Artisan v1.3

Artisan is getting simpler! Simpler to find, simpler to install, simpler to setup, simpler to configure and simpler to use. Artisan v1.3 is also extending its scope by adding direct support for 16 roasting machine brands and gets more beautiful by adding color themes. However, the biggest news is on its growing team.

Artisan v1.2

Artisan v1.2 is a major release. The software on which Artisan is built was significantly modernised, especially on the Windows platform, resulting in better support of the current operating systems and hardware (e.g. high-resolution displays). A consequence of this move is that from now on, only 64bit operating systems are supported and compatibility with Windows XP and OS X before v10.10 has been dropped. Find below a description of the major changes and new features.

Roasting with Phidgets

An introduction to automatic roast logging using basic hardware from Phidgets in combination with Artisan. This article focuses on standard USB Phidgets that have been supported by Artisan since 2013. The follow-up post More on Phidgets! describes the extended Phidgets support by Artisan v1.2 covering also the new VINT devices that were introduced at the end of 2017 by Phidgets.

More Phidgets!

Artisan supported hardware from Phidgets since 2013 (see my previous post on Roasting with Phidgets). This year Phidgets fundamentally revised both their hardware and software offerings. With the release of Artisan version 1.2 support for many of the new VINT devices as well as for the new Phidgets v22 driver has been added.

Talking Alarms

As conversational user interfaces are becoming trendy with Siri and Alexa, roast masters soon might start to talk to their roasting equipment, instead of pressing buttons in the classical way to control the process. A first step in that direction is to teach Artisan how to talk.

Spiders Wheels

In development and production it can become essential to not only document exactly the way a roast session was conducted, but also its outcome. Artisan offers a number of tools to collect data of roasting sessions like temperature developments over time and occurrence of key events.

Profile Templates

Once a convincing roast profile for a certain coffee and purpose is found, a roastmaster has to replicate it over and over to produce a consistent product. Artisan offers a list of tools to support the roastmaster on this.