and most of all, to unlocking the hidden information of your beans, vendors, roasts, cuppings. Quality is key…and we want to help you achieve it!

New Features

• Spanish, French, Simplified Chinese and Korean Languages.
• 64-bit native on compatible devices.
• Roast and Curve Events: Add time-stamped markers to any roast or curve to signify a point of interest. Or, define a custom temperature trigger in a curve event, and Roastmaster will alert you when it’s been reached, annotating the curve to match.
• Advanced Reporting Capabilities: View and compare detailed information about virtually any detail of your library, as well as many new calculated metrics. See side-by-side metric comparisons, groupings and tallies, or view this information in interactive line and bar charts with overlaid cupping information.
• Smarter, Faster and Easier Numerical Data Entry: All of Roastmaster’s numerical data entry screens have been redesigned with better layout, form-based navigation, and custom keyboard and measurement units pickers, allowing for faster and easier data entry.
• Easier Node Entry: Redesigned curve entry panel with selectable text and custom decimal keyboard make entering node data a breeze.
• Bean Lot Tracking: Track and audit information about individual beans lots, such as lot number, cost, moisture, density, Q Score, screen size and more. Roastmaster creates bean lots automatically as you received inventory, providing an audit trail for changing attributes.
• Inventory Warning Threshold for Beans: Roastmaster will alert you when that bean’s stock needs to be replenished.
• Full Control of Auxiliary Entities: Caffeine, processing, market, size, growing, density and roaster temperature types can be created, deleted and edited at will.
• Custom Roast Names: Easily distinguish among roasts by entering custom names.
• Roast Yield Prediction: See what the expected yield is for any roast and roast style, based on recent roasts in your library.
• Estimated Green Weight from Yields: Use past yield information to predict the required green weight based on recent roasts in your library.
• Expanded Roast Attributes: Pre and post moisture, density and weight values, along with many calculated metrics via Curve Events, such as turnaround, drying and ramp times.
• Expanded Cupping Protocols: Choose from a number of different protocols aimed at tracking roast efficiency and/or green attributes, or choose the manual style to enter a quick score.
• Interactive Cupping Spider Graphs: Edit attribute scores graphically by tapping and dragging on the spider graph itself, or via an enhanced numeric keypad.
• Cupping Flights: Select multiple roasts to create a batch of cuppings, then perform a flight cupping in-line with spider graphs.
• Expanded Cupping Attributes: See the brew ratio of your cuppings, and store many new attributes, like water temperature, TDS, grind settings, and extraction time.
• Manual Roast Sorting: Roastmaster now provides the ability to reorder roasts by dragging, making it easy to define the order in which a day’s roasts should be performed.
• Default Roaster. Set any roaster as the default and it will be automatically tagged in new roasts.
• Analyzer Graph Shift: Drag the Y axis downward to quickly pull taller reading curves into view.
• In-Line Calculator: Access a custom calculator complete with “paper tape” style readout anywhere numeric values are entered. Perform any computation, and apply the results.
• Create nodes without typing by dragging curve labels in the analyzer.
• Roastmaster will now prevent iOS from sleeping when in the analyzer or console with a bound data logging probe, allowing you to monitor the roaster as it warms up.
• Non-metric volume and density measurements now translate correctly between US common units and UK Imperial units, and can be entered in either system.
• Analyzer composite notes now shows the roasted weight and roaster.
• Agtron fields now allow decimals
• Fixes a bug that would result in a crash when adding a bean when the bean sort mode is set to region.

The new version of Roastmaster is ready for download from the App Store! We’ve been hard at work since early spring–retooling Roastmaster to be faster, smarter, more robust and to leverage the capabilities of iOS 8 and Apple’s new line of iPhones.

We’ve taken a long, hard look at the areas of the app that could be improved – from subtle adjustments in views and navigation that have big impacts on your user experience, to core function and speed enhancements to help you get your work done faster. Naturally, there are a number of brand new features as well – all geared, as usual, to help make your roasts the best they can be. You’ve given us many ideas, and great insights since the last update, and we’ve been listening and busy implementing!

Following are some of the noteworthy improvements that will be available in the coming update.

iOS 8 and iPhone 6/6 Plus

The Latest and Greatest
Roastmaster 8.0 offers full, native iOS 8 support

Expand Your Horizons
Native support for the larger iPhone and iPhone 6 screen sizes and resolutions.

Help

Get the Help You Need – Fast!
Roastmaster’s knowledge base has been rewritten and redesigned from the ground up. Browse clearly-written articles, grouped by subjects and topics. Peruse by related links, or quickly search for a specific keyword to easily find help fast when you need it.

