On-line Roast Log/information system

[Davec]

I have written an application (up and running) that will allow people to input their roast information on-line and share that information with other people. It's not roaster centric, so different roasters can be added to the database (by the users).

The reports allow filtering results by coffee, roaster type, user name etc.. and it could become quite a useful resource for those who home roast and even very small commercial operations (<3kg roasters).

New coffees and notes for the coffees can also be added to the system, the advantage here is that as roast information is entered, users can actually choose the coffees from a drop down list, if they have already been defined in the database....or define a new one if it hasn't. Now I do understant that all Brazil Yellow Bourbon isn't the same and lots differ, but in general roast characteristics will be very similar. If neessary, a coffee can be duplicated as long as the names are not exactly the same. e.g. Brazil Yellow Bourbon IA Feb 2007 etc...

Is there any interest on the forum, for people to start using the application...it's part of what I am already doing with my Coffee Forum and Wiki...but doesn't require membership of either and is open to all.

Moderators please note...i'm not posting the link as am not sure if it's OK to do so, so will wait to hear back.

 

[lizzy]

I would sure be interested. Something like that would be a very helpful source of information. I would really like to compare and learn and contribute.

 

[jlyon10]

log

I agree with Lizzy. I think this is a great idea and I would contribute also. I think the entries should be broken out by what type of roaster you have. I also think it would be alright to post the website in this section of the forum.

 

[topher]

I don't have any issues with this....

 

[Davec]

OK, just didn't want people to think I was spam link dropping or whatever it's called.

http://creator.zoho.com/davec_coffeetim ... og/form/9/

The link is shown above for the roasting application. Ensure you have a good look at the views, the filtering is VERY powerful and the search function brings up a set of column filters that can just about give you any view you want (with equals, contains and other powerful functions).

Don't forget to define your particular roaster, if it's not already there. I am thinking about 2 enhancements...I may add a "good, ave or poor roast" field and also may add a coffee subtype/specific., spliting coffee into Generic+subtype e.g. Brazilian Santos (generic), subtype/specific might be screen 18, COE Monte Alto, or even Oct 2006 crop etc.. The whole idea of this is to allow people to search coffees Generically for roasting information, and then browse the subtypes if they want to. So that if I want to see how santos can be roasted, thats easy, but if I have a specific type, I can filter down on that as well.

Enjoy, I look forward to reading the different approaches to roasting :wink:

P.S. If you know other small roasters/home roasters who have access to the internet, let them know about it, as the more information we have input, the better a resource it will become.

 

[jlyon10]

error

I got an error saying there is no such form in zoho creator when I clicked on the link?

 

[Davec]

Re: error

I got an error saying there is no such form in zoho creator when I clicked on the link?

They had the system down for maintenance for a while, it's up and running again. Sometimes I have noticed the application seems to have to "wake up", so you might have to click the link twice.

I was also modifying one of the forms, adding roast quality as a dropdown, so you might have tried whilst I was doing tha. Try again I have just been on and it's working fine.

 

[jlyon10]

Works now. Thanks

 

[lizzy]

very nice, I think it is a great idea for sharing information.

maybe I missed it, but is there anywhere to list the amount of coffee roasted? 1 K in a 2 K roaster goes much faster than 2 K, for example.

 

[Davec]

very nice, I think it is a great idea for sharing information.

maybe I missed it, but is there anywhere to list the amount of coffee roasted? 1 K in a 2 K roaster goes much faster than 2 K, for example.

Yes there is a start weight and finish weight in (g) so you can input 1000g or 2000g etc..The system then calculates the losses...handy to also check on whether your doing things right.

I have roasted commercially, so have included pretty much everything that the small roaster/home user would want, there are a few things that the larger commercial boys would want to know, but are generally not relevant to the smaller roaster.

Home/small roasters tend to all work in a vacuum, so it will be interesting to see if this catches on....it should, but I have my doubts. I have been sadly disillusioned in recent months over what I think people will want to do and what they actually do :wink: You would think within a few months there will be 100s of new records added to the system e.g. 30 people roasting 2x per week is 480 records over 2 months...let's wait and see.

All I can do is create the system, but as the old saying goes "you can lead a horse to water, but..........." :-D

 

[lizzy]

the last few days I've been roasting a lot. I'm realizing now that I've grown familiar and comfortable with the roaster, how little I am recording the details. So I've printed out some blank roasting logs, and am keeping better records. evaluating the roast then takes more time yet.

It's kind of a surprise how much effort it takes to keep a good log! I really need to do this.

(then I have to convert from F to C for the temps)

 

[Davec]

(then I have to convert from F to C for the temps)

Hopefully you found the blank .pdf roast log a useful document.....and welcome to the decimal system.

I wll have a think about whether I can do anything clever about the F or C issue. not sure how yet, but will think on it.

 

[mp78]

very cool idea.