tags: [] - coffee/roasting - coffee/equipment - coffee/equipment/software aliases: - Artisan roast logger - Artisan roasting software

Artisan Software¶

Tags: #coffee/roasting #coffee/equipment #coffee/equipment/software Aliases: Artisan roast logger, Artisan roasting software Related: Roasting MOC | Roast Profile | Rate of Rise | Development Time Ratio | Cropster | Data Logging Software Status: ✅ Complete

Overview¶

Artisan is a free, open-source coffee roasting software platform that logs, visualises, and analyses roast profiles in real time. First released in 2010 and developed by a community of contributors, Artisan connects to thermocouples and data loggers attached to drum and fluid-bed roasters to display bean temperature, environmental temperature, Rate of Rise, and phase markers during the roast, and records complete roast logs for post-roast analysis and comparison. It is the most widely used roast logging software among small-batch specialty roasters and home roasters globally, and a direct alternative to the commercial Cropster platform — differing primarily in that Artisan is free and locally hosted, while Cropster is a paid cloud-based subscription service.

Core Functions¶

Real-time monitoring: - Displays bean temperature and environmental (drum air) temperature curves during roasting - Calculates and displays Rate of Rise in real time - Allows overlay of a reference "background" profile from a previous roast for tracking and replication - Marks and records roast events (charge, turning point, dry end, first crack start/end, drop) as operator annotations on the live curve - Supports automated event timing alerts and alarm triggers

Post-roast analysis: - Stores full roast logs with timestamp, temperature curves, RoR, event markers, and operator notes - Calculates Development Time Ratio, turning point, charge temperature, drop temperature, total roast time - Profile library for comparing batches of the same green coffee across sessions - Export functions for PDF reports and data export (CSV format)

Hardware integration: - Connects to roasters via USB, Bluetooth, or Modbus protocols using K-type thermocouples and compatible data loggers (Phidgets, Arduino-based loggers, and manufacturer-specific interfaces) - Direct integration with many roaster manufacturers: Probat, Hottop, Gene Café, Mill City, San Franciscan, and others

Artisan Versus Cropster¶

Feature	Artisan	Cropster
Cost	Free (open source)	Paid subscription
Data storage	Local (computer)	Cloud (multi-user access)
Inventory management	Not included	Full inventory and lot tracking
Production scheduling	Not included	Multi-roaster scheduling
Hardware support	Very broad	Broad (but some premium integrations)
Best for	Individual roasters, small operations	Multi-roaster commercial operations

Artisan is the preferred choice for roasters operating a single machine who want full-featured profile logging without subscription cost. Cropster offers multi-user cloud access, inventory management, and production scheduling tools that become valuable at commercial scale.

Community and Development¶

Artisan is maintained by volunteer contributors and hosted on GitHub. Development has continued consistently since 2010, with regular updates to add hardware support, improve RoR smoothing algorithms, and expand analysis features. The Artisan community includes professional roasters, academics, and enthusiasts who contribute code, hardware integration guides, and documentation.

Key Facts¶

Free, open-source roast logging software; available for Windows, macOS, Linux
First released 2010; community-maintained on GitHub
Real-time bean temperature, environmental temperature, and RoR display
Supports reference profile overlay for roast replication
Calculates DTR, turning point, charge/drop temperatures, total roast time
Hardware: K-type thermocouples + compatible data loggers; broad roaster manufacturer support
Primary commercial alternative: Cropster (paid, cloud-based, multi-user)

References¶

Changelog¶

Date	Change
2026-04-27	Note created

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