Workflow Speed

Integrated AirDrop
Instantly send a profile, program, roaster, curve, report or an entire database directly to a nearby iOS device – no need to shuffle them via email or Dropbox.

Better iOS Services Integration
Roastmaster is more tightly integrated with common iOS activities. Quickly text a summary of a roast to a friend or colleague, or instantly open a report directly in any iOS application that supports tab delimited text.

More Precise Roast Graph
The home screen roasted graph now performs deep queries to traverse down to Roasts of Blends of Roasts of Beans.

Custom List Sorting
Easily sort your beans, roasts, blends, cuppings, profiles and programs by tapping the new sort button in the header of these lists. You can choose from many different attributes, and arrange them in ascending or descending order.

Explore Profile Alternatives
Easily duplicate a profile or program by long-tapping its icon in any list.

Effortless Snapshots
Roastmaster can now create automatic snapshots in the analyzer, as well as the console. If you attempt to edit the curve of any shared profile or program, a snapshot will be automatically created for you, and the edits applied to it instead, keeping your original data intact.

Easier Graphical Curve Editing
All unshared curves are now editable in the console or analyzer–whether they belong to the roast, or a profile or program. You can also edit a curve before a roast starts – making it easy to build profiles or plot a roast before dropping the beans.

Extended Roast Editing
The post-roast editing period has been extended from 30 seconds to 3 minutes, allowing curve and crack data entry as the beans cool.

Unrestricted Detail Editing
Profile, program and curve details can now be freely edited from any location in Roastmaster. If an item’s data is shared among multiple roasts, or belongs to a completed roast, Roastmaster will simply warn you with a count of the elements that will be affected.

Advanced Snapshot Management
Easily promote a profile, program or blend snapshot to the master position, or demote an existing master – while keeping all the past references intact. This makes it easy organize your library, keeping your most desirable data up front where it’s easy to access.

Miscellaneous Enhancements
From window titles, to button placement, Roastmaster seeks to provide a smooth and streamlined workflow.

Roast Analyzer

Super Speed and Reimagined Function
The analyzer has been rewritten, quite literally, from the ground up, proving an interface that is lightning fast, as well as more intuitive and informative. Better layout, typography, consistent curve ordering and improved tapping gestures smooth your workflow, while subtle animations draw your attention to functions and key events.

Delta Curves
Learn even more from your roast data by graphically comparing the rate of rise of reading curves overlayed on the actual curve data.

Consolidated Notes
The analyzer can now display notes from every item of interest in your roast. Simply tap the new notes button to see an arranged list of every item associated with the current roast: the roast itself, beans and blends, roaster, profile, program, curves and cuppings. Roastmaster will also show notes of the same items from the target roast. To edit the notes of any item, just tap its header and type notes you roast – all without ever leaving the analyzer!

Dynamic Layout
Drag handles in the y axis to quickly change how your curves plot. You can choose to overlay or juxtapose control curves, and place them anywhere on the screen – all with a tap and drag.

Complete Curve Control
The analyzer already provides targeting modes, but now also gives exact control over how each curve is displayed. Just two-finger tap to bring up the curve selector. Tap a row to select or deselect that curve, or tap the display button in that row to toggle the curve and label style among three modes: primary (solid), target (dotted) or off (hidden).

Easier Curve Selection
When tapping a curve to select it, Roastmaster is now smarter about its selections, and you’ll also be able to select curves by tapping directly on their label.

Colored Banner Alerts That Don’t Interrupt Your Work
Alerts are now displayed as unobtrusive, queued banners–color coded to match their source curve, and can be dismissed immediately or left on screen as a reminder if you want to temporarily delay that action. Navigation buttons allow you to navigate among multiple alerts, dismissing any individual alert as you apply that particular setpoint to your roaster.

Customizable Alerts
There is now a preference setting for determining which control curves produce alerts in the analyzer, as well as visual feedback within the analyzer for which curves have upcoming alerts.

See Cupping Details
Tap on the cupping icon in the analyzer to see a list of individual cupping dates, scores and notes for each cupping being reported. Tap the header of any item in this list to edit those notes right in the analyzer.

Easier Targeting
New targeting button (iPad) allows you to easily switch targeting modes without opening the controls dock. It displays the current targeting mode, and informs you if you have overridden the default curve styles.

High Contrast Viewing
New white color scheme for the analyzer provides higher-contrast viewing for outdoor roasters.

Many Other Enhancements

• The analyzer past roast target mode will now show the past roast’s profile curves by default
• Improved analyzer typography
• Long tap a node in the analyzer to delete it
• Smoother differential temperature projection markers
• The roast graph and analyzer now clip negative values at 0, preventing unwanted display below the baseline
• Node editor “x” buttons are easier to tap

Roast Console

See the Cost of an Individual Roast
The green bean ingredients list in roasts now includes the total cost of the roasted items.

Less Clutter
The roast console now provides large, easy to read text feedback in the graph area when selecting matching criteria–replacing the small, cluttered text descriptions beneath the buttons.

Data Logging Option

Range Probe Support
Introduces support for the Range probes from Supermechanical. These economical probes plug directly into the headphone jack, and provide reliable temperature readings.

Smarter, More Informative Crosshairs
Analyzer crosshairs have been redesigned to give a better view of underlying target data, and now contain new graphical delta pointers that change as the probe’s linear delta changes, showing you the direction and intensity of rise. Combine this with the existing differential projection markers, and you’ll have more data than ever before to keep your roasts on target.

Manual Sampling
Tap the digital temperature readout to quickly record a sample: before, during and after a roast to supplement the automatic temperature logging.

Miscellaneous

Behmor Plus Friendly
Behmor curves are now editable to support the Behmor Plus panel upgrade. Start off with an “automatic” Roastmaster Behmor curve like always. If you switch to manual mode on your roaster, just edit your Roastmaster curve as needed, and it will switch to manual mode as well. If you want to switch back to automatic, just tap the new “Convert to Automatic” activity button, and Roastmaster will reset the future portion of the curve to the last Behmor defaults–retaining all of your prior edits and time-shifts.

Crisp Label Type…and More Of It
Roastmaster’s label engine has been redesigned with smarter layout capabilities, and the ability to render character spacing and true typographer’s leading fashioned for high readability at the printed size. Crisp type, and better layout mean that Roastmaster can fit nearly double the notes on a label as before.

Smarter Inventory Management
Whenever you delete a roast that is not tagged as complete (e.g. using the console/analyzer to perform the roast, or manually setting its duration), the items of that roast will be automatically credited back to inventory before deleting.

Smarter Profile Creation
When creating a profile from a roast, you’ll be able to select the individual curves you want to include in the profile. You’ll then be able to designate which of these curves should be included as curve templates, providing automatic configuration of future roasts to record comparative data.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed the “bouncing balls” issue on the home screen introduced in iOS 8
• Fixed an issue where the probe store could become unresponsive, and unable to connect to iTunes
• Fixed a bug that could cause “Export Database” to fail in rare circumstances
• Fixed bug that may cause a crash when browsing the green bean library, particularly if using the find filter
• Fixed report bug where the range may not honor the input range if the keyboard is dismissed before running the report
• Exports now properly handle names containing forward slash characters

If you have any questions, please let us know, and keep an eye out for the update!

 

Version 7 for iOS 7 is here! Version 7, you might say… but where did the other versions go? Well, from here on out I plan to align the app version with the iOS version it’s targeted for, so we’re jumping ahead here to catch up. Apple has recently begun to allow downloads of older versions, and I think this type of versioning scheme will be the easiest to understand as iOS moves forward.

I want to take a moment to offer a very heartfelt thanks to everyone I’ve worked so closely with over the past few months while implementing and refining features, as well as the beta testers who offered invaluable input. This update, code-wise, was probably the biggest one to date. iOS 7 is very different than iOS 6 and earlier with respect to how screens are drawn and displayed – something Roastmaster draws a lot of. When the GM seeds of iOS 7 were released, I realized development time was going to run long. Since I also wanted to hold out for testing on the new iPad, I took the chance to concentrate heavily on both form and function – a very big undertaking to say the least, but one that was definitely due.

Form

I’ve overhauled the UI – in part to help Roastmaster blend with iOS 7’s minimalistic design theme, and integrate seamlessly with its new features. More importantly, though, I felt the new version of Roastmaster should have an interface that is familiar, but much more content-oriented – one that takes a back seat to your data – complementing it, and eschewing unnecessary elements that compete with it.

In line with this, I’ve paid very close attention to typography, colors and iconography in this update. In an app as comprehensive as Roastmaster, running on a platform that is limited to one visible screen at a time, these items are critical in helping you to navigate your data, and also in serving as mnemonic cues – helping you mentally retain your place in the app as you browse. I really hope you enjoy the new look, and find the UI enahncements helpful in presenting and navigating your data.

Function

My ever-present goal is to equip Roastmaster with the tools to help you put your data to work for you. I strive to help you easily and intuitively build on past successes – either by direct comparison of current roasts to past roasts and their cupping data, or by using this data in tandem with your ever-evolving custom profiles. This is the means to the end goal of the best tasting cup of coffee possible. In addition to this, it’s important to be able to perform tasks in Roastmaster easily – with minimal effort and thought on your part. Most of the new features are geared toward one of these two goals.

So many amazing folks have come forward with ideas and suggestions – some I’d already planned, some I’d never even thought of. Thanks to you all! Believe me, I listen to and evaluate every single suggestion. As always, majority rules – so if you see your suggestion on this list, you’re in good company.

New Features

User Interface

• Full iOS 7 compatibility
• A more simple, open and content-oriented design
• Improved typography and iconography
• Support for iOS 7 dynamic text sizing
• Easily recognizable activity icons now replace the old text-based activity choices
• All buttons are easier to tap

Support for two new probes for Data Logging Users

• Support for the BlueTherm Duo Probe – a wireless Bluetooth probe that supports 2 K Style thermocouples
• Support for the iCelsius BBQ Probe – a wired probe that attaches to the dock connector, or to a Lightning port via a Dock to Lightning adapter.

Productivity

• New inventory report type
• Analyze recent roasts to quickly view your most recent roast activity
• Easily turn a completed roast into a profile or program
• Notes for all items are now edited via a spacious full-screen editor
• Dedicated numeric keypad for editing node values and times
• Faster database operations
• Copying a roast now includes the profile and program, and applies the appropriate curve templates
• Roast alarms can now be set by tapping on the alarm marker and entering a specific time in addition to dragging on the gauge or graph
• Several of the past-roast matching algorithms have been shifted to the database side, speeding up queries and greatly reducing memory consumption
• Roaster setup assistant. Behmor users will find this particularly helpful, as it will automatically configure a Behmor roaster for using and displaying Behmor curves.
• Better curve comparison for past roast matching
• Rested age since roasting in days and hours for cuppings
• Ability to condense or expand an existing curve by intervals of 15 seconds
• Roasts, blends and cuppings now show the countries of their items in the header
• Roasts, blends and cuppings can now be filtered by country in the main list views
• Ability to two-finger tap on the main roast console graph to select a curve from a list of all curves
• Ability to have roast timers display inverted Behmor time when a Behmor curve is selected
• Ability to enter cracks for 30 seconds after the roast has ended

Roast Analyzer

• Faster scrolling and more responsive navigation
• Curve targeting mode enables you choose which curves are displayed for targeting:

1. 1. Profile/Program Mode: Current roast curves are displayed as solid, profile/program curves are displayed as dotted, all other curves hidden
   2. Past Roast Mode: Current roast curves are displayed as solid, past roast curves are displayed as dotted, all other curves hidden
   3. All (The legacy mode): Current roast and current profile/program curves are displayed as solid, other past roast curves displayed as dotted
   4. None: Current roast and current profile/program curves are displayed as solid, all other curves are hidden

• Live differential temperature projection markers. Select a curve, and create a draggable target with the predicted temperature based on the recent differential energy of the curve.
• Floating labels for curve levels, crack times and duration milestones
• Define up to three separate custom deltas to report for the selected curve or node
• Ability to plot control curves with a reduced height at the bottom of the screen – leaving the top area free for reading curve analysis
• More intuitive crack buttons: tap once to set the begin time – subsequent taps extend the duration. To clear times, tap and hold.
• Analyzer now remembers the selected curve, focus past roast and projection markers between views
• Customizable opacities for graph elements, like current curves, target curves and background
• More accurate delta times for data logging users (deltas are calculated from recent probe readings – accurate to 1/2 second)
• Easier curve selection by tapping directly on a curve, or two-finger tapping to invoke a chooser list
• Preference for alerts to remind you to enter temperature nodes at a customizable interval while in the Analyzer
• Ability to show a margin around the graph for easier selection of nodes that lie at 0 on the X or Y axis
• Preference settings to independently set the opacity for X or Y axis grid line markers.
• Selected curve remains selected when swiping through past roasts
• Analyzer display is calibrated to minutes, and remembers the last used setting between views

Looking Ahead

I’m going to be concentrating heavily on a series of screencast “shorts” – videos geared toward educating users on some of the features and how to perform standard and more complex workflow operations in Roastmaster. Please let me know if you have any suggestions on things you’d like to see showcased, or if you have any specific questions or comments on using Roastmaster.

I really hope you enjoy the new features in this update, and find them helpful in your roasting workflow. For folks celebrating Thanksgiving – enjoy your turkey, your time off and all we have to be thankful for. For those, and everyone else… as always, Happy Roasting!

Danny